Chapter 5 - The Man Who Had Hurt Me Wanted His Daughter Back, and I Didn't Know Whether to Trust HimDerek disappeared the same night.
I panicked.
I thought Howard had taken him.
Then I received a message.
I'm getting our daughter somewhere safe.
I knew the number.
Derek.
I didn't know whether to trust him.
Ray told me:
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because fear makes people unpredictable.”
“He is her father.”
“He was also your abuser.”
I hated that he was right.
Then another message arrived.
A location.
A church.
I went.
Derek was there.
Our daughter was in his arms.
He handed her to me immediately.
“I wasn't taking her.”
“I needed to get her away.”
“From whom?”
“Everyone.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because my father will never stop.”
He looked exhausted.
“I used to think I could control him.”
“You couldn't.”
“No.”
“I was wrong.”
He took a breath.
“I know I hurt you.”
“You did.”
“I don't expect you to love me.”
“You shouldn't.”
“I just want a chance to be her father.”
I looked at our daughter.
Then back at him.
“A chance isn't free.”
“I know.”
“You'll go to therapy.”
“Yes.”
“You'll sign a custody agreement.”
“Yes.”
“You'll testify against your father.”
“Yes.”
“You'll give up your claim to the trust.”
He didn't hesitate.
“Yes.”
I was shocked.
“Why?”
“Because money destroyed my family.”
He looked at our daughter.
“I won't let it destroy hers.”
For the first time, I believed him.
Maybe.
We returned to the safe house.
Derek stayed in another room.
The next morning, he signed everything.
Custody.
Therapy.
Trust renunciation.
He surrendered control of the Caldwell companies.
The board removed Howard.
The public scandal exploded.
But one fact remained.
The trust still named Derek's bloodline.
Our daughter was the heir.
That made her valuable.
And dangerous.
The next threat came from overseas.
An organization called Blackstone.
They had financed Howard's criminal operations.
Now they wanted the trust.
They kidnapped Liam.
They sent us a video.
Liam was tied to a chair.
A man stood beside him.
“Bring us the child.”
Derek stepped forward.
“No.”
The man laughed.
“You'll give up the trust.”
“I already did.”
“Then what remains?”
“Nothing.”
“Exactly.”
I realized something.
Blackstone didn't care about the trust.
They cared about the evidence.
The documents.
The names.
The blackmail material.
My daughter was only leverage.
Derek looked at me.
“We need to destroy it.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“What?”
“People died to preserve the evidence.”
I pointed at the files.
“Other families deserve the truth.”
Ray nodded.
“She is right.”
We created a secure archive.
Copies were distributed.
Courts.
Journalists.
Investigators.
No single person could destroy it.
Then we went after Liam.
The rescue operation took place in an old warehouse.
Derek went with Ray.
I stayed in the command vehicle.
For once, I wasn't running into danger.
I was planning.
I knew the building.
The cameras.
The exits.
I had learned enough from surviving Derek to understand how dangerous men thought.
We found Liam.
Alive.
Blackstone's leader escaped.
But he left one clue.
A ring.
The same black shield.
The same dagger.
Ray looked at it.
“Someone from my old unit.”
“Another soldier?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“A traitor.”
That meant the threat wasn't over.
May you like
It came from Ray's past.
And someone who knew exactly what he had done.
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