Chapter 10 - The Signature He Waited Seventeen Years For
Daniel held Mom inside an abandoned estate outside the city.
I entered carrying the documents.
He smiled.
“My little girl.”
“Don't call me that.”
He placed papers on the table.
“Sign.”
“Release Mom.”
“Sign first.”
I looked at her.
She shook her head.
Daniel raised a gun.
“Emma.”
I signed.
Every page.
Daniel relaxed.
Seventeen years of planning.
Finished.
He kissed my forehead.
I nearly recoiled.
Then I said:
“You should have read Grandfather's trust more carefully.”
His smile disappeared.
“What?”
“Coerced voting proxies automatically suspend.”
Daniel stared.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
His face transformed.
The charming father vanished.
He grabbed me.
Mom screamed.
Agents entered.
Daniel fired.
The shot struck the wall.
Then everything happened at once.
Commands.
Movement.
Glass breaking.
Daniel was tackled.
Mom was freed.
I stood frozen.
My father lay handcuffed on the floor.
He looked at me.
“You betrayed me.”
I stared down.
“No.”
“You're my daughter.”
“That was supposed to mean you protected me.”
Silence.
“You never understood that.”
May you like
Agents pulled him away.
This time, when Daniel disappeared through a door, I didn't cry for him.
