Chapter 6: The Hidden Witness
The next morning, Damon doubled security around the estate.
I hated it.
Not because I didn’t understand.
Because I did.
I had spent my entire adult life taking care of other people. I was the person who noticed when someone’s favorite coffee was running low, when a child in the family needed help, when an elderly neighbor needed groceries.
I wasn’t used to someone protecting me.
It felt uncomfortable.
But Damon refused to compromise.
“You’re not just staff anymore,” he told me.
I looked at him.
“Careful. That almost sounded like you’re admitting I’m family.””
He smiled.
“Maybe I am.””
That surprised both of us.
Because family was a serious word in the King household.
It wasn’t given easily.
It was earned.
And somehow, after everything that happened, I had earned a place I never expected.
But the fight was far from over.
Victor discovered something important about the hidden files.
The memory card wasn’t complete.
There were missing pieces.
Someone had removed several documents before Marcus hid the collar.
“Whoever cut open Major’s collar knew what they were looking for,” Victor explained.
Damon frowned.
“They knew about the memory card?””
“Possibly.””
“Then why leave it?””
Victor looked thoughtful.
“Maybe they didn’t know it existed.””
That answer changed everything.
Because it meant Marcus had outsmarted them.
He had hidden the most important piece in the one place nobody would search.
On Major.
The same dog everyone believed was gone.
That afternoon, Damon received a call from an unexpected person.
Camille.
I was in the room when he answered.
Her voice came through the phone.
“You need to stop.””
Damon looked calm.
“Where are you?””
“That doesn’t matter.””
“It does.””
A pause.
Then she said something colder.
“You don’t know what my father is capable of.””
Damon’s eyes narrowed.
“Neither do you.””
Silence.
That told me everything.
Camille wasn’t just afraid of being exposed.
She was afraid of her own father.
“Camille,” Damon said.
For a moment, her voice softened.
“I didn’t want this.””
Damon didn’t respond.
“I wanted the company,” she admitted quietly.
“But I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.””
I felt anger rise inside me.
Because people always said that after the damage was done.
“I was told the bombing would scare Marcus,” she continued.
Damon went still.
“What did you say?””
Camille realized her mistake.
The line became silent.
Then she hung up.
Damon stared at the phone.
Victor immediately moved closer.
“Did you record that?””
Damon nodded.
“Yes.””
My heart raced.
Because Camille had just given them something they never had.
A connection.
A confession.
But before anyone could celebrate, the estate alarm went off.
Everyone froze.
Security rushed toward the garage.
The place where Major had been found.
The place that was supposed to become a symbol of healing.
Damon and I followed.
The door was open.
Inside, everything had been disturbed.
Boxes overturned.
Tools scattered.
The old floorboard ripped apart.
Someone had been searching.
Again.
But this time, they left something behind.
A small envelope sitting in the center of the room.
Damon picked it up carefully.
Inside was another photograph.
This one was older.
Much older.
It showed Marcus King standing outside the same garage.
Beside him was a young boy.
Damon.
But there was something else.
Written on the back:
“Your father didn’t tell you everything.””
Damon stared at the words.
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
He didn’t answer.
Because behind the photograph was another message.
One sentence.
One that changed the entire story.
“Ask Jasmine why her mother knew Marcus King.””
I felt the blood leave my face.
Damon turned toward me.
And for the first time since I met him…
He looked uncertain.
Because the enemy had just revealed a secret neither of us saw coming.
A secret about me.
A secret my own family had buried.
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And suddenly, the question wasn’t only who destroyed Marcus King.
It was why my mother had been connected to him in the first place.
