Page 2 of Hacker Betrayed

Armando Clark’s hair had grayed over the years and wrinkles formed next to his eyes. He had a pair of black-rimmed glasses on. One thing that hadn't changed was the designer suit my father wore like it was a uniform.

I didn't bother grabbing the clean shirt as I followed Dad through the maze of halls. Mom's heels clicked behind me as we proceeded toward his study. Dad never allowed us in his workspace when we were kids. The negotiation for my wedding was the last meeting Dad had asked me to join.

The double doors to his office were open as I followed behind. Sebastian, my twin brother, was on the couch with a glass of dark liquor. He'd rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up, and tattoos lined his forearm. I'd only seen my brother on the news over the years. We were close growing up. The first few days of my marriage, I thought he would come for me, but he didn't. Sebastian was just as cruel as my parents.

His dark blue eyes were trained on me from the second I entered the room. I had the same color but wore brown contacts every day. With the plastic surgery I went through, we no longer had the same nose or even cheeks. Standing next to him nobody would realize we were twins.

"Have a seat, Dalia." Dad's baritone voice echoed through the room.

I didn't bother sitting in the chair in front of my dad's desk that he gestured to. All I wanted was answers, and as soon as I had them I would be on my way. "Where did you take my son?"

Dad leaned back and steepled his fingers together. "I have no reason to come after your son."

"I think it's because the attempts on my life didn't work, so you went after the only thing I cared about.”

"A son you barely visit?" Dad countered.

There was too much danger if Lucas's real father figured out he was alive. His existence would shift the power structure for the Calhoun family, and he’d become a target.

"I will not sit back and defend my reasoning. All I want is to find my son and never step foot inside this place again."

"You act like we are horrible people," my mom sighed. "We did everything to give you the life you deserved. It was never our choice that you walked away from everything. It was yours."

There was no point in arguing with her. She didn't understand what the arranged marriage did to me. Ruthless was too kind of a word to describe my late husband, and my parents handed me over to him with no second thoughts.

Dad pulled his black-rimmed glasses from his face and set them on his desk. "Dalia, I didn't come after your son. You decided to leave the family. We have done nothing to stop you from living your life away from here. The door has always been open, and when you are ready, there is a place for you in the organization."

"You have to be kidding me. Six months ago, one of your men put a bomb in my car. Today, the woman I pay to raise Lucas is dead. That's on me. So, who do you have coming after me?" I asked.

Dad's eyes flashed toward Sebastian, who hadn't said a word. When we were younger, my brother always said he would stand by me and protect me, but he wasn't there for the meeting where Dad handed me over to Cyrus Calhoun. He wasn't there when the beatings started.

"I could ask around." Dad paused for a second. "But you will owe me if I do this."

"I'm not the weak eighteen-year-old you sold for more power," I said, resting my hand on the butt of my gun. "I think this family owes me for the hell I went through. Or the countless times he wrapped his hands around my neck until I passed out and then remove them so I stayed alive. If I could go back and kill him with my bare hands, I would make his death as slow and painful as possible."

Mom gasped next to me. "You killed your husband?"

"Yes," I replied evenly. "And I'm going to take down everyone who had a part in Tabitha's murder, along with anyone connected to Lucas's kidnapping. The mob taught me the fundamentals of killing. The CIA perfected my skill."

"A lady doesn't talk like this," Mom rebuked.

"That's enough, Dalia." Dad stood. "I can guarantee the only order I ever gave about you was to leave you alone. Only a few people know you're alive. You’ve had so much plastic surgery, nobody can tell you're my daughter. If someone figured out your true identity, you might want to ask yourself where you made a mistake or if they learned you killed your husband."

Not a single person, because the boat blew up before they could find his poison-laced body. I was so sure my family were always the ones who came after me and took Lucas. I hadn't stopped to consider Donovan or one of his siblings might be the ones coming for vengeance. My eyes prickled with tears for a second, but I had no time for emotions. "This is a waste of my time. If you’ll contact me the moment you learn any information, I'll leave you guys off my war path, but if anyone withholds valuable details, I don't care if the person is blood or not, I'll take them out."

"Sit down, Dalia." Dad's words came out like an order.

"I don't have time for games," I said. "Unlike you and Mother, I would do anything for my son. There isn't anything Iwouldn'tdo for him, and that includes letting someone else raise him because the possibility of someone coming after me is so high. From the moment I gazed into his eyes, I promised him he would never see this world."

My mom couldn’t contain her scoff. "You act like your life with Cyrus was so bad.”

Not caring if they saw my gun, I pulled up the back of my shirt. Cyrus's name carved into my skin was a constant reminder that my past would always haunt me. "What do you think, dear old Mom? This is only the tip of the iceberg of what I went through. So don't sit there and tell me living with him was easy. Or did Dad carve his name into your back?"

Dad ran a hand over his face. "Dalia…"

"Don't." I blinked to rid the tears from my eyes. "I'm not here to rehash the past. All I want is my son, but you guys didn't come for him. That means every second I'm here, my son is in danger."

Sebastian stood and strode toward Dad's desk. "Dalia, why don't we take a ride? I have an idea of who might have taken the job."

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