Chapter 13 - The Reunion in the Dark
"Took you long enough," her father said, looking up with a faint, tired smile that reached his eyes. The light from the high window caught the silver in his beard and the deep lines etched into his weathered face.
Elena dropped to her knees, setting Clara down gently before lunging forward to throw her arms around her father’s neck. The fabric of his brown jacket felt real, rough, and warm beneath her cheek. He was solid. He was alive.
"You bastard," Elena sobbed into his shoulder, the tension of the last three years finally breaking in a wave of overwhelming emotion. "You let me mourn you. You let me think I was entirely alone."
"If they knew I was alive, they would have used you and Clara to get to me," her father said softly, patting her back with a calloused hand. "The state attorney general’s office took three years to build this case, Elena. Today was supposed to be the day we executed the warrants and rounded up the entire network. But Miller’s cell went rogue. They aren't waiting for a court order anymore."
A heavy thud shook the floorboards overhead, followed by the muffled sound of furniture being overturned in the study. Miller and his men were tearing the house apart.
"They're right above us," Elena said, pulling back and wiping her face with her sleeve. She held up the leather ledger. "They want this. Everything is inside—the accounts, the names, the judge."
May you like
"Good," her father stood up slowly, his joints popping in the quiet cellar. He reached down and took the heavy brass key from Clara’s small hand. "Because the federal marshals are pulling up to the front gate right now. We just need to open the storm doors and let them in."
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