Chapter 1 - The Seventeen FacesThe hospital hallway was silent.
Too silent.
My daughter lay behind a surgical door while doctors repaired her broken jaw.
I stood outside.
Still.
My hands were folded behind my back.
The same posture I had used for decades whenever men around me needed to know I was not afraid.
But this wasn't a battlefield.
This was my daughter.
Claire.
My little girl.
The woman who used to run toward me whenever thunder frightened her.
Now she was fighting to breathe because seventeen people had decided she deserved to suffer.
My phone remained in my hand.
The video was still open.
I had watched it enough times to memorize every face.
Nathan.
His mother.
His father.
His brothers.
His sisters.
His cousins.
His uncle.
His aunt.
Seventeen people.
Seventeen witnesses.
And seventeen participants in a crime they apparently believed would disappear behind a locked door.
They were wrong.
I called Detective Miller.
“Victor?”
“I have video evidence.”
“How bad?”
“Bad enough.”
“Are you certain your daughter identified them?”
“She named Nathan before she lost consciousness.”
“And the video?”
“They're all visible.”
He paused.
“Don't approach them.”
“I won't.”
“Victor, I'm serious.”
“So am I.”
I ended the call.
Then the surgical doors opened.
A doctor stepped out.
“Mr. Hale?”
I stood.
“How is she?”
“She survived.”
I closed my eyes.
The doctor continued.
“She has significant facial trauma. Her jaw was fractured in multiple places. She'll need reconstructive surgery and months of rehabilitation.”
“Will she speak?”
“Eventually.”
“Will she recover?”
The doctor looked at me.
“We believe so.”
I nodded.
“Thank you.”
He walked away.
I looked through the glass.
Claire was unconscious.
Small.
Fragile.
But alive.
I whispered:
“They made one mistake.”
May you like
I looked down at the list.
“They forgot who her father was.”
Related Stories
