Chapter 6
I did not sleep that night.
None of us did.
My father might be alive.
Every thought in my head crashed into that possibility.
Alive.
Not a grave.
Not a photograph.
Not a voice recording.
A living man.
Somewhere.
Maybe imprisoned.
Maybe injured.
Maybe waiting.
I called Darius again at sunrise.
This time, he answered.
“Malik.”
“Is my father alive?”
Silence.
My whole body tightened.
“Answer me.”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not what Mom wrote.”
He exhaled.
“Where are you?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Are you with Denise?”
She looked at me.
“Yes.”
Darius cursed.
“Get away from her.”
“She’s not the one my father warned me about.”
“That’s what she wants you to think.”
“I found the files.”
Silence.
“I know about Victor.”
Still nothing.
“I know about the payments.”
Darius whispered,
“Malik.”
“I know you worked for him.”
“I did.”
“I know you gave him information.”
His breathing changed.
“Yes.”
The admission hurt more than denial.
“Why?”
“Because I was stupid.”
I closed my eyes.
“Mom said you tried to escape.”
“I did.”
“And Victor threatened me.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Darius’s voice broke.
“You were six.”
I leaned against the wall.
“He sent me a photograph of you walking into elementary school.”
My stomach twisted.
“He wrote one sentence on the back.”
“What?”
“Family loyalty keeps children alive.”
Denise went pale.
Darius continued.
“I understood.”
“So you became his spy.”
“I stayed close.”
“To protect me?”
“At first.”
“And later?”
He went silent.
“Later, I told myself things.”
“What things?”
“That Marcus was dangerous.”
“That the evidence would destroy innocent people.”
“That Victor was too powerful to fight.”
His voice cracked.
“Mostly I was afraid.”
I remembered something Arthur told me.
Love and betrayal can exist in the same person.
I hated that he was right.
“Where is my father?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Mom said you told her he’s alive.”
“Victor let something slip.”
“What?”
“Six months ago, he was drinking.”
Darius lowered his voice.
“He said Marcus still refused to give him the archive password.”
Arthur leaned closer.
“Archive password?”
Darius heard him.
“Arthur?”
“Yes.”
Darius laughed weakly.
“Of course.”
Arthur said,
“Where does Victor keep him?”
“I never found out.”
Denise stepped closer.
“Ask about Red Harbor.”
Darius heard her.
The line went quiet.
“What is Red Harbor?” I asked.
Darius whispered,
“Who told you that?”
Denise’s face tightened.
“Nobody.”
“Then how do you know?”
She looked at me.
“Simone.”
Her daughter.
Darius went silent.
Denise continued.
“Before Simone died, she left me one voicemail.”
Her eyes filled.
“She said Victor kept something important at Red Harbor.”
“What is it?” I asked.
Darius finally answered.
“An old Sentinel Shield training property.”
“Where?”
“Eastern shore.”
“Address.”
“Malik, no.”
“ADDRESS.”
He gave it.
Then he said,
“Listen to me.”
“What?”
“If Marcus is there, Victor will not let you walk in.”
“I’m not asking permission.”
“You sound exactly like him.”
“Good.”
“No.”
Darius’s voice sharpened.
“That is not a compliment.”
He took a breath.
“Marcus spent his life believing courage meant going alone.”
“That kept all of you suffering for twenty years.”
That stopped me.
Darius continued.
“Don’t repeat his mistake.”
For once, I listened.
Denise contacted the federal investigator she had been meeting.
Special Agent Carla Hayes.
Black woman.
Early fifties.
Financial crimes and public corruption.
She arrived at Denise’s house two hours later.
When Arthur saw her badge, he relaxed slightly.
I did not.
Trust had become expensive.
Agent Hayes reviewed the files from Unit 108.
Then my mother’s letter.
Then Darius’s information.
“This is enough to investigate Red Harbor.”
“How long?”
She looked at me.
“What?”
“How long before you go?”
“We need warrants.”
“How long?”
“Could be hours.”
“Could be days.”
“Yes.”
I stood.
“My father has waited twenty years.”
“If he is there.”
“He is.”
“You don’t know that.”
I looked at her.
“No.”
My voice cracked.
“But I need to believe it.”
Her face softened.
“I understand.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do.”
She paused.
“My father disappeared when I was eleven.”
I stared.
She continued.
“Different circumstances.”
Her voice remained calm.
“But I know what unanswered absence does.”
That shut me up.
By evening, Hayes had enough for emergency surveillance.
No raid yet.
We waited.
It was torture.
At midnight, her phone rang.
She listened.
Then looked at me.
“We have movement at Red Harbor.”
My pulse exploded.
“What kind?”
“Three vehicles entered.”
“And?”
“One person matching Victor Walker.”
Denise closed her eyes.
Her brother.
Hayes continued.
“Another vehicle left.”
“What vehicle?”
“Medical transport.”
My stomach dropped.
“Who was inside?”
“We don’t know.”
I stood.
“Then follow it.”
“They are.”
Minutes passed.
Then another call.
Hayes answered.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She looked directly at me.
“The transport stopped at a private clinic.”
“Who got out?”
“A male patient.”
My hands shook.
“Age?”
“Late fifties or early sixties.”
My father would have been sixty-one.
“Description?”
Hayes hesitated.
“Black male. Tall. Gray beard.”
Arthur whispered,
“Marcus.”
I could barely breathe.
Hayes continued.
“He appears weak.”
“Can you confirm identity?”
“They’re working on it.”
Then her phone buzzed.
A photograph arrived.
She turned the screen toward me.
The image was grainy.
Night.
A man stepping from a van.
Thin.
Bent slightly.
Gray beard.
Older.
But the eyes.
Mine.
I knew.
Every cell in my body knew.
“That’s him.”
Arthur started crying.
“That’s Marcus.”
I moved toward the door.
Hayes blocked me.
“No.”
“That’s my father.”
“I know.”
“I’m going.”
“You will compromise the operation.”
“I don’t care.”
“Then you may get him killed.”
That stopped me.
She held my gaze.
“If Victor believes law enforcement is closing in, he may move Marcus.”
I forced myself to breathe.
“So what do I do?”
“Trust us.”
I almost laughed.
Trust.
That word again.
But this time I had no choice.
At three in the morning, agents moved.
Red Harbor.
The clinic.
Victor’s home.
Simultaneously.
Hayes stayed with us.
Her phone rang constantly.
Then suddenly she went very still.
“What?” I asked.
No answer.
“What happened?”
She looked at me.
“They found someone at the clinic.”
My knees weakened.
“Marcus?”
She nodded.
“He is alive.”
The room disappeared.
I sat down hard.
Arthur covered his face.
Denise started crying.
I could not.
Not yet.
“Where is he?”
“Secure federal medical facility.”
“Can I see him?”
“Soon.”
“Now.”
“Malik.”
“Please.”
That word finally broke me.
“Please.”
Hayes looked at me.
Then nodded.
An hour later, I stood outside a hospital room.
My entire life waited behind one door.
Arthur stood beside me.
“You ready?”
“No.”
He smiled sadly.
“Neither is he.”
I opened the door.
A man lay in the bed.
Thin.
Gray hair.
Deep lines across his face.
He turned slowly.
Our eyes met.
Neither of us spoke.
Then his mouth trembled.
“Malik?”
My chest collapsed.
“Dad?”
He started crying.
So did I.
Twenty years of anger disappeared into one word.
“Son.”
May you like
I crossed the room.
And for the first time in my life, my father held me.
