Chapter 12: The Final Piece of the Puzzle
Chapter 12: The Final Piece of the Puzzle
I returned home before sunset.
Lily was sitting on the floor drawing.
For a moment, I simply watched her.
A normal moment.
A peaceful moment.
Something I almost lost forever.
She looked up.
"Mommy?"
"Yes?"
"Are the bad people gone?"
The question hurt.
Because I couldn't promise that.
Not yet.
I sat beside her.
"Some are."
She thought carefully.
"Are you scared?"
I smiled softly.
"Sometimes."
Her eyes widened.
"Mommy gets scared?"
I nodded.
"Everyone does."
"Even heroes?"
I looked at her.
"Especially heroes."
She smiled slightly.
And for the first time, I saw my daughter coming back.
That night, after she slept, I returned to the evidence.
Grant.
Vanessa.
My mother.
Blackridge.
The connections were there.
But one piece was missing.
The person who started everything.
At midnight, Agent Sloan called.
"Evelyn, we found something."
I immediately sat up.
"What?"
"Another account connected to the operation."
"Whose?"
She paused.
Then:
"Your father's."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
"Before you react, listen."
She continued.
"We believe someone used his identity."
I looked toward my father's office.
Someone had access.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
Then my computer screen flashed.
A new file appeared.
No sender.
No information.
Only one video.
I opened it.
A man appeared.
A man I had never seen before.
He smiled.
"Hello, Evelyn Hart."
I froze.
"You're probably wondering who I am."
He leaned closer.
"My name is Adrian Vale."
Vanessa's last name.
My blood went cold.
The man continued.
"You spent years fighting criminals."
A smile.
"But you never noticed the war happening inside your own family."
The screen went black.
Then one final message appeared.
THE REAL GAME STARTS NOW.
I stared at those words.
Because suddenly I understood.
Grant wasn't the villain.
Vanessa wasn't the villain.
Even my mother wasn't the beginning.
They were all pieces.
And someone else was moving them.
I closed the laptop.
Then I looked toward Lily's bedroom.
"No one touches my family again."
This time...
May you like
I wasn't coming home.
I was going to war.
