Chapter 8 - The Mastermind Unmasked
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"You?" Travis choked out, his voice cracking into a high-pitched squeak. "You're a bodyguard! You're just a hired thug!"
"Derek was the chief cybersecurity architect for Naval Intelligence before he retired, you arrogant little parasite," Arthur’s voice echoed clearly from the phone speaker on the marble table.
The front doorway parted again.
Arthur Vance walked into the living room. He was pale, leaning slightly on a wooden cane, but his eyes were blazing with the unstoppable fury of a protective father. Beside him was the chief neurologist from Chicago Memorial Hospital.
Lena let out a loud, shuddering gasp. "Dad!"
Arthur didn't look at Travis. He walked straight to the sofa, dropped his cane, and fell to his knees beside his daughter. He pulled Lena into his arms, weeping quietly as he kissed her bruised forehead. "I'm here, baby. Daddy’s here. You're safe now. I'm so sorry I didn't see it sooner."
"Dad... the medicine... in his safe..." Lena sobbed against his chest, clutching his coat.
"We already tested it, sweetheart," the doctor said gently, showing Detective Miller a certified toxicology report. "Mr. Vance’s blood samples from last week match the batch of liquid Digoxin found in Travis’s registered medical supply box. He was slipping micro-doses into Arthur’s morning tea every Sunday."
Travis looked around the room like a cornered animal. The police officers were moving in with pairs of steel handcuffs.
"Wait! Wait, listen to me!" Travis screamed, backing toward the shattered patio doors. "Arthur was running the company into the ground! I saved that business! I deserved that money! Lena, tell them! Lena, tell your father how much I loved you!"
Lena slowly pulled away from her father’s embrace. She stood up on her own two feet, wiping the tears from her battered face.
👉 What did Lena say to the man who tried to destroy her family?
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