Chapter 99: The next morning, Rachel was at the hospital. A tide of awkward silence lapped over the ambiance in that hospital room as James' gaze shifted from Lily to the woman who had stated she was her sister, and suddenly his brain made the connection. Rachel did not speak but turned to the edge of the bed, tears now in her eyes. "I know this is all a bit much for you to process, Lily, I know you wanted me to go until you called me but... I can't. Honestly, all of this is true. We were separated as babies. This is what I have wanted to do all these years stand face to face with you." James put an arm around Lily's shoulders and turned to reassure her. "I think that is meant in an understatement way," he stated flatly on her behalf. "You have a load of answering to do." Rachel nodded and took a deep breath. "Long story. Our parents weren't good people. When I was five and Lily was just a baby, they split us up. I went to live with our aunt, and Lily was put into foster ca
Chapter 100James nodded. "We need to get Lily and Ava someplace safe. If Louis is out there, then they could be in danger.""I'll get it set up," said Rodriguez. "But what about you? You're a target too, James.".James gritted his teeth. "I'm not going into hiding. I'm going to find Louis and find out just what's really going on here.".Rodriguez's face wanted to argue the point, and then his eyes slid away and seemed to reconsider. "Alright. But you're … done putting yourself out in the open and allowing the rats a chance to come in and snipe at you "… not going to do this alone. I'll assign a team to you."As they started walking back in the direction of the elevator, James's phone began buzzing. He pulled it to his face and read a text message from an unknown number: "Meet me where it all began. Come alone, or Lily pays the price."His heart picked up speed as he realized exactly what place Louis was thinking of—that place where that shooting had gone down. Of course, this would
Chapter 101 With Louis spilling his guts, the world tilted on its axis for James. It had been a web of deceit, corruption, and crime running way deeper than James could ever have fathomed. Louis named names: politicians, judges, business leaders, and even some of James's employees. It was so huge, with the network intricate, and it was making James giddy just trying to keep it all in his head. "Jesus," James swore, raking his hands through his hair. "How did I not see any of this?" Louis's eyes held guilt and sympathy. "They were careful, James. Very. And they used your reputation, your success, as a shield. Who'd believe the golden boy of business was involved in something like this?" "So why do they want the company now?" James asked calmly Just then, his phone buzzed. Rodriguez. "James, where the hell are you? We've got a situation." James's heart quickened. "What kind of situation?" "It's Lily," Rodriguez said, taut-voiced. "She's gone." James felt as though he'd been sock
Chapter 102 The city lights blurred as James whisked past at really high speed, with the racing of his mind at an even further up ticked pace. Louis sat beside him in complete silence, shooing nervous glances at James once in a while. They were on their way to some safe house Louis claimed only he knew—the place to fall back and regroup before they could decide on the next step. "Take a left here," Louis muttered, breaking the thick silence. James obliged, his jaw clenched tight, not uttering a word. Pulling into a drab apartment building in a quiet neighborhood, James finally spoke. "If this is a trap, Louis, I swear to God- "It's not," Louis interrupted, his own voice tight. "I know I've betrayed your trust, James, but right now, I'm all you've got. We're in this together." James laughed bitterly. "Together? You shot my wife, Louis. You've been lying to me for years. We're not in anything together." Louis grimaced at James's harsh tone but didn't argue. The two of them made the
CHAPTER 103James was already pacing back and forth across the remains of the small apartment. Any illusions of running free were seeping away; anything haunted was forgotten in the absolute mental chaos. But, it seemed Louis had just hung up the phone with his mysterious contact."So?" James asked. His voice was sparse from his patience. "What did he say?"Louis took a deep breath and held it before speaking. "Well, he's agreed to meet us. But James, we need to be cautious. This guy, well… Let's just say he's not exactly a people person."James rolled his eyes. "At this point, I don't care if he's the Grinch—just so long as he can help us find Lily."They left the apartment, hunching their shoulders down. James felt like every person they passed on the street might be working for Elena. It was making him jumpy."So where are we meeting this guy?" James asked as they walked.Summary: "An old warehouse by the docks," Louis said. "It's abandoned. Should be safe."James snorted. "Yeah, b
Chapter 104James looked at his watch again, for about the hundredth time. It was just about midnight. He, Louis and Jack were huddled in the shadows next to Elena's compound. The night was cool and damp, and James could feel his heart pounding in his chest."You ready for this?" Jack whispered.James nodded. "Let's do it."They crept to a rusted manhole cover; Jack pulled out a crowbar, worked it beneath with ease, and pried it open. Whatever smell wafted up made James gag."Ladies first," Jack said with a smirk.James shot him a glare but started to climb down the ladder. The sewer was dark and slimy, and he tried not to think about what he stepped in.They moved through tunnels behind Jack's lead. Every little sound seemed magnified, and James kept jumping. He was expecting guards to pop out at him around every corner.They moved for what felt like hours before Jack finally held up a hand. "We're here," he whispered.Above them was another manhole cover. Jack listened a minute, the
