Chapter 11
I nearly dropped the phone.
Agent Chen moved fast, signaling her team to trace the call.
“Where are you?” I demanded.
My father laughed softly.
Older.
Rougher.
Still him.
“Alive. That is enough for now.”
“You let us bury an empty coffin?”
“I did what was necessary.”
“Amara is dead.”
Silence.
For the first time, his voice lost power.
“I know.”
“Did you kill her?”
“No.”
“Did you protect the people who did?”
Another silence.
That answer was louder.
I gripped the phone until my fingers hurt.
“My son was mocked tonight because of a trap you helped build.”
“Emmett must be protected. He owns what they need.”
“He is a child.”
“He is Montaro.”
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
The same poison in a different voice.
“No,” I said. “He is my son.”
My father breathed hard.
“You sound like her.”
“Like Amara?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Agent Chen pointed to her tablet.
Trace failed.
The call was bouncing.
My father said, “Lucille is not the top of this. She is only the woman who stayed visible.”
“Then come forward.”
“I will, when the boy is safe.”
“He is safest away from all of you.”
His voice hardened.
“You do not understand what your wife found.”
“Then explain.”
“Tonight, your mother planned to have you declared unstable. Tomorrow, she will try to have Emmett removed.”
My stomach twisted.
“On what grounds?”
“Violence. Emotional danger. Criminal exposure.”
I looked toward the car where my son slept.
My father lowered his voice.
“Run before morning.”
Then the line died.
Agent Chen looked at me.
“You are not running.”
May you like
I stared at her.
“No. I am fighting.”
