Broken Chrome

Chapter 14

BROKEN CHROME

Chapter Fourteen

Bloodlines

The words left Elizabeth’s mouth, but for several long seconds afterward, Emma could hear nothing except the pounding of her own heart, each beat growing louder and heavier as the meaning of what her mother had just told her slowly settled into the space between them.

Your real father is a Callahan.

Emma stared at Elizabeth as though she had suddenly begun speaking another language, one Emma understood only enough to know that every word was changing everything she had ever believed about herself.

“No.”

It was the only word she could find.

Elizabeth’s eyes filled with tears.

“Emma, please—”

“No.” Emma shook her head harder, taking a step backward. “You said Thomas was my father.”

“He was.”

“You just told me he wasn’t.”

“I said he wasn’t your biological father.”

Emma gave a small, broken laugh that sounded nothing like herself.

“So after all these years, that’s what we’re doing? We’re changing the definition of father?”

Elizabeth flinched.

“Thomas loved you.”

“I know.”

“He raised you.”

“I know.”

“He was there for every birthday, every Christmas, every nightmare, every scraped knee and broken heart. He held you when you cried, taught you how to ride a bicycle, stayed awake when you were sick, and spent his entire life making sure you never questioned whether you belonged to him.”

Emma’s eyes filled with tears.

“I know.”

“Then please understand that none of that was a lie.”

Emma wiped angrily at her cheeks.

“It feels like a lie.”

“I know it does.”

Emma looked at her mother.

“Then tell me the truth.”

Elizabeth drew a shaky breath.

“Your biological father was Silas Callahan.”

The name seemed to echo through Emma’s mind.

Silas.

The man who had ordered Thomas’s death.

The man who had manipulated Ryder.

The man who had spent years surrounding himself with violence, secrets, and fear.

The man standing somewhere in the darkness of the world while Emma was only now discovering that his blood ran through her veins.

Emma’s face went pale.

“The same Silas Callahan?”

Elizabeth nodded.

“The same one.”

Emma turned away, pressing one trembling hand against her mouth as tears slipped down her cheeks.

“That’s not possible.”

“It is.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because Thomas believed you would be safer never knowing.”

Emma spun around.

“Safer?”

Her voice cracked with anger.

“Everybody keeps telling me they lied to me because they were trying to keep me safe, but look where that got me. My father is dead, my family has been torn apart, Ryder and Cole have spent years carrying things they shouldn’t have had to carry, and now you’re standing here telling me that the man who destroyed our lives is my father.”

Elizabeth lowered her eyes.

“I know.”

Emma stared at her.

“No, Mom. You don’t know.”

The room fell silent.

Emma’s breathing became unsteady as she fought to keep herself from completely falling apart.

“I spent my entire childhood wondering why my mother didn’t want me. I spent years believing you were dead, and when I finally found out you were alive, I thought maybe—just maybe—I could finally understand why you left.”

Elizabeth’s tears began falling.

“I never left because I didn’t love you.”

“Then why?”

“Because I was afraid.”

“Of Silas?”

“Of what he would do to you.”

Emma swallowed.

Elizabeth stepped closer.

“Silas wasn’t the kind of man who loved his children. He saw them as extensions of himself, as things that belonged to him, and when he couldn’t control something, he destroyed it.”

Emma looked toward the photograph lying on the table.

“And Thomas?”

Elizabeth’s expression softened.

“Thomas knew the truth before you were born.”

Emma’s heart clenched.

“He knew?”

“Yes.”

“And he still raised me?”

Elizabeth nodded.

“Without hesitation.”

Emma closed her eyes.

She could see him again.

Her father’s hands around hers when she was little.

His worn boots beside her tiny shoes.

His voice telling her she could accomplish anything.

The way he used to call her baby girl even when she was old enough to roll her eyes at him.

The way he had loved her without ever once making her feel as though she was anything less than his daughter.

“He was my dad,” she whispered.

“He always will be.”

Emma opened her eyes.

“And Silas?”

Elizabeth hesitated.

“He eventually discovered the truth.”

“When?”

“Years after you were born.”

“How?”

Elizabeth’s gaze shifted toward Marcus.

“Someone told him.”

Emma followed her eyes.

“Marcus.”

Elizabeth nodded.

Ghost’s jaw tightened.

“So Marcus knew.”

“He knew pieces of it.”

“Enough to put Emma in danger,” Ghost said.

Elizabeth looked at him.

“Yes.”

Emma turned toward Ryder.

“You knew Marcus was involved?”

“I suspected.”

Her anger rose again.

“Of course you did.”

