Chapter 6 - The Girl Everyone Underestimated
Dominic drove faster than he had in years.
Daniel sat beside him.
Marcus followed.
Thomas remained at Pier Seventeen with Ava and Grace, coordinating the archive shutdown.
Grace had wanted to come.
Daniel refused.
It was the first argument they had as husband and wife in four years.
Grace had slapped him again.
Then she kissed his cheek.
“Bring her back.”
Daniel promised.
Dominic said nothing.
Promises were dangerous.
He preferred plans.
The safe house was forty minutes away.
Dominic made it in twenty-seven.
Front gate open.
Security lights dark.
One guard unconscious near the driveway.
Alive.
Sedated.
Same method as Marcus.
Dominic and Daniel entered through the rear.
Kitchen clear.
Living room clear.
No Lily.
Then Dominic saw something on the floor.
A white shoe.
Daniel picked it up.
“That’s hers.”
He almost broke.
Dominic grabbed his shoulder.
“She left it deliberately.”
Daniel looked at him.
“What?”
“Lily is smart.”
“She’s five.”
“Exactly. Adults underestimate her.”
Dominic pointed toward the hallway.
A second object lay near the stairs.
The silver anchor.
Daniel stared.
“She’s leaving a trail.”
They followed.
Upstairs.
A broken hair clip.
Then one of Lily’s crayons.
Blue.
At the final bedroom, the window stood open.
Dominic leaned outside.
A bedsheet hung from the balcony.
Daniel blinked.
“She climbed down?”
Dominic looked at him.
“Did you teach her that?”
“No.”
“Grace?”
“Definitely not.”
They ran outside.
A blue crayon arrow had been drawn on the stone path.
Marcus arrived behind them.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Dominic almost smiled.
“Never underestimate a Harper.”
They followed the marks toward a maintenance shed.
Inside, a man lay unconscious.
Zip tie around his wrists.
Daniel stared.
“Lily did that?”
Dominic examined him.
“No.”
The man had been struck professionally.
Someone else was here.
A noise came from behind stacked equipment.
Daniel raised his weapon.
“Come out.”
A woman stepped forward.
Mid-thirties.
Black tactical clothing.
She held Lily against her side.
Lily was unharmed.
Daniel nearly collapsed.
“Daddy!”
The woman released her.
Lily ran to Daniel.
He dropped his gun and caught her.
Dominic kept his weapon raised.
“Who are you?”
The woman removed an earpiece.
“Rachel Vale.”
Dominic froze.
“Vale?”
“Thomas is my uncle.”
Dominic stared.
“Which makes you?”
“Your cousin.”
Marcus muttered, “Of course.”
Dominic lowered his weapon slightly.
“Why were you here?”
“Thomas sent me.”
“Without telling me.”
“He assumed you wouldn’t trust him.”
“He was correct.”
Rachel looked at Lily.
“She hid before Mercer’s men entered. I took down the one who found her.”
Daniel hugged Lily.
“You did everything right.”
Lily whispered, “I lost my shoe.”
Daniel laughed and cried at the same time.
“I’ll buy you a thousand shoes.”
“I only need two.”
Dominic looked away, hiding the brief smile.
Then Rachel’s expression turned serious.
“We need to leave.”
“Why?”
“The safe house was compromised because Mercer transmitted coordinates before he died.”
“Mercer’s dead.”
“His network isn’t.”
Dominic called Ava.
No answer.
He called Grace.
No answer.
Daniel saw his face.
“What?”
Dominic tried Thomas.
Nothing.
Marcus checked his phone.
“Pier Seventeen security feed just went offline.”
Dominic’s stomach tightened.
They returned immediately.
The underground facility was empty.
No Thomas.
No Grace.
No Ava.
Richard remained upstairs.
Or he should have.
His guards were unconscious.
His chair was empty.
Dominic stared at the restraints on the floor.
Marcus said what they were all thinking.
“Richard escaped.”
Daniel’s phone rang.
Grace.
He answered.
“Grace?”
Richard Carver’s voice replied.
“Hello, Daniel.”
Daniel’s face became murder.
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“If you touch her—”
“You’ve already made that threat.”
Dominic took the phone.
“What do you want?”
Richard laughed.
“Finally.”
“You have Grace. You have Ava?”
“Yes.”
“Thomas?”
A pause.
“He came willingly.”
Dominic frowned.
“Why?”
“Because he understands what you do not.”
“And that is?”
“Lazarus cannot be destroyed.”
Dominic looked at Daniel.
Richard continued.
“The system is tied to dead-man triggers. Delete the wrong files and thousands of identities become public automatically.”
Ava had never mentioned that.
Maybe she hadn’t discovered it.
“What do you want?”
“You.”
“Where?”
“The Carver estate.”
Dominic almost laughed.
“My house?”
“It was mine first.”
The call ended.
Dominic looked at Daniel.
“You stay with Lily.”
“No.”
“She already lost you once.”
Daniel looked down at his daughter.
That stopped him.
Lily held his hand.
“I want Mommy.”
