“I don’t know! Someone hit us! Theo lost control and we went off the road!”
“Stay in the car. Look around. What do you see?”
“Another car’s pulled over. There’s a man coming toward us. He probably wants to apologize and give us his insurance card. Theo’s gotten out to talk to him.”
“Tell him to get back in the car.”
“He’s already out there.”
“Lock the door!”
“Amos—”
“Lock the fucking door, Lilly! My men will be there in two minutes,” he says, and I can hear the sound of fingers flying across a keyboard.
“I can’t lock him out!” I reply, feeling my body start to tremble.
“Do what I’m telling you.”
Before I can respond, I see a gun pointed at my friend, and without thinking, I get out to help him.
“I’m sorry,” Theo says to me, and I hear Amos shout through the phone, “Lilly? Lilly, stay in the fucking car!”
But there’s nothing else I can do, because now, the redheaded man has shifted his aim from Theo to my chest, while holding out his other hand for my phone.
“You’re even prettier in person, sweetheart,” he says with a smile.
But his eyes are ice-cold.
“Lillyana, talk to me. Who’s there?” I can still hear Amos asking.
“Amos . . .” I call out, though I know no one can help me now.
Frozen in terror, I watch the man bring the phone to his ear.
“Hello, little boy. Did you miss Daddy?”
Chapter 55
Hours Before
The day started out hellish. With no leads on the pedophile organization, I dove into the reports on Ramon.
An hour and a half later, my head was about to explode, and I was certain I was going to kill him.
My thirst for the blood of those I consider enemies hasn't lessened just because I have an angel in my life. On the contrary. To protect her, there are no limits to what I would do.
I started by reviewing the reports on the other victims of that son of a bitch, leaving Lilly’s file for last.
I didn’t need to get past the first report to know what I was dealing with. He not only sexually exploits minors in his escort houses but also films and photographs them during the acts, and profits from it around the world.
According to what my guy found out, just like in Maria’s organization, the footage is sold on the dark web and, so far, hasn’t been traced. I intend to change that very soon.
I finally worked up the courage to open the file with Lilly’s name on it.
I was caught off-guard when I found subfolders inside the main folder. They were organized by year, each representing a phase of her teenage years. But of course, this was nothing like the kind of keepsakes a stepfather would have of his daughter.
The bastard had installed cameras in her bedroom and bathroom. I nearly lost it when I confirmed that it was him entering her suite at night and filming her in moments of intimacy without her knowledge—while she was in the shower, changing her clothes. He watched her. He wanted her. And I have no doubt that the only reason he didn’t make a move was because Lilly wasn’t one of the unprotected girls he abused.