Chapter 105The safe house was silent. A little too silent. James did pacing up and down, his footsteps echoing in the small room. Lily sat on the tattered couch, her eyes removed. Louis dozed in one corner, while Jack stood at the window, peering through a crack in the blinds."How long has it been?" James asked, breaking the silence.Jack looked at his watch. "Almost three hours since I made the call."James ran a hand through his hair. This waiting was getting on his nerves. After the adrenaline rush of the rescue, this forced inactivity was torture."Maybe we should-" he started, but Jack cut him off with a raised hand."Somebody's coming," Jack whispered.Everyone tensed. Louis jerked awake, looking around in confusion. Lily stood up and moved closer to James.They heard footsteps outside, then three sharp raps on the door. Jack relaxed somewhat."That's the signal," he said, walking towards the door, gun in hand, he opened it cautiously.A tall and lean woman stepped inside. She
Chapter 106Before reaching Sarah's hideout, they had to go on a roundabout way. They changed their vehicles three times, drove through villages and passageways that were not in use or even hiked through thick forest at one point. By the time they arrived, everyone was tired.“Welcome to the Nest,” Sarah said as they walked up to a big wooden house situated in the middle of a clearing. The structure appeared ancient and worn out but James could still notice some hints of sophisticated security arrangements within the natural setting in which it was located.Inside, the log cabin contrasted sharply with its exterior. There was a line-up of modern computers and communication devices on one wall while another wall displayed an assortment of impressive weapons. The lounge area looked simple though very comfortable for everybody present."Make yourselves at home," Sarah said." “We’ll stay here for some time.”As everyone got comfortable, James couldn’t just wonder about this whole set up u
Chapter 142: The Watson mansion was fully alive. Streamers hung cascading off of everything they could, balloons bounced merrily around various corners, and the air swam thick with the tantalizing smell of BBQ on the back porch. Today was, after all, Ave's party – but it was more than that; today was the day Lily and James had chosen to once again pledge themselves to one another.Lily stood before the full-length mirror, straightening out her simple white sundress. At seven months, she was radiant—a perfect arc the curve of her belly was, below the flowing fabric.From the doorway, the sound of a voice declared, "You look beautiful." Lily turned to see her cousin Maggie smile at her."Thanks." Lily smoothed the dress. "I feel like a beached whale, but James insists I'm glowing."Maggie burst out laughing. "He's right, you know. You look like you're about to light up his world or something." She walked over and hugged Lily. "I can't believe how far we've come since that one crazy nig
Chapter 141: Lily woke up off. She couldn't explain it, but something just seemed… off. And when she rolled over to check the time, a wave of nausea hit her. She groaned and buried her face in her pillow."Alright?" James mumbled, still half asleep."Yeah, I just feel a little queasy," Lily replied. "Probably just something I ate."James sat up concerned. "You want me to get you something?"Lily shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. We should get up anyway; Ave has that school play today, remember?"They climbed out of bed and busied themselves getting ready for the day. James went into the bedroom to awaken Ave while Lily projectile-vomited into the toilet.James had, by this time, somehow managed to dress Ave in her costume: a huge, puffy frog outfit in bright green made for the school dress rehearsal of "The Frog Prince.""Mommy!" Ave squealed as she clumped down the stairs. "Do I look like a real frog?"Lily laughed, pushing aside her queasiness. "Why, yes, my child, the fairest fr
Chapter 140: Giggles consumed the room, and James stirred awake. He opened an eye to find a little face at the end of the bed staring in at him."Daddy! Wake up!" little Ave chirped in at him.Stepping over the landmines that were on the bed, James ran his hand through the small amount of her running down her back and picked her up, digging fingers into her tummy."Morning, princess," he said by way of splaying a kiss on her forehead.Ave giggled and squirmed. "Mommy said breakfast was ready!""Oh, yeah?" said James, sitting up but not letting go of the squirming Ave. "Am I to take it that's why Mommy sent you in here to wake me up?"Ave nodded, her bouncing brown curls saying more than she could. "Yep! She said tell you there's coffee."James laughed, and if Lily knew him at all well, it was all for her benefit. "Well then, I guess we'd better not have Mommy waiting, huh?"He climbed out of bed, Ave still in his arms, and rolled out of the room. The smell of bacon and coffee wafted
