Page 7 of For Mercy

The air in the cabin felt thick, oppressive.Morgan's skin crawled at the thought of Cordell's fixation.She'd seen glimpses of his ruthlessness, but this...this was something darker.

"Mary and I," John continued, "we kept everything secret.Stolen moments, whispered promises.We thought we were being careful."

Morgan pieced together the fragments of a past she'd never known."But he found out," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

John's eyes met hers, filled with a pain that seemed to stretch across decades."Yes," he replied."And when he did..."

The unfinished sentence hung in the air between them, heavy with implications.Morgan's fists clenched at her sides, her nails digging into her palms.She could feel the rage building inside her, a familiar companion after all these years.

"What did he do?"she asked, dreading the answer but needing to hear it.

John's gaze dropped back to the floor."He wanted revenge, Morgan.On both of us.But Mary...she bore the brunt of his wrath."John's voice turned hollow, echoing in the small cabin like a ghost from the past."Cordell had Mary killed," he said, the words dropping like stones in still water."Then he framed me for it."

Morgan's breath caught in her throat.She'd suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed sent a chill through her body.Her tattooed arms wrapped around herself, seeking warmth that wouldn't come.

"How?"she managed to ask, her voice barely audible over the crackle of the oil lamp.

John's weathered hands trembled as he spoke."He staged it to look like an accident.Cross-fire on a case."His eyes, clouded with memories, met Morgan's."But I knew.And he knew that I knew."

Morgan connected dots she'd never seen before."Your career, your life..."

"Gone," John finished."In an instant.I had no choice but to vanish.To become a ghost."

The weight of his words settled over Morgan like a shroud.She thought of her childhood, of the isolated cabin where she'd grown up, so similar to this one.The pieces were falling into place with sickening clarity.

"That's why we lived in the woods," she said, her voice thick with realization."You were hiding.Protecting me."

John nodded, his eyes glistening in the lamplight."I hoped...I prayed it would be enough to keep you safe.To give you a life free from Cordell's shadow."

Morgan's throat tightened.She thought of her own path, the choices that had led her here."But I became an FBI agent anyway."

"Yes," John said, a mix of pride and fear in his voice."Following in my footsteps, even though you didn't know it.I was so proud, Morgan.But also terrified."

"Because the closer I got to the truth..."

"The more danger you were in," John finished.He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a whisper."And then, somehow, Cordell found out who you were."

Morgan's blood ran cold."How?"she asked, her mind already racing through possibilities."How did he find out?"

John shook his head, frustration etched on his face."I don't know.I've been trying to figure that out.But once he knew..."He trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

Morgan filled in the blanks herself.Once Cordell knew, her fate had been sealed.She'd been marked, just like her father before her.

Morgan's fingers traced the faded tattoos on her arms, a physical reminder of the years stolen from her.The dim light of the oil lamp cast eerie shadows across the cabin's worn walls, mirroring the darkness that had shrouded her past for so long.She exhaled slowly, her mind reeling from the weight of her father's confession.

"All this time, Cordell was pulling the strings,” she said.“He's been three steps ahead of me from the start."

John's weathered face creased with guilt."I'm sorry, Morgan.I thought I was protecting you by staying away, by letting you believe I was dead.I never imagined he'd come after you directly."

Morgan's eyes snapped to her father's."When did you realize?When did you know it was Cordell behind my imprisonment?"

John's gaze dropped to the floor."It wasn't until just about a year ago before you were released.I'd been monitoring things from afar, trying to piece together what happened.When I finally connected the dots..."He trailed off, his voice thick with regret.

"And that's when you decided to fake your death.Again."Morgan's tone was sharp, accusatory.

John nodded, his shoulders slumping."I thought if Cordell believed I was truly gone, he'd leave you alone.I hoped your release would be the end of it."

Morgan laughed bitterly."Well, that worked out great, didn't it?"She ran a hand through her dark hair, frustration bubbling up inside her."Do you have any idea what it was like, thinking you were dead all this time?Believing I had no one left?"

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