Chapter 7 - The Mother Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Jillian spent the night staring at the photograph.
Her mother.
Alive.
After fifteen years.
The woman she had mourned.
The woman whose perfume she could still remember.
The woman whose last voicemail she had saved for almost a decade before finally deleting it.
Alive.
Working with the enemy.
Emmett sat across from her.
“I don't know what to tell you.”
“Good.”
She stared at the photograph.
“I'm tired of people having answers.”
Emmett nodded.
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
“Jillian.”
She stopped breathing.
“Mom?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“Why did you leave?”
Silence.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Everyone says that.”
“I know.”
“Are you working with Malcolm?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
A long pause.
“You are closer than you think.”
The call ended.
Jillian looked at Emmett.
“What does that mean?”
He had gone pale.
“What?”
He shook his head.
“Nothing.”
“Don't.”
He looked at her.
“I think I know where she is.”
They went to the federal courthouse.
The prosecutor from the photograph was there.
So was Jillian's mother.
The woman looked exactly as Jillian remembered.
Older.
Thinner.
But the same eyes.
Jillian stopped.
Her mother began crying.
“Jillian.”
She wanted to run.
Instead she walked forward.
“You let me think you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because people were watching you.”
“Who?”
“The council.”
“What council?”
“People who control both families.”
Jillian looked at the prosecutor.
“Who is he?”
Her mother answered.
“My brother.”
Jillian froze.
The uncle everyone thought was dead.
He had been using a new identity.
He was the real architect.
The political network had been his creation.
He had manipulated Malcolm.
Manipulated the Carbones.
Manipulated the police.
And he had arranged Shawn's death.
Jillian stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because your father discovered too much.”
“What did he discover?”
“That I intended to control Cody's trust.”
Her mother stepped closer.
“I stopped him.”
“And disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you take me?”
“Because if they knew where you were, they would have killed you.”
Jillian began crying.
“That doesn't make it okay.”
“I know.”
Her mother looked at Emmett.
“And he?”
Jillian's mother smiled sadly.
“He's the only reason you survived.”
Jillian turned.
Emmett looked uncomfortable.
“Why?”
“Your father asked him.”
“My father?”
“He trusted Emmett.”
Jillian looked at him.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I didn't know how.”
Her mother touched Jillian's arm.
“You need to understand something.”
“What?”
“Your family was never really about money.”
“Then what?”
“Legacy.”
She looked at Cody.
“The people behind the network believe power should stay within certain families.”
Jillian understood.
Cody was the legal heir.
He was valuable.
Not because he was sixteen.
Because he could become the legal gatekeeper to everything.
Her mother continued.
“Your uncle wants him.”
“No.”
“Then don't let him take you.”
Jillian turned.
“Where is he?”
Her mother shook her head.
“He will come to you.”
“Why?”
“Because he needs the ledger.”
Jillian looked at Emmett.
They had it.
So had Patrick.
And Cody's drawings.
She suddenly understood.
They were bait.
They had been carrying evidence designed to attract the real enemy.
The uncle wanted all three copies.
And he had been waiting for Jillian to expose them.
That night, the final trap was set.
Jillian agreed to meet him.
Emmett hated the plan.
“I don't want you doing this.”
“I have to.”
“I can go.”
“He wants me.”
“He wants the ledger.”
“And me.”
Emmett looked at her.
“Yes.”
She touched his hand.
“You trust me?”
“With my life.”
“Then trust me with yours.”
The meeting took place at the old Bannon estate.
The same driveway where Jillian had run barefoot.
The same iron gates.
But this time she walked toward them willingly.
Cody stayed hidden.
Patrick recovered enough to help.
Emmett watched from a distance.
Jillian entered the house.
Her uncle waited in the dining room.
He smiled.
“You finally came home.”
“This was never home.”
“It could be.”
“No.”
“You could have everything.”
“I don't want it.”
“You will.”
He opened a folder.
Pictures of Cody.
Jillian's mother's medical records.
Patrick's hospital information.
Emmett's businesses.
He had everything.
He smiled.
“You're surrounded.”
Jillian looked around.
“No.”
She smiled.
“You are.”
The lights came on.
Police.
Federal agents.
Hidden cameras.
The prosecutor walked in.
Her mother followed.
Her uncle froze.
Then he laughed.
“You think evidence matters?”
Jillian looked at him.
“Yes.”
The room changed.
A shot rang out.
The lights shattered.
Her uncle ran.
Jillian followed.
He reached the terrace.
Emmett appeared.
The two men stared at each other.
Her uncle raised his gun.
Emmett moved.
The shot missed.
Jillian tackled the weapon away.
Her uncle fell.
Police swarmed.
The nightmare ended.
But the cost was high.
Patrick finally admitted he could not stay married to Jillian.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“But you're not my wife anymore.”
She nodded.
“I know.”
They hugged.
Cody cried.
Then Patrick looked at Emmett.
“Take care of them.”
Emmett nodded.
“I will.”
Patrick smiled.
“For once, I trust the Carbone.”
The three of them walked away.
Jillian.
Cody.
Emmett.
Not as enemies.
Not as pawns.
May you like
As a family.
And for the first time, Jillian began to imagine a life that belonged to her.
