Chapter 5 - THE BETRAYAL
“Don't listen to him, Emily!” Clara shouted, stepping firmly between the gun and my niece.
“Shut up, Clara,” Victor sneered. His eyes, devoid of any humanity, locked onto mine. “Thomas Morgan was an honest man. Too honest. He found out the Vance family was importing more than just untaxed electronics. He found the human trafficking ring.”
My stomach violently hollowed out.
“I was running it,” Victor continued, stepping further into the safe room. “But Clara was funding it. When your daddy threatened to go to the FBI, Clara gave the order to cut his brakes. I was just the mechanic.”
I looked at the elegant, silver-haired woman who had looked so helpless in the diner. The woman I had fed with my own hands.
“Is it true?” I whispered, my voice breaking.
Clara didn't look at me. She kept her eyes locked on Victor. “I did what was necessary to protect my son's empire. The cartel would have slaughtered Gabriel if the feds raided our ports.”
The betrayal felt like a physical knife twisting in my ribs. I had been dragged into a war between monsters, and both sides were covered in my father’s blood.
“Where is the coat, Emily?” Victor demanded, raising the gun slightly. “Give me the location of the chip, and I’ll let the little girl walk out of here.”
I pulled Maya tighter against my legs. I didn't have the coat. I had thrown it in the dumpster behind my apartment complex three days ago when I was desperately trying to declutter to make room for a new roommate to help with rent.
The ledger was sitting in a landfill.
“It’s gone,” I said, my voice trembling. “I threw it away.”
Victor’s scarred face twisted into a mask of pure rage. “You're lying.”
He stepped forward, grabbing my hair and yanking me backward. Maya screamed, a terrifying, high-pitched wail.
Suddenly, a gunshot deafened the small room.
Victor howled in pain, dropping me as his shoulder exploded in a mist of red.
Gabriel stood in the ruined doorway, breathing heavily, his white shirt completely soaked in blood. He didn't hesitate. He fired twice more, hitting Victor in the chest.
Victor collapsed onto the floor, choking on his own blood.
Gabriel dropped the gun, instantly falling to his knees. He was badly wounded, clutching a massive gash on his side.
I scrambled backward, pulling Maya into my arms. I looked at Gabriel, the man who had just saved my life, and felt nothing but profound horror.
“You knew,” I screamed at him, tears streaming down my face. “You knew your mother ordered the hit on my father. That's why you gave me that card at the diner! It was guilt!”
Gabriel looked up at me, his face pale, his eyes filled with a desperate, agonizing sorrow.
“I didn't know until yesterday, Emily,” Gabriel choked out, coughing up blood. “I swear to you.”
He reached into his jacket with a trembling, bloody hand. He pulled out a small, folded piece of paper and held it out to me.
“I went to your apartment... before the diner,” Gabriel whispered, his strength failing rapidly. “I found this in your mail.”
I cautiously stepped forward and took the paper from his hand.
It wasn't a bill.
It was a DNA test result from a clinic in downtown San Antonio. A test I had secretly ordered weeks ago, trying to find out if Maya had any living relatives on her absent father's side to help pay for her schooling.
I unfolded the paper.
Probability of Paternity: 99.9%
I stared at the name listed under the father.
Gabriel Vance.
May you like
Maya wasn't just my niece. She was Gabriel’s daughter.
And my sister had taken that secret to her grave.
