I squeezed my eyes shut, the weight of grief crushing my chest as her words came flooding back. They had prepared for this. Somehow, they had always known a day like this might come.
She had told me once: if anything ever happened to both her and Dad, save him.
Not because she was blinded by love, but because she understood how much his work protecting the community mattered.
I opened my eyes again and slowly raised my hand, pointing at the woman who had given me life, who had loved me with everything she had.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. This is my fault. I never should have dragged them out shopping.
But the gun still came to rest against my father's forehead.
My scream in that moment was the most useless sound in the world.
That was when I learned just how naive I'd been. They had never intended to let either of my parents go. The "choose one" game was nothing but an appetizer to them.
What they really wanted was to violate me in front of my mother.
That was when Paul arrived with the police.
"Boss, the cops are here."