Chapter 17 - THE GIRL IN THE BLUE COAT
Lily disappeared at 6:42 a.m.
She had been asleep beside Claire.
A security camera caught nothing.
No broken window.
No forced door.
Only one image.
Lily walking willingly beside someone.
Adrian recognized the person.
Maria.
But Maria was already under federal protection.
Which meant someone had copied her appearance.
Adrian understood immediately.
Victor had someone inside.
The search led to an abandoned railway station.
Claire insisted on coming.
Adrian refused.
“You're staying here.”
“No.”
“Claire.”
“You're not going after my daughter without me.”
The word stopped him.
My daughter.
Their daughter.
Adrian looked at her.
“Then we bring her home.”
They found Lily inside an old train car.
She wasn't crying.
Victor sat opposite her.
When Adrian entered, Victor smiled.
“You finally came.”
Adrian raised his weapon.
“Move away from her.”
Victor looked at Lily.
“She isn't afraid of me.”
Lily frowned.
“You're the bad man.”
Victor laughed softly.
“Your mother told you that?”
“No.”
Lily pointed at him.
“You told me.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“You said everyone has a story.”
Lily nodded.
“You're sad.”
Adrian almost smiled.
Victor stared at the child.
“She sees things adults don't.”
He looked at Adrian.
“You think I want to hurt her?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Victor stood.
“I wanted you to understand.”
“Understand what?”
“That your family destroyed mine.”
Adrian lowered his weapon slightly.
“Your family was protected.”
“By lies.”
“By people who loved you.”
Victor's face twisted.
“Love doesn't erase betrayal.”
Claire stepped forward.
“Victor.”
He looked at her.
“I spent twenty-six years believing you were dead.”
“So did I.”
“You're my brother.”
Victor's expression cracked.
For the first time, he looked like the frightened boy from the old photograph.
“I don't know how to be your brother.”
Claire swallowed.
“Neither do I.”
A long silence.
Then Victor released Lily.
Adrian pulled his daughter into his arms.
But before anyone could move, a gunshot sounded.
Vincent stepped from the shadows.
He shot Victor.
Adrian tackled Vincent.
They crashed through the train door.
Vincent fought like an older man with nothing left to lose.
But Adrian was stronger.
He pinned him.
“Why?”
Vincent laughed.
“Because power belongs to whoever is willing to take it.”
Adrian looked at him.
“No.”
He heard sirens approaching.
“Power belongs to whoever can survive without becoming you.”
Vincent was arrested.
Victor survived.
Barely.
For weeks, he remained in the hospital.
Claire visited every day.
Adrian brought Lily.
Slowly, painfully, a family began to form from people who had spent years believing they had none.
But one mystery remained.
Who had helped Victor enter the estate?
The answer arrived in an envelope.
No return address.
Inside was a photograph of Adrian and Claire as children.
May you like
On the back:
You still haven't found the man who started all of this.
