Chapter 13 - THE WOMAN WHO DIED FIFTEEN YEARS AGOThe boss couldn't move.
His mother stood in the hallway.
Older.
But unmistakable.
Maya lowered her weapon slightly.
“Who is she?”
The boss whispered:
“My mother.”
The woman smiled.
“I suppose I should say hello.”
He stepped toward her.
“You're dead.”
“I was supposed to be.”
“Where have you been?”
“Protecting you.”
“From what?”
“Your father.”
The boss's expression hardened.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You knew everything.”
“Yes.”
“And you let me believe you were dead?”
Her eyes filled with regret.
“I had no choice.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“You always had a choice.”
She looked at him.
“You're alive.”
“Unfortunately.”
She almost smiled.
Then her eyes went to the girl.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
The girl stared.
“You knew my mommy.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to her?”
The woman looked at the boss.
He nodded.
“Tell her.”
She took a breath.
“Your mother discovered what they were doing.”
“What were they doing?”
“Buying people.”
The girl frowned.
“Why?”
“To control decisions.”
Maya stepped closer.
“How far does it go?”
The older woman answered:
“Farther than Washington.”
The room fell silent.
“Banks.”
“Corporations.”
“Private security.”
“Foreign intermediaries.”
“Even charities.”
Maya's face tightened.
“How many people?”
“Enough to make the truth dangerous.”
The boss looked at his mother.
“And my father?”
She hesitated.
“He was never the leader.”
The boss's eyes narrowed.
“Then who was?”
Before she could answer, the windows shattered.
Everyone dropped.
Glass exploded across the floor.
Maya pulled the girl behind the couch.
Ethan drew his weapon.
The boss moved toward his mother.
A second impact struck the wall.
Then silence.
The woman whispered:
“They found us.”
“Who?”
She looked toward the basement.
“The person you have been calling your father.”
The boss stared.
“My father?”
“He isn't your father.”
Silence.
The girl looked confused.
Maya stared.
Ethan's face became unreadable.
The boss whispered:
“What did you say?”
The woman stepped closer.
“Your real father disappeared before you were born.”
The boss shook his head.
“No.”
“Your entire childhood was constructed.”
“No.”
“You were placed inside the family because they needed an heir they could control.”
The boss backed away.
Everything he knew about himself seemed to collapse.
The woman reached for his hand.
“You were never supposed to discover this.”
The girl suddenly spoke.
“But Mommy knew.”
The woman nodded.
“Yes.”
The girl hugged the bunny.
“Then why did she trust him?”
Everyone looked at the boss.
The answer was waiting somewhere in the files.
And suddenly, the laptop began playing a recording.
A woman's voice filled the room.
The girl's mother.
“If he remembers, tell him the truth.”
A pause.
May you like
“Tell him he is not their son.”
Then the recording ended.
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