Chapter 8 - The Reunion
"Tara?" I whispered, my voice echoing in the dead silence of the cavern.
The woman in chains stopped walking, her breath catching in her throat.
"Mom?" she cried out, her voice raw and broken.
I ignored the armed guards and sprinted across the stone floor.
I threw my arms around my daughter, burying my face in her neck as we both collapsed to the ground.
I held her so tightly, pouring twenty years of agony, love, and grief into that single embrace.
"I thought you forgot about me," Tara sobbed, clinging to my shirt like a frightened child.
"I never stopped looking for you, my sweet girl," I swore, kissing her dirty forehead.
Richard cleared his throat loudly, ruining the most sacred moment of my life.
"What a touching, pathetic reunion," he sneered, pulling a silver handgun from his jacket.
He turned the weapon and pressed the barrel directly against David's temple.
"I kept your daughter alive for twenty years to ensure your husband remained my most loyal smuggler," Richard explained.
"But now that his cover is blown, he is no longer useful to me."
Richard cocked the hammer of the gun, and David fell to his knees, weeping like a coward.
"Please, Richard, I did everything you asked!" David begged pitifully.
"I even gave up my own flesh and blood to make you rich!"
I looked at the man I had loved, feeling nothing but absolute, venomous hatred.
"Pick up the gun, David," Richard suddenly ordered, tossing a second pistol onto the stone floor.
David stared at the weapon in confusion.
"If you want to live, you are going to shoot your wife and your daughter right now," Richard commanded.
May you like
David slowly picked up the heavy metal gun, his hands trembling violently.
He raised the weapon and pointed it directly at my chest.
