CHAPTER 4 — THE SAFE HOUSE
CHAPTER 4 — THE SAFE HOUSE
Less than thirty minutes later, three armored vehicles rolled through the steel gates of Malone Estate.
The mansion sat hidden behind acres of forest, protected by surveillance towers, motion sensors, and armed guards.
Gracie had never seen anything so enormous.
She looked out the window in silence.
Connor noticed she still clutched one coin in her tiny fist.
The same penny she had refused to spend.
He knelt beside her after they entered the estate.
"Can I ask you something?"
She nodded.
"Why didn't you let me buy everything before?"
She looked down.
"Mom says people don't give things for free."
Connor swallowed.
"And if they do..."
"They always want something later."
Connor glanced toward Sarah.
She looked away in shame.
Connor understood.
Daniel had trained them to distrust kindness itself.
The estate physician rushed Sarah into a private medical suite.
Connor waited outside while specialists ran blood tests, X-rays, and cardiac scans.
Nearly an hour later, Dr. Elaine Brooks emerged.
Her expression was grave.
"We found severe anemia."
Connor nodded.
"What else?"
"Untreated heart inflammation."
His jaw tightened.
"And malnutrition."
Connor stared at her.
"Malnutrition?"
Dr. Brooks handed him the lab report.
"She's been feeding her daughter instead of herself."
Connor closed his eyes briefly.
He had seen torture.
He had seen war.
But a mother starving herself so her child could eat was somehow harder to witness.
"Will she recover?"
"If she rests."
The doctor hesitated.
"And if the stress stops."
Connor almost laughed.
Stress wasn't stopping.
It was about to begin.
Meanwhile, Vincent entered Connor's office carrying a thick folder.
"We identified everyone from today's attack."
Connor looked up.
"Talk."
"Twelve shooters."
"Eight dead."
"Three captured."
"One escaped."
Connor frowned.
"The leader?"
Vincent nodded.
"He left something behind."
He placed a tablet on the desk.
Security footage from across the street appeared.
One frame froze.
Connor leaned forward.
The escaped man wasn't just another soldier.
It was Daniel Webb himself.
Standing on a nearby rooftop.
Watching the entire gunfight through binoculars.
He had never intended to participate.
He had come to observe.
To measure Connor.
To study Gracie.
Connor's blood ran cold.
Then Vincent zoomed in further.
Daniel wasn't looking at Sarah.
He wasn't watching Connor.
He was staring only at Gracie.
Smiling.
Connor spoke quietly.
"Why?"
Vincent hesitated.
"We searched Daniel's financial records."
"And?"
"We found payments."
Connor waited.
"Millions of dollars."
"From whom?"
Vincent slid another photograph across the desk.
Connor's face hardened instantly.
It was someone he knew.
Someone inside the Malone organization.
Someone who had been sitting at Connor's own dinner table for years.
A trusted lieutenant.
If the documents were genuine...
Daniel hadn't been hiding from Connor.
He had been protected by one of Connor's own men the entire time.
Connor slowly looked toward the security monitors showing Sarah sleeping in the medical wing... and Gracie curled up in a chair beside her mother's bed.
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The enemy wasn't only outside the gates anymore.
He was already inside the family Connor trusted most.
