Part 2: The Dogs Knew Who Had Betrayed Them
Ares charged straight at me. Behind the reinforced glass, someone cursed. I didn’t move. No raised hands. No command. No attempt to dominate him. At the last…
Part 2: The Account Arthur Hid for Forty Years
The card looked ordinary. Cream-colored paper. Gold lettering. A bank name I vaguely recognized from downtown. Hamilton Private Trust. I almost threw it away. Arthur had handled…
Part 2: The Soldier She Thought Had Nothing
The satellite phone connected on the second ring. A calm voice answered. “Captain Thorne?” “It’s me.” I looked down at Lily curled against my chest. “I need…
Part 2: The Pilot They Had Been Waiting For
The cockpit door opened. And the man standing on the other side knew my name. “Major Bennett.” I froze. Nobody had called me that in six years….
Part 2: The Baby on My Pillow Wasn’t Eric’s Secret
The baby had my eyes. Not Eric’s. Mine. The same gray-green color my mother used to call storm glass. For several seconds, I couldn’t move. That was…
Part 2: The Contract He Thought He Had Already Won
“What’s going on?” The familiar voice came from behind Lam Thi Ngu. Tran Dieu Duong walked out of the conference room surrounded by several department managers. The…
Part 2: The Colonel He Put in Handcuffs
The handcuffs clicked shut around my wrists. Sergeant Brody smiled. “There. Maybe now you’ll learn not to interfere with people who actually know what they’re doing.” I…
Part 2: He Thought I’d Come Back
Alexander called forty-seven times before our plane landed in London. I counted them only because my phone displayed the number when I turned it back on. 47…
Part 2: The Day I Finally Stopped Sacrificing Myself
Mom stared at me as if I had suddenly started speaking another language. “The twenty-two thousand?” she repeated. “Yes.” Her fingers tightened around the edge of the…
Part 2: The Christmas They Finally Remembered Me
Aunt Patricia blinked as if she had misheard me. Then she laughed. “Nora, stop being dramatic and open the door.” Behind her, twenty-two relatives were unloading suitcases,…