Chapter 14 - The Final Deceit
The revelation hit Mark with the force of a freight train. The flea market, the donation crate—it was all a staged lie orchestrated by the woman bleeding at his feet. Helen hadn't lost control of the shipment; she had hand-delivered the lethal package directly to her own daughter.
"You used our seven-year-old child as a human mule," Mark growled, his voice dropping into a deadly whisper. He tossed the silver ring onto the filthy walkway between them. "You didn't want to save us. You used her as a walking shield because you knew they wouldn't snipe a child in broad daylight before retrieving the hardware."
Helen’s face twisted into an ugly, desperate mask. "I had to survive, Mark! You don't know what they do to operatives who fail! She was just supposed to carry it to the terminal!"
A deafening crash shattered the argument as the sewer hatch blew open. Two armored commandos rappelled down on high-tension cables, their assault rifles instantly locking onto the group.
Helen lunged toward the dropped ring, entirely abandoning the detonator. In that split second of blinding greed, the lead commando fired a burst that ripped through Helen's chest, throwing her lifeless body into the surging sewer current.
"Get behind me!" Mark yelled, throwing himself across Lily and Sarah.
A bullet grazed Mark's shoulder, spinning him around. He saw the commando stepping forward, raising the rifle for an execution shot at point-blank range.
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Then, Lily screamed.
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