Chapter 8 - The Family Was Never Random
Nobody spoke.
Caroline removed the cuffs herself only after the security officer produced a key.
The metal fell onto the table.
Travis stared at them.
"I didn't know."
Caroline looked at him.
"You didn't ask."
"I thought you were just..."
He stopped.
"Just what?"
Travis lowered his eyes.
Caroline waited.
"Just Caroline."
She nodded.
"That's what I wanted you to think."
Margaret sat down.
"You kept us in the dark."
"I kept you alive."
Laura shook her head.
"Alive from what?"
Caroline didn't answer immediately.
She walked to the window.
"Do you remember Dad's old business?"
Margaret looked confused.
"Of course."
"What happened to his records?"
"After he died, they were destroyed."
"No."
Margaret looked up.
"They weren't."
Caroline turned.
"I found them."
Travis stepped forward.
"What records?"
Caroline looked at him.
"Financial records."
Then she added:
"Names."
"Whose names?"
"People who shouldn't have been connected."
Laura's face tightened.
"Connected to what?"
Caroline hesitated.
"An operation."
The older man interrupted.
"General."
Caroline raised a hand.
"No."
She looked at her family.
"They deserve to know enough to understand what is happening."
She walked toward the dining room.
"Because today wasn't an accident."
Travis looked at the handcuffs.
"You think I was used?"
Caroline stopped.
"I think you were predictable."
May you like
His face fell.
"And someone knew exactly how predictable you would be."
