AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You bastard,” I mutter under my breath. “You lying bastard.”
There’s no doubt in my mind that my father loves me; I just know he doesn’t love me enough. And he sure doesn’t love me more than his career; otherwise, he wouldn’t be here tonight. It fills me with anguish and burning rage, but honestly, I’m almost glad that my mother isn’t alive to see this. It would break her beyond repair.
“But I can’t change the past. I can’t change the way certain people think and act,” my father says, about to do a deep dive into his prepared speech. “I can only change the way we punish those who act outside the legal boundaries. Ours is the greatest country in the world. Though our legal system could use some tweaks, I’m sure we can all agree. And after everything that’s happened, I’m now more determined than ever to make sure that no one goes through …” his voice trails as his gaze finds me.
I’m sitting upright on purpose. My wig is on the floor. As soon as he recognizes me, I feel a slight smirk testing the corner of my mouth, so I take my glasses off, too, just to twist the knife in his wound. “Hey, Dad,” I mouth at him, then wink.
“Oh my God,” he gasps, genuinely shocked to see me.
Much like the rest of the world, Henry David thought I died that night on the cemetery hill where he left me to be killed by his cabal buddies. He had a choice to make, and he chose to walk away as Troy aimed his semiautomatic weapon at my head. My father chose himself and his career over me, his one and only daughter.
I don’t know if he’s actually made peace with that, but it doesn’t matter anymore.
The truth is staring back at him now, and Henry David is torn between relief and horror as he begins to realize what my presence, what my survival, actually means. I see the color draining from his face in real time while everyone else is wondering what’s going on.
“Ariana …” he breathes, his eyes suddenly filled with tears.
I stand up, prompting an eruption of gasps from the audience members who instantly recognize my name slipping from different mouths at the same time. I walk closer to the stage as I hear the federal agents combing through the seated guests.
“Mr. Neyman, Special Agent Darius Jones, FBI. You’re under arrest,” one of them says.
The individual named Neyman tries to object, but the cuffs are promptly slapped on his wrists as Everton PD officers swarm into the hall and assist the Feds in multiple arrests. Supervisory Special Agent Grey joins me in front of the stage. He moved in like a shadow to stand next to me while my father is still struggling to cope with this new reality.
“Ariana, you’re alive …” he manages with a trembling voice. “How?”
“I’m a survivor; what can I say?” I shoot back, my tone cold and clipped.
“It’s a miracle!” he tries, foolishly enough, to spin this back in his favor, but Grey steps forth and shows him a search warrant. “Who are you?”
“This is a search warrant to search your office, city hall, and every single private property that you own, Mr. David,” Grey says. “I’m Supervisory Special Agent Grey with the Quantico office, therefore unaffiliated with your Black Hand partners, and I’m afraid that this is the end of the line for you.”
“What are you talking about?” my father blurts out, quick to feign outrage and confusion.
But I can see the wheels clicking in the back of his head. I can almost hear the deluge of screaming thoughts rushing through his mind as the entire theater hall is ravaged by gasps and protests, flashing camera lights, and reporters shouting uncomfortable questions at every person who is in the process of being arrested.
“Cut the shit, Dad,” I say, loud enough for everyone to hear. “They know. They know about you and your ties to the Black Hand; they have evidence against you and those monsters. They know what you did to Mom and to anyone who dared get in your way. They know about the shady deals and the bribes. It’s over.”
“You’re alive,” my father says again.
“Lucky for you, because then you’d have conspiracy to commit murder added to what is likely going to be a very long list of charges,” I snap. “You left me there to die, Dad. Your own daughter, your flesh and blood!”
“Ariana—”
“Nah, it’s over. You don’t get to talk your way out of this. Your buddies can’t help you anymore, either. You’re done, and you are going to pay for everything you did. You are going to pay for what you let them do to Mom, too …” My voice breaks.
I thought I’d be stronger, but the tears rush to roll down my heated cheeks as I watch Agent Grey turn my father around to cuff him. He reads him his Miranda rights while Dad keeps trying to reason with me, but I’m not listening anymore.
“I had no choice, Ariana, I swear, I tried …”
“Screw you,” I mumble between sobbing hiccups.
“Ariana, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry …”
“Too late for that,” I reply.
“Come on, time to go,” Grey says and takes my father away.
It’s an eerie sight for me. Not that long ago, I didn’t think I’d ever witness this moment. I was sure he’d figure out a way to escape justice, one way or another. But he didn’t. The long arm of the law is longer than the cabal’s reach, and when the president himself decided to get involved, I knew it would end here tonight.
