Chapter 5 - The Trap Closes
"It’s a lie," Dad choked out, though his voice lacked any conviction. He raised a trembling hand, pointing a shaking finger at Ethan. "Get off my property. Now. Or I swear to God I will have your commission stripped permanently."
"My commission was buried five years ago, Arthur," Ethan said quietly, his hand resting casually near his side, right where a concealed holster sat beneath his tailored jacket. "Just like your daughter was supposed to be."
Mom appeared at the patio door, clutching a silver tray so tightly her knuckles were stark white. She looked at Dad, her eyes wide with a desperate, silent terror that confirmed everything Ethan had just claimed.
She had known. All along, she had known why I came back broken, why I never asked questions, why I hid in the background of their perfect, decorated life.
"Claire," Mom pleaded, her voice breaking as she took a step toward me. "Don't listen to him. We did it to protect you—"
"Protect me?" I shouted, the rage I had bottled up for half a decade finally tearing its way out of my chest. "You sold me out! You took a paycheck while my team bled out in the dirt, and then you treated me like an unwanted servant in my own home because my survival was a constant reminder of what you did!"
Ryan looked between Mom, Dad, and me, his world collapsing in real-time. "Mom... tell me he’s lying. Tell me my family isn't mixed up in treason."
Before Mom could answer, the sharp, wailing shriek of multiple police sirens cut through the quiet Arlington night, rapidly closing in on the neighborhood.
At the same moment, the exterior security lights around the perimeter flickered once, twice, and then died, plunging the entire backyard into deep, moonlit shadow.
May you like
Ethan’s hand flashed to his side, his pistol clearing leather with practiced, lethal speed as he grabbed my arm and yanked me behind his broad back.
"They're not local police," Ethan muttered, his eyes scanning the darkened tree line where black-clad figures were already scaling the perimeter fence. "Your father’s employers just sent a cleanup crew."
