Chapter 6 - The Betrayal at MidnightGuards rushed into the study, firearms drawn, but Elena was already gone into the dark woods surrounding the estate.
Michael stood amidst the broken glass, bleeding profusely from his leg, holding the red folder I had dropped on the floor. His dark eyes met mine, filled with a terrifying cocktail of pain, fury, and betrayal.
"You were looking through my files," Michael said softly, his voice deadlier than a loaded gun.
"You killed them!" I screamed, backing away until my spine hit the mahogany wall. "You killed my husband! You killed my twin boys! You paid two million dollars to have my family erased!"
Michael looked at the red folder in his hand, then looked back at me. He didn't deny it. He didn't flinch.
"Is that what you think this file is?" Michael asked, taking a painful step toward me.
"I saw the photos! I saw the payment receipt with your signature!" I sobbed hysterically.
"Read the rest of the pages, Emily!" Michael bellowed, throwing the file at my feet.
I looked down through my tears. Pages had spilled across the floor. I crouched, picking up a document stamped with federal seals.
"Your husband was working for the FBI as a deep-cover mole," Michael explained, his voice tight. "My brother, Sergei, found out. Sergei ordered the hit on your husband. I tried to stop it. That two million dollars? That wasn't a hit payment. That was hush money I paid to Sergei's mercenaries to try and fake your family's deaths and put them into witness protection."
I swallowed hard, reading the text on the federal document.
Subject: Operation Phoenix. Destination: Safehouse Alpha.
"What are you saying?" I whispered, my brain spinning out of control.
"I failed to save your husband," Michael said softly, a raw flicker of grief in his eyes. "The mercenaries betrayed me and detonated the car anyway. But your twin boys, Emily..."
May you like
Michael paused, taking a ragged breath.
"...your twin boys weren't in that car."