“Emma—”

“Everyone suspected something. Everyone knew something. Everyone had a piece of the puzzle, and somehow I was the only person standing in the middle of it without knowing what picture we were trying to put together.”

Ryder took a step toward her.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

“I know.”

She looked into his eyes.

“That’s what makes it worse.”

His expression fell.

Emma loved him.

That was the problem.

Even now, with everything falling apart around them, she couldn’t stop loving him.

And that frightened her more than anything else.

Then Cole spoke.

“If Silas is Emma’s father…”

His voice trailed off.

Emma turned toward him.

Cole’s face had gone pale.

Elizabeth looked at him with tears in her eyes.

“You already understand.”

Cole shook his head.

“No.”

Elizabeth nodded.

“You and Emma are twins.”

The silence that followed was almost unbearable.

Emma stared at Cole.

Cole stared at her.

Neither of them seemed capable of moving.

“Twins?” Emma whispered.

Elizabeth nodded.

“You were born minutes apart.”

Cole slowly shook his head.

“That’s impossible.”

“I wish it were.”

“Then why don’t I remember her?”

“Because Silas took you.”

Cole’s expression hardened.

“What?”

Elizabeth looked at him.

“He took you when you were an infant.”

Cole’s breathing became heavier.

“He stole me.”

“Yes.”

“From you?”

“Yes.”

“From Emma?”

Elizabeth nodded.

Cole laughed bitterly, but there was pain behind it.

“Why?”

“Because Silas wanted a son.”

Cole looked toward the floor.

“And he raised me.”

“He tried to.”

Cole looked up.

“No.”

His voice was quiet but filled with years of pain.

“He didn’t raise me. He trained me.”

Emma looked at him.

Cole continued.

“He taught me that weakness was something to be ashamed of, that trust was a weapon someone could use against you, and that love was just another way to get hurt.”

Emma’s heart broke for him.

She stepped closer.

“You didn’t deserve that.”

Cole looked at her.

“Neither did you.”

Something inside Emma broke.

She reached for him.

Cole hesitated for only a second before pulling her into his arms.

The hug was awkward because they had spent their entire lives as strangers, but there was something strangely natural about standing there together, as though some part of them had always known the other existed even if their minds had never been given the chance to remember.

“I wish I’d known you,” Emma whispered.

Cole closed his eyes.

“Me too.”

When they finally separated, Emma looked at him through tear-filled eyes.

“So I really have a brother.”

Cole smiled faintly.

“Apparently.”

Emma laughed through her tears.

“I don’t know whether to hug you again or punch you for everything that’s happened.”

“Honestly, I think I deserve both.”

A small laugh escaped her.

It was the first genuine laugh she’d managed in what felt like forever.

Across the room, Ryder watched them with a strange mixture of sadness and relief.

Emma looked at him.

“Ryder.”

He stepped closer.

“I’m here.”

“Does this change anything between us?”

He didn’t hesitate.

“No.”

She swallowed.

“You’re sure?”

“Emma, nothing about who your father was changes who you are.”

He reached for her hand.

“And nothing about who your brother is changes how I feel about you.”

Emma intertwined her fingers with his.

For the first time since Elizabeth had spoken the words, some of the fear inside her began to settle.

Then a loud crash shattered the moment.

Everyone froze.

Ryder’s entire demeanor changed instantly.

He released Emma’s hand and reached for his weapon.

“Get down.”

The front windows exploded inward.

Glass sprayed across the room as gunfire erupted from outside.

Emma screamed and dropped behind the nearest piece of furniture while Ryder moved directly in front of her, firing toward the windows.

“Stay down!”

Cole returned fire from the opposite side of the room.

Marcus moved toward the hallway.

“They found us!”

Ryder looked toward him.

“Who?”

“The Black Rose.”

Another bullet tore through the wall.

Elizabeth grabbed Emma’s arm.

“We have to move.”

Emma looked toward Ryder.

He was still firing.

“I’m not leaving him.”

“Emma, he’ll follow us.”

“He better.”

She crawled toward the kitchen while Elizabeth followed.

Cole covered them from behind.

They reached the back door and rushed into the cold night.

The air was sharp against Emma’s face as they ran across the yard toward the barn, with Cole leading them toward an old stack of crates that appeared to have been abandoned for years.

He shoved them aside.

A wooden trapdoor was hidden beneath them.

“Down!”

Emma climbed inside.

Elizabeth followed.

Cole entered last and pulled the door shut above them.

For several seconds, there was nothing but darkness and the sound of their breathing.

Then footsteps crossed the barn floor.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

Emma pressed one hand over her mouth.

