Chapter 5 - The Fortress
Within an hour, we were touching down at my private estate in the Cascade Mountains—a fortress of glass, steel, and state-of-the-art security, guarded by thirty ex-military contractors.
I had transformed the guest wing into an intensive care unit. The world's leading toxicologist, Dr. Aris Thorne, had been flown in via private jet. He immediately went to work on Sarah, flushing the thallium from her system with heavy-metal chelating agents.
In the living room, Lily sat on my massive leather sofa, her small legs dangling over the edge. She was clutching her faded canvas backpack to her chest.
She looked terrified.
I knelt down in front of her, making sure we were eye-to-eye. I pointed to the brand-new blue sneakers with glowing stars on her feet.
"Do those still feel okay?" I asked gently.
Lily looked down at her shoes, then back up at me. "Yes. But... why are there men with guns outside? Are we in trouble?"
"No, sweetheart," I said, my voice softening. "You are safer here than anywhere else in the world. But I need to ask you a huge favor. Can I borrow your backpack for a little while?"
She gripped it tighter. "Mommy said never to let it go."
"I know. Mommy is very smart. But Mommy told me to look inside it so I can help her get better."
Lily studied my face. She possessed the exact same sharp, calculating intelligence that my brother Thomas had. Finally, she nodded and handed the bag to me.
"You promised to fix her," Lily whispered.
"I always keep my promises," I said.
May you like
I took the bag into my secure server room. With a surgical scalpel, I sliced open the lining of the bottom right pocket. A tiny, black micro-SD card fell into my palm. I plugged it into an isolated terminal.
The screen illuminated. There were hundreds of folders. Offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands. Wire transfers to illegal arms dealers. And there, sitting at the top, was a video file labeled: For David.
