Salvatore arranged a meet. A safehouse on the outskirts of Montana. He didn’t ask questions. Just opened the door, pulled me inside, and hugged me like I hadn’t vanished off the face of the earth.
Like I was still someone worth saving.
***
I patched into the Titanis ghost channel that night.
A secure satellite line only my father and I knew existed. It took three passwords, one retinal scan, and my mother’s old wedding ring for biometric access.
His face flickered onto the screen.
“Danica?”
“Dad, listen. You need to disappear. Reagan is coming for you—he’s taking over Titanis from the inside—”
He sighed. “Sweetheart, I know you’re upset, but Reagan loves you. This—this paranoia isn’t you. Come home, we’ll fix this—”
Three shots.
Loud, deafening. My heart stopped.
I screamed his name. The screen shook. Blood sprayed across his collar. And then… Silence.
And then… His body collapsed backward, eyes open. Staring. Dead.
A hand reached into the camera view.
Reagan.
Smiling like the devil had finally taken off his halo.
“Well. That was loud.”
I choked, frozen. “You… you killed him.”
“I warned you, didn’t I?” His voice dropped to a cruel whisper. “Come home, Danica. Before I lose my patience.”