Cole raised his weapon.

The footsteps stopped directly above them.

A man’s voice echoed through the barn.

“Find the girl.”

Emma’s heart pounded so hard she was certain the people above them could hear it.

The footsteps finally moved away.

Cole lowered his weapon.

“We can’t stay here.”

Elizabeth nodded.

“There’s somewhere else.”

“Where?”

“The old mill.”

Emma’s blood ran cold.

“The mill where my father died?”

Elizabeth looked at her.

“Yes.”

“Why would we go there?”

“Because your father left something there.”

Emma stared at her.

“What?”

Elizabeth took a shaky breath.

“The final piece of the truth.”

⸻

By the time they reached the old mill, the sky had become completely black, and the building stood against it like a forgotten graveyard, its broken windows reflecting the moonlight while the rusted machinery inside cast long, crooked shadows across the concrete floor.

Ryder was already there.

The moment Emma saw him, she ran.

He caught her against his chest.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded against him.

“Are you?”

“I’m fine.”

She pulled back and looked into his eyes.

“You always say that.”

He smiled faintly.

“I’m trying to make it a habit.”

She touched his face.

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t scare me like that.”

His expression softened.

“I’ll try.”

Cole stood nearby, watching them, and for the first time Emma noticed that there was no resentment in his expression.

Only acceptance.

Then the enormous doors at the front of the mill slammed shut.

Every person in the room turned.

A slow clap echoed through the darkness.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Then a familiar voice came from the shadows.

“My, my.”

Silas stepped into the dim light.

Ghost immediately raised his weapon.

“Dad.”

Silas smiled.

“My boy.”

“You should have stayed dead.”

Silas laughed softly.

“And you should have learned by now that appearances can be deceiving.”

Cole stepped forward.

“You tried to kill me.”

Silas looked at him without a trace of regret.

“And yet you’re still alive.”

“You stole my life.”

“No.”

Silas’s smile faded.

“I made you strong.”

Cole’s fists tightened.

“You made me hate myself.”

Silas shrugged.

“Survival requires strength.”

Ryder stepped between them.

“You don’t get to talk to him like that.”

Silas looked at his son.

“You always were protective.”

His gaze shifted toward Emma.

“And now I understand why.”

Emma stepped forward.

Silas smiled.

“Come closer, Emma.”

She refused.

“You don’t get to call me that.”

He laughed.

“You’re my daughter.”

Emma’s eyes hardened.

“No.”

“Blood says otherwise.”

“Blood doesn’t make you my father.”

Silas’s smile disappeared.

“Thomas filled your head with lies.”

Emma took another step forward.

“Thomas filled my life with love.”

For the first time, Silas looked genuinely angry.

“He was a fool.”

“He was a better man than you’ll ever be.”

Silas stared at her.

Then he looked toward Cole.

“You see what I mean?”

Cole didn’t answer.

Silas continued.

“She has Thomas’s heart.”

Emma looked at him.

“And you have none.”

The room went silent.

Silas slowly raised his weapon.

Ryder moved in front of Emma.

“Try it.”

Silas smiled.

“You still don’t understand.”

“Understand what?”

Silas looked from Ryder to Cole, then finally to Emma.

“The three of you have spent years believing you knew exactly who you were.”

He paused.

“But bloodlines have a way of destroying assumptions.”

Emma’s stomach tightened.

“You said Cole was my twin.”

“He is.”

“Then what else are you hiding?”

Silas smiled.

“Your mother never told you everything.”

Elizabeth stepped forward.

“Silas, enough.”

He turned toward her.

“Tell them.”

“No.”

“Tell them what you did.”

Elizabeth shook her head.

Silas looked at Emma.

“Ask your mother who Ryder’s biological father is.”

Ryder went completely still.

Emma slowly turned toward him.

Then toward Elizabeth.

Her mother’s face had gone white.

“Mom?”

Elizabeth’s lips trembled.

“I…”

Ryder looked at Elizabeth.

“What is he talking about?”

Elizabeth closed her eyes.

“Ryder…”

His voice became sharper.

“Tell me.”

Silas smiled.

“Go ahead.”

Elizabeth opened her eyes.

She looked at Ryder.

Then Emma.

Then Cole.

And in that moment, Emma realized that whatever answer was coming would change their lives all over again.

Elizabeth finally whispered,

“Ryder’s father…”

A gunshot exploded through the mill.

Everyone dropped.

The lights went out.

And somewhere in the darkness, Silas laughed.

Because the truth they had spent years burying had finally begun to surface—and none of them were prepared for what was waiting beneath it.