Page 123 of The Daredevil

The people closest to me seemed to have another life than the one I knew. I understood family issues always hurt more and dug deeper. As a scientist, I valued objectivity, not allowing my subjective view to blur the facts. Clinging to that objective view was my saving grace.

“Let me tell you a story of two people in love. They had two adorable children they loved—a boy and a girl. The girl was abducted, so the father went after the kidnappers, tracking them to America. She was taken by a man who works for a powerful crime organization that ran a sex trafficking ring. By the way, the kidnapper was recently killed. When the father couldn’t locate his daughter, he joined the organization, hoping to find her alive. The son went to live with his aunt, who agreed to watch over him for as long as necessary.” Tears rolled down Aunt Klara’s face as she squeezed Viktor’s hand, her knuckles turning white. “The boy’s mom had her husband get their daughter back.”

The muscles in my body constricted, stiffening me. “You . . . You’re mymother?”

Michelle grabbed my hand, trying to calm me.

Aunt Klara nodded. “Alda, who raised you until her death, was your real aunt. We needed to keep your profile low in case your dad and I were caught. They’d no doubt come after you. We paid for your private school in Iceland and ensured you had a comfortable life.”

Questions bombarded me, and I asked the one that came to mind first. “Did you wipe my record clean in high school?”

“We paid someone in the police department,” Viktor said. “You got into a lot of fights back then. Dominic got what he deserved. He actually found evidence linking your mom and me to you. He was going to send a file to the organization, but my friend and I destroyed it.”

Stay objective. Ask the questions. Don’t let your emotions blur the facts.

“Did you find Emma?” It had been so long since I’d spoken her name.

Aunt Klara—or should I call her Mom?—sucked in a breath as more tears flowed from her eyes.

Viktor answered with a shaky breath. “I did. Emma lay on a bed with three other dead girls around her age. She was taken when she was two years old. I found her when she was six, living in a secluded home with a lot of abducted girls and boys of all ages.” He sobbed, and the tears rushed out of him like powerful rivers.

Something twisted in my heart, as though the betrayal I’d felt spiraled into something else.

How long had he bottled up these emotions? I couldn’t imagine living life the way he did. He had to be someone else in order to survive being in that crime world. What crimes had he committed?

“I failed her.” Victor’s lips trembled. “I couldn’t save my Emma. What they did to her and the other kids was unimaginable.” His jaw tensed as anger filled his eyes. “I killed every fucking man and woman who abused those children. Emma would have been twenty-seven now, probably dating or falling in love.”

Yes, she would have. I hated that I didn’t have a clear image of her. I’d been a child myself when she left.

“Do you have any pictures of her? She’s just a blur in my head.”

Aunt Klara got up from her couch, pulled out a small album, and offered it to me. “I kept it safe. We didn’t have many pictures. I’d planned on a family photoshoot, but . . .”

She didn’t need to finish the statement.

“Emma is adorable. She looks like you!” Michelle pointed at a picture of my sister and me at the park. She had curly blonde hair. She would have grown up to be a beautiful woman.

“Why didn’t you alert the authorities when you infiltrated the organization?” I asked Viktor.

“Because I couldn’t trust anyone. Some people I’ve met were cops. Some worked for the Pentagon. Others were politicians. It’s a massive network of ruthless people, and I didn’t want to ruin all my hard work by making a mistake. It took me years to find Emma’s location, and I wasinthe organization. A regular police officer wouldn’t be able to help me. He’d end up killing us both.” His body sagged into the couch.

“How did you get in there?” Michelle asked.

Her soothing voice was a blanket of calm around my unstable heart. Her presence softened the edges around the sensitive situation.

“I met a guy who got me a job, and I worked my way up. I did things that changed me, and I should have been dead already.” He lifted his shirt, revealing a patchwork of scars. “But God still had work for me to do. When I discovered Royce was dating you, I made sure you were safe.”

“You didn’t live in the building next to me, did you?” Michelle eyed him with warmth.

“No.”

“Thank you.” She turned to me. “If I knew I had two bodyguards watching over me, I wouldn’t have feared seeing the black sedan.”

I had told her about Jett, and she’d spoken to him over the phone after he left the hospital.

Viktor bore his blue eyes into me. “I’m sorry for keeping you in the dark about everything. I didn’t want to put you in danger, but once Dominic started trouble, and other members began investigating, I knew I had to get out.”

A sudden wave of nausea overcame me. I wanted to comment on everything I’d heard. But it was too much for me to take in all at once. My heart and brain couldn’t handle this emotional influx. My entire body hurt. Even breathing became difficult. I was a mess.

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