Chapter 5 - The Man Who Followed Me Had Been Protecting Me All Along
The cemetery attack forced us into hiding.
Daniel and Elena disappeared into a safe location.
Ken moved me into a different estate.
For three days, we barely slept.
The media reported a mysterious shooting near a cemetery.
Nobody knew why.
Nobody knew about the files.
And nobody knew that the dead man in the headlines was alive.
I was trying to process everything when Samuel Reed arrived.
He brought new information.
"The man who followed you at the hotel isn't working for Victor."
I stared.
"Then who?"
"Someone close to your father."
"Who?"
Samuel placed a photograph on the table.
A young woman.
My face went pale.
It was me.
At nineteen.
Taken outside my apartment.
I looked at Ken.
"Who took this?"
"A man named Julian Cross."
Ken went still.
"Impossible."
"Why?"
"Julian died twelve years ago."
Samuel shook his head.
"He didn't."
The room went silent.
Julian had been my father's closest friend.
He had taught me how to ride a bicycle.
He had disappeared shortly before my father supposedly died.
Now we learned he had been working undercover.
He had watched me for a decade.
The gray-coated stranger was Julian.
"He followed you because he was protecting you," Samuel said.
"Then why didn't he approach me?"
"Because every person who tried to help you openly disappeared."
I looked at Ken.
"Who disappeared?"
He didn't answer.
Samuel did.
"Seven people."
My blood went cold.
All seven had connections to my father.
One was a lawyer.
One a journalist.
One a banker.
One a police detective.
The rest were never identified.
Someone had systematically erased everyone who knew the truth.
And now that someone had become desperate.
Because I had the key.
That afternoon, Ken and I drove to an abandoned office building.
Julian was waiting.
He looked older than I remembered.
But when he smiled, I recognized him.
"Marin."
I stared.
"You knew me."
"Of course."
"You've been watching me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Daniel asked me to."
I hated the answer.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because the first person I trusted was found dead."
He showed me a file.
My employment application at Voss Enterprises.
"My father sent it to Ken," I said.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To make sure you would never be out of reach."
I looked at Ken.
He had known more than he admitted.
"Did you hire me because of my father?"
Ken shook his head.
"No."
"Then why?"
"Because I met you in the lobby before your interview."
I frowned.
"I don't remember."
"I do."
He smiled.
"You were arguing with a security guard because he refused to let an elderly man inside without an appointment."
I remembered.
The guard had been rude.
I had told him to stop.
Ken had watched from across the lobby.
"I thought you were reckless."
I smiled faintly.
"You hired me anyway."
"I liked that you were reckless for the right reasons."
My heart did something inconvenient.
We returned to the estate.
That evening, Ken and I sat on the balcony.
"You should have told me."
"I know."
"About everything."
"I know."
"Why didn't you?"
He looked at the city.
"Because every time I planned to tell you, I realized I might be the thing that brought danger to your door."
"You were."
"I know."
I turned toward him.
"Then why did you keep me close?"
His eyes met mine.
"Because every time I tried to push you away, I couldn't."
The air changed.
Neither of us moved.
Then the security alarm sounded.
Reeve rushed onto the balcony.
"We have a breach."
Ken stood.
"Where?"
"East gate."
Gunfire erupted.
Ken pushed me behind him.
"Stay with Reeve."
"No."
"Marin."
"I am not hiding in another room."
He stared.
Then nodded.
"Fine."
We moved together.
The attackers were not Victor's men.
They were police.
Federal.
Mercer emerged.
I recognized him from Daniel's files.
He lowered his gun.
"We're not here to arrest you."
Ken's expression remained guarded.
"Then why are you here?"
Mercer said:
"Because Victor Hale just kidnapped your mother."
Everything stopped.
"Where?"
"We don't know."
"Then why tell us?"
"Because he left a message."
Mercer handed me an envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Elena.
Bound to a chair.
And beneath it:
Bring Marin.
No Ken.
No police.
No bodyguards.
Just Marin.
Ken looked at me.
"You're not going."
I stared at him.
"My mother is there."
"We find another way."
"I can't leave her."
His voice dropped.
"I know."
He took my hand.
"But I'm not losing you to save her."
Something in his voice broke through me.
He wasn't speaking as the Mafia boss.
He was speaking as the man who had spent years protecting me from the shadows.
I squeezed his hand.
"Then don't lose me."
We found Victor's location through the photograph.
An abandoned theater.
But when we arrived, Elena was already gone.
Only one thing remained.
A projector.
It switched on by itself.
Victor appeared on the screen.
"Marin."
He smiled.
"You finally found the truth."
May you like
Then he said the words that changed everything.
"Now find out why your mother betrayed your father."
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