Chapter 9 - The Family Secret
My father stared at me with absolute contempt.
I begged him to put the baby down.
I asked him why he hated me enough to orchestrate my murder.
He laughed a dry, hollow laugh.
He said this had nothing to do with hate.
He said it was entirely about survival.
My father explained that he owed millions of dollars to a dangerous criminal syndicate.
He had promised them the massive trust fund my mother left exclusively to me.
But I could only lose that trust fund if I died before my thirtieth birthday.
I was turning thirty in two days.
Andrew was never my husband, my father confessed.
He is a debt collector for the syndicate who was assigned to marry you and ensure you never saw your birthday.
The revelation hit me like a physical blow.
My entire marriage was a financial transaction designed to result in my death.
The blonde woman was Andrew's actual wife.
I looked at my crying daughter in my father's arms.
I realized she was the only reason I was still alive.
They needed the baby to inherit the trust fund once I was out of the picture.
My father raised the gun and pointed it at my chest.
He said it was time to finalize the paperwork.
Suddenly, a massive explosion shook the foundation of the house.
The wooden door at the top of the stairs blew completely off its hinges.
Smoke poured into the basement stairwell.
My father stumbled backward in shock.
A tactical team dressed in black armor swarmed down the stairs.
They tackled my father to the ground and secured his weapon.
One of the men grabbed my baby and held her safely.
A man in a sleek suit walked down the stairs through the smoke.
He knelt beside me and cut my zip ties with a tactical knife.
He told me his name was Agent Vance from the FBI.
He said they had been tracking the syndicate for years and my burner phone call led them right here.
May you like
I grabbed my baby from the agent and held her tight.
We are getting you out of here, Agent Vance promised.
