Chapter 8 – The Girl He Claimed Was His Daughter
Chapter 8 – The Girl He Claimed Was His Daughter
The world seemed to stop.
Not because of the burning FBI vehicle.
Not because of the armed men surrounding Victor Soren.
But because of one sentence.
"You have my daughter."
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Daniel was the first to break the silence.
"Explain."
Victor's eyes never left mine.
"I believe Agent Carter already understands."
I didn't.
Not completely.
But something deep inside my memory began to stir.
A classified report.
A rescue operation.
A frightened teenage girl.
Someone whose face had never left my thoughts.
Daniel stepped closer.
"Who are you talking about?"
Victor answered calmly.
"The girl your people stole from my organization."
I shook my head.
"Your organization doesn't have daughters."
"It has victims."
His smile disappeared.
"You always did see the world in black and white."
"I see criminals and innocent people."
"There's nothing gray about that."
Victor let out a slow breath.
"You rescued a seventeen-year-old girl during your operation near the Canadian border."
My pulse quickened.
Her code name.
It had been Echo.
She had been locked inside a shipping container with six other girls.
Starving.
Terrified.
Barely alive.
She had refused to tell us her real name.
She had spoken only three words during the first week after the rescue.
"He'll find me."
I had never forgotten them.
Victor tilted his head.
"She's my daughter."
I looked him straight in the eyes.
"No."
"She's your prisoner."
His jaw tightened for the first time.
Daniel quietly asked me,
"Is he telling the truth?"
I answered without hesitation.
"No."
"The psychological profile fits."
"He wants us questioning the victim."
"He wants us to see him as her father instead of her captor."
Victor laughed softly.
"Always the profiler."
"You were my biggest problem."
Nora stepped beside Daniel.
"Where is the girl now?"
Victor smiled.
"If I knew that..."
"I wouldn't be standing here."
That confirmed it.
He didn't know.
Echo was hidden somewhere even federal records couldn't reveal.
Exactly as they had planned.
Victor folded his hands behind his back.
"So here's my offer."
"You return her."
"I leave."
Daniel almost laughed.
"You drove through a federal perimeter."
"You kidnapped a witness."
"You threatened agents."
"And you think you're walking away?"
Victor shrugged.
"I've escaped worse."
Before anyone could answer...
Another voice came through my earpiece.
Urgent.
Sharp.
"Command, this is Alpha Two."
Daniel touched his microphone.
"Go ahead."
"We've got movement in the woods behind the property."
"Thermal imaging confirms six... no..."
A brief pause.
"...eight armed individuals."
Daniel's expression darkened.
"They're surrounding the house."
Victor smiled again.
"Now we're negotiating."
Daniel gave quick orders.
"Rear teams, hold your positions."
"No one fires unless fired upon."
The response came immediately.
"Copy."
I stepped closer to Daniel.
"He brought a second team."
Daniel nodded.
"And probably a third."
Grant stood frozen near the doorway.
His face was pale.
"What have I done?"
No one answered him.
Because everyone already knew.
Vanessa suddenly grabbed Grant's arm.
"We have to leave."
Grant pulled away.
"Leave?"
"Where?"
"There isn't anywhere to run."
She looked around in panic.
"They're going to kill us."
Victor overheard her.
"No."
He smiled.
"Only if you become inconvenient."
Vanessa's breathing became shallow.
She stared at Grant as if seeing him for the first time.
"You brought these people into our lives."
Grant closed his eyes.
"I know."
"No."
She shouted.
"You don't."
"You lied."
"You cheated."
"You used me."
"And now criminals are outside because of you."
Grant didn't defend himself.
He couldn't.
Lily's bedroom door slowly opened upstairs.
A tiny voice called out.
"Mom?"
My heart stopped.
I looked up.
Lily stood at the top of the staircase holding Bunny.
One FBI agent was only a few feet behind her.
But Victor saw her.
His eyes narrowed.
He smiled.
"So..."
"That's your daughter."
I moved instantly.
"Lily!"
"Back in your room!"
She froze.
Confused.
Victor studied her for only a second.
Then he looked back at me.
"I understand now."
Daniel frowned.
"Understand what?"
Victor's smile widened.
"Why you fought so hard."
He looked almost amused.
"You'd sacrifice the entire investigation for one child."
I answered without hesitation.
"Every single time."
His expression became thoughtful.
"I believe you."
He slowly reached into his suit jacket.
Every weapon around him was raised.
"Hands where we can see them!"
Daniel shouted.
Victor ignored the command.
Instead...
He pulled out an old photograph.
Its edges were faded.
The colors had nearly disappeared with age.
He held it up where only I could see it clearly.
A woman stood in the picture.
Young.
Smiling.
Holding a baby wrapped in a blue blanket.
My breath caught in my throat.
I knew that woman.
She had trained me during my first year in federal service.
She had died fifteen years earlier.
Or so I had been told.
Victor looked directly into my eyes.
"Recognize her?"
I couldn't speak.
He smiled one last time.
"I thought you might."
Then he dropped the photograph onto the driveway.
At that exact moment...
A single gunshot echoed from the tree line behind the house.
One of the FBI snipers cried out over the radio.
May you like
"Officer down!"
The ambush had begun.
