CHAPTER 4 – THE MAN WHO NEVER DIED
CHAPTER 4 – THE MAN WHO NEVER DIED
Forty-five minutes later...
The hotel became a crime scene.
Police officers sealed every entrance.
Detectives questioned terrified guests.
News helicopters circled overhead.
Every television station in New York interrupted programming.
Gunfire at the Regency Crown Hotel.
Harrington family involved.
Michael refused every interview.
His only concern sat inside a secured presidential suite surrounded by armed private security.
Emily finally allowed the hotel physician to examine her injuries.
Broken ribs.
Severe bruising.
Old fractures that had healed incorrectly.
Malnutrition.
The doctor looked at Michael.
Quietly.
"These injuries weren't caused tonight."
Michael already knew.
Sophie slept peacefully for the first time in days.
Michael sat beside the crib.
Watching every tiny breath.
Emily joined him.
"She smiles in her sleep," Michael whispered.
"She always has."
He reached toward his daughter.
His hand shook.
"I missed every first."
Emily rested her head against his shoulder.
"You didn't choose that."
"No."
His voice hardened.
"Someone chose it for us."
A knock interrupted the silence.
Not loud.
Three deliberate knocks.
Michael immediately drew the pistol one of his security officers had given him.
"Who is it?"
"It's Daniel."
Michael froze.
Impossible.
He unlocked the door.
Standing outside was a tall man in his early sixties with gray hair and a scar running across his jaw.
Daniel Reeves.
His father's former chief of security.
The man Michael had attended the funeral for twelve years earlier.
Michael stared.
"...You died."
Daniel smiled sadly.
"So did Emily."
The room became silent.
Daniel entered carrying an old leather briefcase.
"I've waited twelve years for this meeting."
Emily looked confused.
"You know him?"
Daniel nodded respectfully.
"I carried you down the aisle on your wedding day after your father couldn't attend."
Emily remembered.
"The security chief..."
Michael shook his head.
"My mother told me you died protecting my father."
Daniel placed several thick folders onto the table.
"That's what she wanted you to believe."
Michael's pulse quickened.
"What is all this?"
"The truth."
Inside the folders were photographs.
Bank transfers.
Property deeds.
Private flight records.
Medical files.
Surveillance images.
One picture made Michael stop breathing.
His father.
Richard Harrington.
Alive.
The photograph had been taken only six months earlier.
Michael looked up slowly.
"No..."
Daniel's eyes filled with sorrow.
"Your father never died in that helicopter crash."
Emily covered her mouth.
Michael whispered,
"That's impossible."
Daniel opened one final envelope.
Inside lay a handwritten letter.
Addressed to Michael.
In his father's unmistakable handwriting.
If you are reading this, then Victoria has finally shown you who she truly is. Trust no one wearing the Harrington name... except the little girl who carries yours.
Michael's hands trembled.
"My father is alive?"
Daniel nodded.
"Yes."
"Where is he?"
Daniel hesitated.
Before he could answer—
Every light inside the suite suddenly flickered.
The television switched on by itself.
Static filled the screen.
Then an image appeared.
An elderly man sat tied to a chair inside a dimly lit warehouse.
His face bruised.
His hair completely gray.
Richard Harrington.
Alive.
A digital timer blinked in the corner.
05:59:58
Five hours.
Fifty-nine minutes.
Fifty-eight seconds.
Victoria's voice filled the room through hidden speakers.
"Good evening, Michael."
The timer continued counting down.
"I've hidden your father for twelve years."
Another second disappeared.
"And now..."
The camera zoomed closer to Richard's exhausted face.
"You may choose."
The screen split into two images.
On one side...
Richard.
On the other...
A live feed of Sophie sleeping peacefully in the next room.
Victoria laughed softly.
"You only have enough time to save one."
The countdown reached:
05:59:31
And for the second time that night...
May you like
Michael Harrington realized his mother had never been playing defense.
She had been planning the next move all along.
