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Home / Urban / HERE COMES THE KING / CHAPTER 139 - RECKONING WITH THE TRUTH
CHAPTER 139 - RECKONING WITH THE TRUTH
Author: Tom Kay
last update2026-02-03 17:40:36

Ral drove home from the oncology center in daze, Thomas Brennan's words echoing through his mind. He'd spent fifteen years knowing abstractly that thirty-four deaths meant thirty-four families destroyed. But meeting Thomas made that abstraction brutally concrete—real brother grieving real loss, real nieces growing up without father, real pain that hadn't diminished over fifteen years.

He barely remembered reaching his apartment. Sat at kitchen table staring at nothing, processing encounter that
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  • CHAPTER 143 - GRACE

    Five years later, Maya sat in living room watching Grace play with blocks on carpet. Her daughter was five now—bright, curious, full of questions about everything. Today she'd asked the question Maya had been preparing for since Ral's death."Mommy, who's the man in the pictures with me when I was a baby?"Maya took deep breath, pulled out photo album she'd assembled specifically for this conversation. Pictures of Ral holding infant Grace, reading to her, sleeping with her on his chest in his final weeks."That's your grandfather. My father. His name was Ral.""Where is he?" Grace asked with innocent directness of five-year-old."He died when you were three months old. He was very sick, but he fought to stay alive long enough to meet you. You were very important to him."Grace studied photos with serious expression. "Did he love me?""More than anything," Maya replied honestly. "He fought cancer for extra months just to hold you. You gave him reason to keep trying when trying was very

  • CHAPTER 142 - THE LAST DAY

    Ral woke on what would be his final day knowing somehow that this was the end. The hospice nurse recognized it too—something in his breathing, his color, the way his body had begun the process of shutting down that couldn't be reversed."Today," she told Maya quietly in the hallway. "Maybe tonight. He's peaceful though. Not in significant pain."Maya came into his room, sat beside the bed, took his hand. She didn't speak at first, just held his hand while morning light filtered through curtains. Grace was still sleeping down the hall, peaceful in her crib, unaware that her grandfather was dying."I don't want you to go," Maya finally said, voice breaking. "I know that's selfish. I know you're ready, that you've fought long enough. But I don't want to lose you.""You're not losing me," Ral managed, voice weak but clear. "I'm just... finishing. Everything I needed to do—I did it. Met Grace. Walked you down the aisle. Tried to become better person. That's complete as it's going to get."

  • CHAPTER 141 - FINAL MONTHS

    Grace was three months old when Ral's latest scans showed the cancer had started growing again. Dr. Morrison delivered the news with practiced sympathy that didn't soften the reality."The tumor is no longer responding to treatment. It's grown approximately twenty percent in last six weeks. We can try different chemotherapy protocol, but honestly, your body has been through a lot. Quality of life versus quantity becomes real consideration now.""How long without more treatment?" Ral asked directly."Maybe three months. Possibly four if you're lucky. With aggressive new protocol, we might buy you six more months, but you'd be sick constantly. Barely able to function."Ral thought about Grace—tiny person who was just learning to smile, who wouldn't remember him if he died now, who deserved grandfather present for moments rather than grandfather suffering through treatments that bought minimal time."No more chemotherapy," he decided. "I want whatever time remains to be quality time with

  • CHAPTER 140 - MAYA'S LABOR

    The call came at three in the morning, six weeks before Maya's due date. Ral was awake anyway—insomnia from chemotherapy made sleep unpredictable. David's voice carried controlled panic that came from trying to stay calm during crisis."Ral, Maya's in labor. It's early but doctors say baby's coming. We're at Georgetown hospital. Can you get here?""I'm coming now," Ral replied, already moving despite exhaustion. He dressed quickly, grabbed keys, started the drive to DC that normally took an hour. At three AM with empty roads, he made it in forty minutes.The hospital maternity ward was quiet, sterile, filled with that peculiar tension of waiting for new life to arrive. David met him in waiting room, looking young and terrified despite being thirty-six years old."She's been in labor four hours," David explained. "Started as false contractions, then became real fast. Doctors say six weeks early is manageable, baby should be fine, but Maya's scared. Keeps asking for you."A nurse led Ra

  • CHAPTER 139 - RECKONING WITH THE TRUTH

    Ral drove home from the oncology center in daze, Thomas Brennan's words echoing through his mind. He'd spent fifteen years knowing abstractly that thirty-four deaths meant thirty-four families destroyed. But meeting Thomas made that abstraction brutally concrete—real brother grieving real loss, real nieces growing up without father, real pain that hadn't diminished over fifteen years.He barely remembered reaching his apartment. Sat at kitchen table staring at nothing, processing encounter that had shaken foundations he'd carefully built around his guilt. He'd told himself the deaths were necessary, that network operatives knew risks, that their choices to work for criminal organization made them legitimate targets.But Michael Brennan had been accountant. Facilitator. Someone who'd probably rationalized his work as just moving numbers, not understanding fully what those numbers funded. Did that make him innocent? No. But did it make him deserving of assassination without trial? Also

  • CHAPTER 138 - THE VISITOR

    Ral was leaving the oncology center after his latest chemotherapy session when a man approached him in the parking lot. Mid-forties, well-dressed, with face that carried weight of old grief. Something about his deliberate approach set off alarms from Ral's operational years—this wasn't random encounter."Ral Petrov," the man stated, not question but confirmation."Yes," Ral replied cautiously, keys ready in hand. "Do I know you?""No. But I know you. I'm Thomas Brennan. My brother was Michael Brennan. You killed him in Dubai fifteen years ago. Network financial operative. He was thirty-two years old. Had wife and two daughters who grew up without father because of operation you coordinated."The name landed like physical blow. Ral remembered Dubai operation—one of the simultaneous strikes, two operatives wounded, target eliminated. But he'd never known target's name, never researched who Michael Brennan was beyond designation as network financial controller who needed elimination."I'

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