“I know.”
Dominic crouched in front of her.
“I’m going to bring her back.”
Lily studied him.
“Promise?”
Dominic hated promises.
But this one he made.
“Promise.”
Lily removed the silver anchor from her pocket.
“Take Daddy’s lucky thing.”
Daniel looked surprised.
“You kept it?”
She nodded.
Dominic closed his hand around the charm.
“Why me?”
“Because bad people are scared of you.”
Marcus coughed to hide a laugh.
Dominic stood.
“She really is Grace’s daughter.”
At the estate, every light was on.
Front doors open.
Dominic entered with Marcus and Rachel.
No guards.
No staff.
Richard sat in the main dining room.
Grace and Ava were nearby.
Unbound.
Thomas stood beside the fireplace.
Dominic stopped.
“This looks less like a kidnapping than I expected.”
Grace rushed toward him.
“Lily?”
“Safe with Daniel.”
Grace exhaled.
Ava said, “Richard didn’t hurt us.”
“That doesn’t improve my opinion of him.”
Richard smiled.
“Sit.”
“No.”
“Still stubborn.”
“Still alive.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“Dominic, listen.”
“You too?”
“I came because Richard has the final Lazarus encryption key.”
“And?”
“If we destroy the archive incorrectly, witness identities go public.”
Ava nodded reluctantly.
“He’s telling the truth.”
Dominic stared at Richard.
“So you designed a system only you could safely dismantle.”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to dismantle it.”
Richard laughed.
“No.”
Dominic’s expression flattened.
“Wrong answer.”
“I’ll give you control.”
“I don’t want it.”
“That is precisely why you should have it.”
“No.”
Richard studied him.
“You still think morality absolves you of responsibility.”
Dominic walked closer.
“No. I think men like you use responsibility as an excuse to keep power.”
Richard’s smile faded.
Dominic placed the silver anchor on the table.
“Daniel spent four years hiding from you.”
Richard looked at it.
“Grace spent four years grieving.”
Silence.
“Lily grew up without a father.”
Richard said nothing.
“You built systems where innocent people paid for your survival.”
Dominic leaned toward him.
“That ends tonight.”
Ava stepped forward.
“There may be another way.”
Everyone turned.
“I can separate the protected identity files from the blackmail archive.”
“How long?”
“Hours.”
Richard shook his head.
“You’ll fail.”
Ava looked at him.
“Men like you always assume nobody younger can understand what you built.”
Dominic almost smiled.
Richard did not.
Ava opened her laptop.
Thomas joined her.
Rachel guarded the entrance.
Marcus watched Richard.
Grace stood beside Dominic.
“You really think she can do it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard thinks she can’t.”
Hours passed.
Daniel arrived shortly before dawn with Lily after the estate was secured.
Grace ran to them.
Lily disappeared into her arms.
Daniel stopped several feet away.
Grace looked at him.
For a moment neither knew what to do.
Then Grace held out one hand.
Daniel took it.
Not forgiveness.
Not yet.
But a beginning.
Dominic watched.
Richard watched too.
Ava finally stood.
“I separated the archive.”
Thomas leaned over her screen.
“She did.”
Richard went pale.
Ava smiled.
“Protected identities preserved. Blackmail records isolated.”
Dominic looked at Richard.
“Delete the blackmail network.”
Ava clicked.
Files vanished.
Richard’s lifetime of leverage began disappearing.
Judges.
Politicians.
Businesses.
Accounts.
Gone.
Richard moved toward the laptop.
Marcus blocked him.
“No.”
Richard stared at Dominic.
“You fool.”
Dominic said nothing.
“You just threw away more power than any man in this country has ever possessed.”
“That’s why you’ll never understand me.”
The final folder reached deletion.
99%.
100%.
Ava exhaled.
“Done.”
Richard looked suddenly old.
Not powerful.
Not frightening.
Just old.
Police vehicles arrived outside.
Thomas had arranged federal agents he trusted.
Richard heard the sirens.
“You’re handing me over?”
“Yes.”
“You’re a criminal.”
“I never said I was a saint.”
“You think they’ll let you walk away?”
“No.”
Dominic glanced toward Lily.
“But I’ll answer for what I did. You’ll answer for what you did.”
Federal agents entered.
Richard was handcuffed.
He stared at Dominic as they led him toward the door.
Then he smiled.
Dominic recognized that smile.
Richard had one last card.
Of course he did.
At the doorway, Richard stopped.
“You deleted Lazarus.”
“Yes.”
“You saved the witnesses.”
“Yes.”
Richard nodded.
“Then perhaps you should ask Ava why one file refused to delete.”
Dominic turned.
Ava’s face had gone white.
“What file?” he asked.
She slowly rotated the laptop.
One folder remained.
CANDIDATE SEVEN.
Dominic stared at his own childhood designation.
A countdown had appeared beneath it.
00:04:59.
00:04:58.
00:04:57.
Ava whispered, “Dominic... this isn’t deleting.”
May you like
00:04:51.
“It’s activating.”
