apter 7
Fi
Chapter 7
The smiles on my parents‘ faces shattered.
Just a moment ago, Lila had been dramatically pledging her undying loyalty, claiming she’d rather die than let anyone harm Mom and Dad.
Now?
She was quietly backing away, putting as much distance as possible between herself and them.
Dad’s face went ghostly pale.
He wiped the sweat from his brow, his voice shaking.
“Sir, there must be some mistake… I mean, the kidnappers were all taken out, weren’t they?”
The superior glared at him, his expression cold.
“You know exactly what this is about.”
Mom was panicking too, muttering under her breath.
“This can’t be happening… There has to be some kind of misunderstanding…”
But their frantic denials only made them look guiltier.
“Spare me the excuses!” the superior barked, his patience gone.
He pulled out his phone and hit play on the video.
The room filled with the sound of the little girl’s screams–raw, heart–wrenching, and full of rage.
The SWAT officers around us stood frozen, their eyes turning red with fury as they glared at my parents.
If not for their training, they might’ve beaten Dad to a pulp right then and there.
The second Dad saw the video, his knees buckled, and he crumpled to the ground.
The superior shoved the phone in his face.
“Look at it!” he demanded.
But Dad wouldn’t. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to turn away.
It wasn’t guilt. It wasn’t regret. It was cowardice.
He knew he was done for, and he couldn’t even face it.
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Fingerprints of Betraval
Chapter 7
That uniform of his–once a symbol of justice and bravery–felt like a cruel joke.
Mom stumbled back, her composure gone.
Then, like she’d completely snapped, she turned and started hitting Dad with everything she had.
“You said this was over!” she screamed.
“You said they were all dead! How the hell did this end up online?”
“How could you screw up so badly? You’re useless!”
“I was the department’s sweetheart! How did I end up married to a failure like you?”
“And now you’re dragging me down with you!”
Her uniform was still crisp and clean, but her pride was in tatters.
Then, as if a lightbulb went off, she turned to the superior and grabbed his arm.
“Sir! I’ll cooperate fully. I’m willing to testify against Roger Quinn. I’ll be the star witness!”
“I swear, everything in that video? That was his doing!”
“He’s the one who tortured that girl to climb the ranks and become captain! He’s a monster, not me!”
“This man deserves to lose everything! Fire him, arrest him, execute him–just don’t drag me or my daughter into
this!”
As she said the words, she glanced around for Lila, probably expecting her to back her up.
But when she turned, Lila was nowhere near her.
Instead, Lila had backed away a good ten feet, her face full of horror and disgust, as if Mom and Dad were diseased.
“Lila!” Mom cried, her voice trembling.
“Why are you standing so far away? You’re not scared, are you? Don’t be!”
“Your dad’s the one at fault, but your mom’s not a bad person!”
“No!” Lila whimpered, clutching her ears.
“You’re not my parents! I’m just some poor, unlucky girl you adopted!”
“I’d rather go back to the orphanage than be part of this family!”
With that, she dramatically rolled her eyes back and fainted, collapsing onto the floor.
But none of the medics even glanced her way.
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Chapter 7
They were all too busy fighting to keep me alive.
Mom barely had time to process Lila’s betrayal before Dad slapped her across the face, the sound echoing through
the room.
“You idiot!” he yelled.
“You think throwing me under the bus will save you? You’re just as guilty as I am!”
“You’re the one who suggested we torture that girl! You’re the one who bought the tools!”
“I kept the receipts, the chats–everything! If I go down, you’re going with me!”
Mom’s face turned red with fury.
“You… you’ve been keeping dirt on me this whole time?! Fine! You want to play dirty?”
“Let’s see how you like it when I spill all your secrets!”
“You think you’re so clean? Let’s just take each other out!”
The two of them went at it like rabid animals, scratching, punching, and screaming.
Within minutes, they’d beaten each other black and blue.
The superior watched the whole scene with disgust, quietly turning on his body camera to capture every second.
When the two of them finally collapsed, too exhausted to keep fighting, he motioned for the officers to cuff them
both.
The SWAT team loaded them into a van, while I was rushed into an ambulance, my life barely hanging by a thread.
Just before the doors closed, I glanced back.
Lila was still lying on the ground, pretending to be unconscious.
No one paid her any attention.
She looked like a piece of trash someone had left behind.
Fingerprints of Betrayal
