Page 47 of Hacker Beloved

We had no time to argue. She entwined our fingers together and took a step toward the door.

The figure on the left spun around. “You're up,” the man’s voice was raspy.

“Oh, it looks like they think they can escape,” the woman next to him added.

“It’s two against two. I’m willing to take those odds,” Zayla countered.

The woman tossed her head back and laughed. “You can try to walk out that door. But dear sister, your boyfriend won’t live to see the light of day.”

I held Zayla’s hand tight and flexed my arm. I felt a twinge of pain and noticed smeared blood on my bicep and stitches. The location was the same place my tracker had been implanted years ago. Asher wouldn’t be able to find our location. “Zayla, all that matters is you. Get out of here.”

She felt out ignored my comment and stared down the two people in the room. “Sorry, I’m at a disadvantage. We didn’t exchange names last time we met,” Zayla growled.

The women had long brown hair and was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She stepped closer to us, her eyes rolling. “Sister—Sister, don't play dumb. I know you figured out I was your half-sister. Now you are going to give me what is rightfully mine.”

“Well, I’m not sure what that is?” Zayla paused. “You know most sisters or brothers find each other again using online DNA sites. Once the DNA is confirmed most normal people reach out and then have lunch. I don’t understand what all the killing was for?”

“You think you could move to Raleigh, and I wouldn’t put everything together. It's where it all started. For years Papa and I tracked you…and waited. Then you moved to Raleigh. Within a few weeks, I found connections to seven of the ten doctors.” Jasmin grabbed a folder on the desk. “I’m not sure how you figured out the deaths.”

Zayla pointed at her sister. “You’re insane. I didn’t even know my father died, because of my mom’s affair until recently. I have no clue what the hell you are talking about with ‘putting things together.’ The only reason I moved to Raleigh was dad told me stories about his time at UNC. I wanted to be closer to feel closer to him.”

“You really don’t know?” Jasmin asked. “But then…how did you put the murders together?”

“I received emails from a listener in the Raleigh area. They told me to look into certain deaths and the incisions on their arms. That’s what started my investigation.”

“Impossible!” Jasmin screamed. “You’re lying!”

The man next to her coughed and pressed a handkerchief to his mouth. “Jas, I wanted us to speed up the research. We have to find that girl. She is the key to what I need. You were taking too long. So, I took control and pushed the information to Zayla.”

Jasmin spun to her side and pulled out a gun. “You were supposed to wait and follow my lead. For years you promised I could seek my revenge against the woman responsible for my mother’s death.”

He started to cough really hard again, and when he pulled the handkerchief from his mouth, drops of blood showed on the white cloth. “Except you keep taking your sweet time. This sickness is going to take my life soon. And I never stopped you from killing her. She’s right there and in time you can do whatever you want to her.”

“This isn’t all about you.” Jasmin’s eyes flared. “I have what I need, and this is what you get for betraying me.” The pop of the gun echoed through the underground room, and Jasmin’s father fell to the ground.

Zayla’s sister was irrational.

“Can you explain what the hell is going on?” Zayla asked.

“To start with dear sister, your dad was jealous of my father. Mom always loved me and Papa better than you. Papa told me that he had everything set up to whisk mom and me away. His plan was perfect. Papa planted evidence to make it look like your dad had crossed the Syndicate. The night Mom and Papa planned to leave…everything fell apart. Papa went to make sure the key to his future was locked away, but she’d escaped. Papa searched for the girl who would secure our future together. While he searched the streets of New York, your bastard father killed my mother...” Her lips curled up as she spat each word out like it was venom.

“If that’s the case, how is Zayla responsible for your mother’s death?” I asked.

“Because her dad killed our mom. Papa was supposed to kill you and your father that night, but he showed up to the condo late. He found your father over the top of Mom. Then Papa killed your dad. We lost Mom…but what was worse was Papa’s friend had turned on him, and Vincenzo father showed up at our condo and saved you.”

“Really? I think your father told you the wrong story,” Zayla replied, glaring at her sister.

Jasmin snapped and rushed across the room. She reached her arms out to choke Zayla. Except I pulled her to the side and kicked my leg out, tripping the crazed woman and she flew forward.

“Run!” I ordered Zayla, but she didn’t move.

“You leave, and I’ll kill him,” Jasmin said indicating the remote in her hand before she stood. She grabbed the gun that fell from her waist band.

Part of me wondered if we were only given a partial truth from Vincenzo. Especially since his story never explained what was in the safety deposit box.

“Fine, I won’t leave. But nothing you’re saying makes any sense. Seriously, how can you be so calm after you killed your own father?” Zayla questioned.

“Papa only had a little time left to live anyway. For the past eight years, he has taken experimental drug after drug to fight his disease, not one worked. That’s when we noticed you had moved to Raleigh. And we started to put things together. Your father had dated a woman who was a biomedical engineer during his time in college. They broke up when he moved to New York to work. But the syndicates always keep an eye on their employees. The Russo family followed your dad and mom. Many times, it was my Papa keeping tabs on them. Your father would fly to D.C. a few times a year and meet with the woman from college. She had a daughter too. For a long time, Papa figured it was your father’s daughter.” Jasmin said. “Except later he learned after breaking into a medical facility that the girl was an experiment. A perfectly crafted human immune to any disease or virus. The files in the safety deposit box prove her blood is the key to curing all diseases. After Papa got sick, we started the search for her again and knew you would be the link. Each person we killed in Raleigh gave us information, and that’s how we learned about the safety deposit box. I love Papa, but ultimately we had different plans. He wanted the girl to cure him. But I plan to auction her off to the highest bidder…and to kill you, of course.”

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