CHAPTER 5 – The Woman Who Ordered Catherine's Death
The front door exploded inward.
Splintered wood flew across the cabin.
Emily screamed as Rachel threw herself over her daughter, shielding her with her own body.
Gunmen flooded the porch.
Black tactical uniforms.
Bulletproof vests.
No insignias.
No names.
Only cold eyes hidden behind dark glasses.
Thomas didn't panic.
Instead, he whispered only two words.
"They found us."
The lead gunman stepped inside with his rifle lowered—not because he wasn't dangerous, but because he didn't need to be.
He smiled.
"Good evening, Mr. Hale."
Thomas stared at him.
"You've grown old, Victor."
The man laughed.
"You have too."
Rachel looked from one to the other.
"You know him?"
Thomas nodded.
"I trained him."
Victor smirked.
"You also taught me the one mistake never to make."
Thomas's expression darkened.
"Trusting the wrong person."
Victor slowly clapped.
"Exactly."
Daniel quietly reached for a fireplace poker behind the couch.
Victor noticed immediately.
"Don't."
Within seconds, six laser sights settled on Daniel's chest.
Emily buried her face against Rachel.
"Mommy..."
Rachel held her tighter.
"It's okay."
But nothing was okay.
Victor slowly removed a tablet from his coat.
He tapped the screen.
A live security camera appeared.
Rachel gasped.
It showed her house.
The front door.
The backyard.
Emily's bedroom.
Victor smiled.
"We've been inside your home for almost seven years."
Daniel felt sick.
"Impossible."
Victor looked at him.
"Your daughter's first birthday."
He swiped.
Photos appeared.
Emily sleeping in her crib.
Rachel decorating Christmas cookies.
Daniel mowing the lawn.
Private moments...
Moments no stranger should have ever seen.
Rachel's knees almost gave out.
"You've been watching us..."
Victor nodded.
"Every holiday."
"Every birthday."
"Every argument."
"Every kiss."
Thomas clenched his fists.
"You monsters."
Victor shrugged.
"We call it insurance."
Rachel suddenly noticed something strange.
Every gunman looked toward the driveway.
As if they were waiting...
Not for orders...
But for someone far more important.
Then...
A black limousine rolled slowly through the broken gate.
The gunmen immediately stood straighter.
Victor lowered his head respectfully.
The rear door opened.
An elegant woman stepped out.
She wore a white tailored suit.
Diamond earrings.
Silver hair perfectly arranged.
She looked less like a criminal...
And more like the chairwoman of a billion-dollar corporation.
Thomas stopped breathing.
"No..."
The woman smiled warmly.
"Hello, Thomas."
Rachel immediately knew.
"Elizabeth."
The woman looked at Rachel.
"So..."
She smiled almost affectionately.
"My beautiful little Rachel."
Rachel felt pure hatred rise inside her.
"You stole my life."
Elizabeth's smile never faded.
"No."
"I improved it."
Rachel lunged toward her, but Daniel held her back.
Elizabeth sighed.
"You would've grown up in poverty."
"You would've watched your mother spend every day running."
"You would've buried her much sooner."
Rachel shouted,
"You murdered her!"
Elizabeth's eyes suddenly became cold.
"No."
"Catherine murdered herself."
The room fell silent.
Thomas roared,
"You're lying!"
Elizabeth calmly removed a pair of leather gloves.
"Am I?"
She looked directly at Rachel.
"Would you like to know what really happened that night?"
Rachel's breathing became uneven.
Elizabeth continued.
"Catherine wasn't trying to save children."
Rachel frowned.
"What?"
"She was trying to steal something."
Thomas shook his head violently.
"Don't listen to her!"
Elizabeth ignored him.
"She discovered a client list."
Rachel asked,
"What client list?"
Elizabeth's smile disappeared.
"The names of people powerful enough to own governments."
Daniel felt a chill.
"Politicians?"
"Billionaires."
"Judges."
"Presidents."
"Royal families."
The room became eerily quiet.
Elizabeth continued.
"Catherine believed she could expose them."
Thomas whispered,
"And you stopped her."
Elizabeth nodded.
"I had no choice."
Rachel's voice cracked.
"You killed my mother..."
Elizabeth looked almost offended.
"I gave the order."
"But I didn't pull the trigger."
Rachel's eyes widened.
"Who did?"
Elizabeth slowly turned...
Toward Daniel.
"No..."
Daniel whispered.
Elizabeth smiled.
"Not Daniel."
She looked straight into his eyes.
"His father."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Rachel stared at her husband.
Daniel's lips trembled.
"My father is dead."
Elizabeth laughed softly.
"That's what he wanted everyone to believe."
Thomas's entire body stiffened.
"You mean..."
Elizabeth nodded.
"Richard Morgan never died."
Rachel couldn't speak.
Elizabeth pressed another button on the tablet.
A live video appeared.
A luxurious office.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Manhattan.
A gray-haired man slowly turned toward the camera.
Daniel dropped to his knees.
"Dad..."
The man smiled calmly.
"Hello, son."
Rachel looked at Daniel in horror.
"You knew?"
Daniel burst into tears.
"I swear..."
"I thought he died twelve years ago."
Richard Morgan looked directly into the camera.
"Daniel."
"It's time to come home."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
Richard's smile vanished.
"Then bring Rachel."
"And the little girl."
Emily hid behind Rachel.
Richard continued.
"You have one hour."
"If you refuse..."
He paused.
Then someone pushed another person into the camera frame.
Rachel screamed.
The hostage was...
A woman.
Weak.
Gray-haired.
Covered in scars.
But unmistakably alive.
Thomas collapsed to the floor.
"Catherine..."
Rachel couldn't stop crying.
The woman slowly lifted her exhausted eyes toward the camera.
She whispered only three heartbreaking words.
"Rachel... run..."
Before anyone could react...
The screen went black.
Elizabeth calmly placed the tablet back into her handbag.
Then she delivered the one sentence that shattered every remaining illusion.
"You've spent twenty-six years searching for Catherine."
She smiled.
May you like
"But you've been working for us the entire time."
End of Chapter 5.
