Chapter 5 - The Blood Test and the Betrayal
For the next week, Willa did not leave the penthouse.
She hated it.
“This is a prison,” she said during breakfast.
“It has a movie theater,” Bastion replied.
“A fancy prison.”
“It also has pancakes.”
“They’re too round.”
Bastion looked at the plate.
“What shape should pancakes be?”
“Imperfect.”
He cut one with his fork. “There.”
“That’s destruction, not imperfection.”
Marcus entered the kitchen carrying a tablet.
“Victor’s people abandoned two properties last night.”
Bastion’s expression changed.
Willa noticed.
“Is this about the man who came here?”
“No.”
“You use that voice when you lie.”
Bastion set down his coffee.
“You don’t need every detail.”
“Yes, I do. They’re trying to hurt me.”
“They’re trying to pressure me.”
“That means they’re using me.”
Bastion stood.
“And that is exactly why you’re staying here.”
Willa pushed her chair back.
“You keep saying you want to be my father, but fathers tell their kids the truth.”
“Fathers also protect them.”
“From what?”
“People who will not hesitate because you’re a child.”
Her face paled, but she refused to look away.
“Mom didn’t hide things when she got sick.”
“She hid me from you for eight years.”
The sentence landed harder than Willa intended.
Bastion went still.
Willa immediately looked down.
“I didn’t mean—”
“Yes, you did.”
He walked out of the kitchen.
Willa watched him disappear into his office.
Marcus sighed and sat across from her.
“You two are remarkably similar.”
“I’m not like him.”
“You both stab first, then regret it quietly.”
She picked at the edge of her napkin.
“Is he angry?”
“At you? No.”
“He looked angry.”
“He’s angry at nine years he can’t get back.”
Willa swallowed.
“I didn’t take them.”
“He knows.”
“Then why does he act like everything is my fault?”
Marcus leaned forward.
“He’s spent his whole life controlling outcomes. You are the first important thing that happened without his permission.”
“That sounds like his problem.”
“It is.”
The office door opened.
Bastion returned holding Norah’s letter.
He placed it on the table.
“You’re right,” he said.
Willa looked up.
“I am?”
“I’ve been deciding what you can handle without asking you.”
Marcus rose. “I’ll give you privacy.”
Bastion waited until he left.
Then he sat beside Willa rather than across from her.
“Victor Crowe is my half brother,” he said. “Years ago, he tried to take control of my companies. Norah discovered financial records connecting him to stolen money and corrupt officials.”
“The ledger.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t she give it to police?”
“Some of the police were in the ledger.”
Willa absorbed that.
“Did Victor hurt Mom?”
“I don’t know. Her cancer was real. But Crane may have threatened her.”
“Is Victor going to hurt me?”
Bastion did not soften the truth.
“He may try.”
Willa’s fingers trembled.
Bastion placed his hand on the table, palm up.
After a moment, she put her hand in his.
“I’m scared,” she admitted.
“So am I.”
She stared at him. “You?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t look scared.”
“Neither did you when you entered the restaurant.”
Her grip tightened.
That afternoon, Daniel arrived with court documents.
“The permanent custody hearing has been moved up,” he said. “Three days from now.”
“Why?” Bastion asked.
“Someone submitted evidence claiming your home is unsafe.”
Bastion’s expression darkened.
“The attack.”
“There’s more. Anonymous records suggest you ordered violence against business rivals.”
“Anonymous records are worthless.”
“Not when they contain names, dates, and photographs.”
Marcus entered behind Daniel.
“Victor.”
Daniel nodded. “He wants Willa removed before Bastion can secure guardianship.”
Willa stood in the doorway.
“Where would they take me?”
No one answered quickly enough.
“A temporary foster placement,” Daniel said.
“No.”
Bastion rose. “That won’t happen.”
Daniel lowered his voice. “The judge can order it if he believes she’s in danger.”
“She is in danger because of Victor.”
“Then we need proof Victor exists and is responsible.”
Marcus placed the tablet on the table.
“We may have a way.”
The screen showed security footage from Norah’s apartment building. A tall man in a gray coat entered three weeks before her death.
His face was partially turned toward the camera.
Bastion recognized him immediately.
Victor.
Willa leaned closer.
“I’ve seen him.”
Bastion looked at her sharply. “Where?”
“At the hospital.”
“When?”
“The night Mom died.”
The room fell silent.
“He stood outside her room,” Willa continued. “I thought he was a doctor because he wore a badge.”
“What did he say to her?” Bastion asked.
“I couldn’t hear everything.”
“Try.”
Willa shut her eyes.
“He said, ‘The girl will lead us to it.’ Mom told him I didn’t know anything.”
Bastion’s hand curled into a fist.
“What else?”
“He said if she gave him the book, he would leave me alone.”
Daniel’s face tightened. “That is witness testimony.”
“She’s eight,” Marcus said.
“She’s also the only person who can place Victor with Norah before her death.”
Bastion shook his head. “She’s not testifying.”
Willa opened her eyes.
“Yes, I am.”
“No.”
“You said you’d stop deciding what I can handle.”
“This is different.”
“Because you’re afraid?”
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised her.
Bastion stepped closer.
“I just found you. I won’t put you in front of a man who threatened your mother.”
“You won’t be putting me there,” Willa said. “I’m choosing.”
“You’re a child.”
“I was a child when Mom got sick. I was a child when she died. I was a child when I rode the bus here alone.”
Her voice cracked.
“Everyone keeps telling me I’m too young after making me survive things adults should have handled.”
Bastion stared at her.
Willa wiped her cheek angrily.
“I want him to stop.”
Bastion crouched in front of her.
“If you do this, you follow every instruction I give you.”
“Reasonable instructions.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“That condition was unnecessary.”
“It was very necessary.”
Despite everything, he almost smiled.
Then Marcus’s phone rang.
He answered, listened, and looked at Bastion.
“We found Victor.”
“Where?”
May you like
Marcus’s expression hardened.
“Norah’s storage unit.”
