Chapter 19 - The Choice at the Edge
Mara caught Adrian's hand as he slipped over the roof's low barrier. His body swung above forty stories of open air.
“Don't let go!” she screamed.
“I'm not planning to.”
Graham approached with his pistol aimed at Mara's chest. “Pull him up, and I shoot. Let him fall, and you walk away.”
Mara's arms shook. Adrian's fingers were slippery with blood.
“You're his father,” she said.
“I gave him everything.”
“You gave him a lifetime of lies.”
Adrian looked up. “Mara. Listen to me. If you can't—”
“Finish that sentence and I'll be furious with you.”
Graham's mouth twisted. “Always dramatic.”
A voice came from behind him. “Graham, put it down.”
Evelyn stood in the doorway. She held no weapon. Only a small recorder, its red light on.
“I kept your secrets because you threatened our son,” she said. “I won't do it again.”
“You signed the orders.”
“Yes. And I'll face what I did.” Her voice steadied. “Will you?”
Graham turned his gun toward her. That was the opening Mara needed. She swung one leg against the railing and pulled with everything she had. Adrian got an elbow over the edge. Evelyn rushed forward and grabbed his belt.
Graham fired. The bullet struck a steel beam. Adrian rolled onto the roof and shoved Mara behind the housing.
Ruiz burst through the doorway with two officers. “Drop the gun!”
Graham spun toward her. Ruiz fired once. His weapon skidded across the concrete, and he collapsed clutching his arm.
Silence followed except for the wind and Adrian's ragged breathing.
Mara knelt beside him. “You promised you'd come get me.”
He managed a shaky grin. “You got there first.”
She pressed her forehead to his. “Don't ever make me do that again.”
Below them, sirens filled the streets. On every news broadcast, Graham Cross was being led into an ambulance under armed guard.
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Then Lily's voice crackled over the radio, strange and frightened.
“Mara? The system just unlocked another file. It says the Larkspur experiment never ended.”