Chapter 139James lay on his back on the pristine white sand beach and took a pounding from the burning Maldivian sun. His hand reached up behind him for the coconut cocktail, tasting sweetness in his mouth as the gentle lapping of waves broke almost ten meters away from shore. It was the first time he had really been allowed to relax, barring a three-month period, since they had released the secrets of the Shadow Council onto the world."Penny for your thoughts?" The sound of Lily's voice broke through his reverie. She settled herself down on the lounger beside him. Her skin was golden against the sun.He smiled, squeezing her hand, saying, "Just thinking how surreal this all is. A year ago, I was knee-deep in conspiracies and shadow organizations. Now I'm sipping cocktails on a private island."Lily chortled; that sound always hit James in exactly the right place in his heart."Life's funny that way, isn't it?" she said, turning her head to look at him with her chin resting on her a
Chapter 138: James was pacing his living room relentlessly. Elena was with Rachel. It was all over. Well yah, anyway that was supposed to mean.Lilly squinted at him from the couch. "James, honey, you're going to wear a hole in the carpet. Come sit down."He sucked in a deep breath and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry; I just… I just can't help but feel this is too easy. After everything we've been through, this is just too easy."Lily squeezed his hand reassuringly. "James, I hardly think that anything about this has been easy. But maybe, this is the way it ends. Not really with a bang, but with a whimper."There was a pounding on the door. The teenager was on his feet before James could even open his mouth. His heart pounded in his chest. This was it.The door was thrown open. To find Rachel standing there—grimy, dirty, and obviously completely exhausted but still with the fires of determination burning behind her eyes. And past her."Hello, James," came the soft-spoken voice of Ele
Chapter 137: Rachel's hands trembled on the wheel. She drove the car towards the lighthouse. It was a full moon drooping low into a mess, ever drooping across the sky to the west, throwing a queer, sickly light over the whole demesne. She could not believe the fact that she was actually doing this, meeting secretly with her mother, Elena.She couldn't bat the feeling away that this time—this time—things were different. There was no hand in the place that could have been straightened just then, and scarcely a hand for him to take.Beside the lighthouse was her mother's car. Ray closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and felt her hand shake again, then brought it quickly up to her chest and gripped hard. "You can do this," she whispered to herself.She scrambled out of the car and up the serpentine path to the lighthouse, where waves dashed to the rocks and her feet crunched over gravel.One figure stood at the top by the railing, looking out at the water: Elena. His mother.Rachel's hea
Chapter 136The world had barely had enough time to absorb the shock that came with the downfall of Shadow Council. News channels were all agog with relentless updates, while governments scurried to try and react to the development; people all around tried to understand what all this really meant and what the implications of the bombshell were that shook the very fundamentals of society.But there was so much more to it than that which James Watson could see coming.He found himself standing outside the hospital room after just a moment's hesitation on the other side of the door handle. He could see from the small window that Louis was lying in a bed, hooked up to a lot of machines, Rachel sat at his side.He steeled himself, took a deep breath, and walked in.Rachel lifted her head. Her eyes were red, red, but glittering. "James," she said very quietly. "I didn't expect you to be here.""How is he?" asked James, who had moved now and stood at the foot of Louis's bed.Rachel sighed. "
# Chapter 135: James took a deep breath and brought his head counterclockwise to his team, tired yet charged. It was time to engage their plan."Okay, let's go over this again. Hawk, are you set up with that kill switch or what?"Hawk just nodded. Her fingers danced across the laptop keyboard. "Okay, I am ready as I will ever be, but remember, this is one shot deal.""Right," James confirmed, turning towards Kelvin. "You got your contacts on standby?"Kelvin lifted his phone reassuringly. "They're all set, just waiting for our signal now."Glancing toward Angie and Agent Johnson, he asked, "You two sure about this? This is going to be dangerous."Angie made a show of rolling up her eyes. "Please. After all else we've done? It's just another Tuesday."It was Johnson's turn to chuckle. "What she said. We've got your back, James."James bobbed his head, his fear mixing in with his excitement. This was it: the last big push to finally bring down the Shadow Council."Alright then," he sai
Chapter 134: Days passed after the warehouse before a blur of debriefings, media frenzy, and shock waves that echoed across the globe. Standing smack in the middle of this hurricane, shaking the very roots of governments and institutions around the globe, was James and his team.They now sat in a safe house, courtesy of Agent Johnson—now an unlikely ally in all of this, ever since the exposure of the Shadow Council. There, in that very suburban home, the living room had now become something of a command center: there were laptops and papers all over, the place cluttered with empty coffee cups.James rubbed his tired eyes at the news playing on mute on the television. Of course, the headline scrolled by in the news: "Global Markets in Turmoil as Shadow Council Revelations Continue.""You should get some rest," Angie said before putting a hand on his shoulder. At least she looked a little better now, with the bruises from her captivity fading, but there was a new hardness in her eyes.