Page 119 of Angel

She grasps the whiskey and downs it in one and Gabriel nods, his earlier good humor vanishing by the second.

“I had already achieved success when Jason turned nine years old. I had a breakthrough with a drug for multiple sclerosis, and the word spread that I had become a master at DNA engineering. The attention felt intrusive, and it proved to be a lot to manage. I am a scientist and not used to the spotlight, and it was a lot to deal with.”

He shakes his head. “We attracted a lot of attention, not all of it good, and I had warning that a criminal gang intended to kidnap me and my family. To hold us to ransom, to sell the formula for the cure and we had one hour’s notice.”

“My father, I’m guessing.”

Sophie’s head drops and she gazes at the floor, her fingers tangling in her lap as she heaves back a sob.

“I’m sorry, but you are right. We began to pack what we could. We didn’t have much time and as the cars screeched into the yard, I urged Jason to run and hide. I wanted to protect my family. They could take me but not them, but Nicole refused to go with him.”

His voice breaks and Sophie bites her lip, not meeting our eyes as she struggles to deal with this.

“Jason ran to the barn where I kept my collection of classic cars. He understood where to hide. He barely got there in time before they raided the house, attacking me while they held Nicole as she struggled to help me.”

I take a deep breath because the horror of that day will never leave me and his hand shakes as he pours another shot of Dutch Courage into his glass.

“They managed to restrain me, and your father demanded to know Jason’s whereabouts. Nicole was crying and it broke my heart. Despite his fists, I kept my mouth shut and then one of his men came in and said he found a barn out the back. Your father told me he would fetch Jason personally and unless we cooperated, he would cut his throat in front of us.”

Sophie is openly crying now and yet I am numb to it all. I always have been. Perhaps that’s what happens when you experience great trauma. Your mind shuts down the memory to protect you.

I speak up, my tone even and devoid of emotion.

“I hid in the barn under the old Ford. I remember I was dressed as a soldier and thought I was strong enough to defend myself. I was a fool. Your father and one of his men came into the barn, taunting me, telling me what they would do to my mother if I didn’t come out. I screwed my eyes tightly shut, pretending they weren’t there. I wasn’t going to move an inch unless I had to.”

I lean forward, my arms resting on my thighs and say huskily, “He found me. His feet appeared under the car, and he told me he would shoot me out of there if he had to. I saw his gun; he pointed it at my face and the other man moved behind the car I hid underneath. My hands shook on the plastic gun in my hands and then there was a lot of noise, and a shot rang out. I thought he had pulled the trigger. I expected to die that day, but he fell. His face lifeless as he appeared on the floor, his blood flooding toward me like a river.”

I stop, taking a deep breath before continuing.

“A soldier reassured me it was safe to come out, but I was in shock. I trusted nobody. My father had told me not to come out until I heard his voice. I struggled to do the right thing and all the time his dead eyes stared at me.”

Sophie is openly sobbing now, and my voice is distant as I whisper, “Then I heard it. My father called my name, and I scrambled out from underneath the car. The soldier assured him I was safe. I will never forget how that soldier treated me. He was gentle, compassionate even and shielded my eyes from the carnage around me.”

I catch Gabriel’s eyes and note the tears glistening in them and then turn to Sophie, who lifts her tear-streaked face to mine and whispers, “I’m so sorry, Jason. I never knew.”

I shrug, reaching for her hand.

“You believed what your mom told you. I understand your need for revenge, but the soldier was just doing his job. I’m sorry Sophie, it must be hard to hear.”

To my surprise, she lunges forward and wraps her arms around me, pulling me tight against her, crying uncontrollably as she holds me so fiercely.

Gabriel wipes a tear from his eye and leans back. No words are necessary as Sophie learns the truth about what happened that day, and we open up a little piece of our soul.

CHAPTER 49

SOPHIE

This visit has changed everything. I no longer hold any animosity toward Johnathan Powell. They explained to me that he changed his name to Gabriel after Nicole died because he couldn’t carry on as the same man now that she was gone.

I listened to it all, the pain of her passing, the way he blamed himself for not saving her and why he sent Jason away to live with his brother, who was more of a father to Jason than he could ever be.

I heard the pain in his voice, the regret even, and yet part of me is glad that he spared Jason the pain of growing up surrounded by his grief. It turned out that his brother was equally intelligent in other ways. Computers.

He taught Jason everything he knew. Jason, in turn, was faster than his uncle and grasped the intricacies of AI long before it became so popular.

They are a gifted family, intelligently speaking, and yet emotionally poor.

Jason changed his name to Prince when he formed his company. He distanced himself from his past and rarely visits his father. They grew apart, which saddens me the most.