Chapter 1 - The Confession
Julian added the sentence that finally changed Dad's expression.
"We finally found the Cayman Island passcodes, Clara."
Dad stopped breathing for a fraction of a second.
His eyes widened in absolute shock.
Julian sounded incredibly proud of himself on the other end of the line.
"We are transferring the fifty million dollars as we speak."
Julian laughed again, a sound full of greed and malice.
"Your father thought he could hide his little retirement fund from us."
Serena chimed in, telling me to have a nice life in my tiny apartment.
They hung up the phone without even waiting for me to say goodbye.
I stared at the black screen of my phone.
I looked across the kitchen table at my father.
"Dad, I didn't know you had fifty million dollars hidden in the Cayman Islands," I whispered.
Dad slowly lowered his hands to the wooden table.
His face was completely pale, drained of all color.
"I don't have fifty million dollars, Clara," he said quietly.
I frowned, completely confused by his terrified reaction.
"Then what are they talking about?" I asked.
Dad stood up from the table and walked toward the kitchen window.
He stared out at the freezing morning frost.
"Forty-eight hours ago, I discovered that Julian was using my shipping company to launder money."
I felt a cold chill run down my spine.
"Launder money for who?" I demanded.
Dad turned around, his eyes filled with sheer terror.
"For the deadliest drug cartel in Mexico," he confessed.
My heart hammered violently against my ribs.
"Julian just stole fifty million dollars of cartel money, and he used my personal passcodes to do it."
Dad rubbed his face with his trembling hands.
"The cartel thinks I am the one who stole their money."
I finally understood why he had shown up at my door in the middle of the night.
He hadn't just come to visit me.
He was hiding for his life.
Suddenly, the peaceful silence of my suburban street was shattered.
The loud screech of heavy tires echoed outside my front window.
May you like
I crept toward the glass and peeked through the blinds.
Three black, heavily armored SUVs had just violently blocked my driveway.
