Chapter 16 - Brother and Sister
Marcus Dawson looked nothing like the careful doctor from Elena's funeral.
His shirt was untucked. His eyes were wild. The gun shook in his hand.
"Hilda, stop," he said.
She laughed.
"You followed me?"
"You took the child."
"You helped me build this."
"I helped you hide shipments. I never agreed to this."
My pulse hammered.
Brother and sister were breaking apart in front of us.
Hilda shifted Camille to one hip.
"You signed Elena's death certificate."
Marcus flinched.
"You told me it was an accident."
"I told you what you needed to hear."
Silence hit the warehouse.
Marcus stared at her.
"What did you do?"
Hilda's eyes moved to me.
There it was.
Not a confession yet.
But close.
I kept my voice low.
"Elena confronted you."
"She confronted everyone."
"She knew about the counterfeit medicine."
"She knew about Sophie."
Mara, listening through the command channel, must have heard the name.
Hilda's face twisted.
"Sophie died because Marcus bought from criminals who sold him garbage."
Marcus shouted, "You approved the vendor!"
"And you signed every order!"
Their entire empire had been built from shared guilt.
Hilda looked down at Camille.
"Elena wanted to expose us. Marcus begged me to stop her."
"I never told you to kill her!" Marcus yelled.
The warehouse went still.
Hilda smiled without warmth.
"No. You just changed the chart afterward."
Detective Ortiz whispered through my earpiece.
"We have it."
A confession.
Enough to move.
But Camille was still in Hilda's arms.
Marcus suddenly lowered his gun.
"Hilda, give him the child."
She stepped back.
"No."
"You lost."
"I don't lose."
Then Camille did something no tactical plan predicted.
She bit Hilda's hand.
Hilda screamed and loosened her grip.
Marcus lunged.
I ran.
Gunfire cracked overhead.
May you like
Camille slipped from Hilda's arms.
For one impossible second, my daughter was falling from the catwalk.
