2026-07-09 23:09:32
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THE WOUND PA GALLAGHER SAW
Simon returned to Betford Central Hospital shortly after sunrise. He had changed his torn shirt, but the pain beneath his left shoulder had grown stronger since leaving the police station.Pa Gallagher was awake when Simon entered the private ward. His weak eyes moved from Simon’s face to the stiffness in his shoulder.“You are hurt again,” Pa said. “Do not tell me it is nothing.”“It is an old wound,” Simon replied as he approached the bed. “The bandage probably shifted.”Genevieve entered with Pa’s morning medication and noticed the dark stain spreading beneath Simon’s shirt. She placed the tray down and pointed towards the empty chair.“Sit,” she ordered. “You can pretend with him, but you cannot pretend with me.”Simon obeyed without argument. Genevieve carefully removed the old dressing she had put there and found that the scar beneath it had reopened.“The wound is deeper than it looks,” she said while cleaning it. “Whatever you did last night placed too much pressure on the dam
THE TECHNIQUE VICTOR COULD NOT DENY
“The Red Butcher?” Victor asked. The title left his mouth more slowly than Ethan expected.“Yes,” Ethan replied. “The formation matched restricted footage from the Continental War. The soldiers in that recording served directly beneath his command.”Victor recovered from his surprise and returned to his chair. “A formation does not prove that Simon belonged to that unit. Military tactics spread between divisions, especially after a war.”“That formation was never included in ordinary training,” Ethan argued. “Even the assassins appeared surprised when Simon understood it.”“Former soldiers share restricted information,” Victor replied. “One of them may have taught Simon that technique.”Ethan watched his father carefully. Victor’s explanation sounded reasonable, but it did not explain the sudden change in his expression when the Red Butcher was mentioned.“There was something else,” Ethan said. “Simon used a technique against one of the attackers that I had seen before.”Victor placed
WHY DID VICTOR FEAR THAT NAME?
“Simon saved my life.”Victor remained silent.He knew his son well enough to understand how difficult that admission must have been.“Tell me what happened.”“The assassins realised they could use me against him,” Ethan explained. “Whenever Simon tried to attack their leader, one of them threatened to kill me.”“And Simon remained?”“He could have escaped, but he refused to leave me behind.”Ethan remembered the moment one of the attackers rushed towards him with a knife.“One of them tried to stab me. Simon had an opportunity to capture their leader, but he abandoned it and crossed the road to protect me.”Victor listened without interrupting.“Later, another attacker recovered my pistol and aimed it at my chest,” Ethan continued. “Two men were standing between Simon and me. Somehow, he got past them before the gunman could fire.”“What happened to the gunman?”“Simon disarmed him, disabled his arm and returned my pistol.”Ethan glanced at the support around his shoulder.“Then he o
THE TRUTH ETHAN HAD TO ADMIT
“The police also recovered a phone from one of the assassins,” Ethan continued. “It contained Simon’s route, his vehicle description and instructions to leave no witnesses. The payment came through a shell company connected to businesses that previously handled expenses for Grey Shield.”Victor returned to his desk.“Is Damien’s name attached to the account?”“No. Commissioner Pierce believes Damien could still claim that someone inside Grey Shield acted without his knowledge.”Victor reached for his phone. His anger remained controlled, but Ethan recognised the intention behind the movement.“Give me Damien’s current location,” Victor ordered. “I will have military intelligence bring him here before he has time to prepare another lie.”“You cannot move against him yet,” Ethan warned.Victor’s hand stopped above the phone.“That man sent killers who were prepared to murder my son. Do not tell me what I cannot do.”Victor had not raised his voice, but the atmosphere inside the study ch
THE ORDER TO KILL AN ASHBOURNE
Morning light had begun spreading across the Ashbourne estate when Ethan returned. The quiet grounds gave no sign of the violence he had survived during the night.He had spent the remaining hours of the night at the Betford Central Police Command, giving his statement and waiting while the recovered phone was examined. A medical worker had cleaned the cut near his ear and secured his injured shoulder inside a support, but dust and small pieces of glass still covered his clothes.The Ashbourne household was only beginning to wake. Ethan entered through a side door because he did not want Clara or Eleanor to see his injuries before he had spoken to his father.Victor was already awake. He usually began his mornings inside his private study, reviewing military reports before breakfast. Ethan knocked once before entering and closing the door behind him.General Victor Ashbourne looked up from the documents spread across his desk. The moment he noticed Ethan’s injured shoulder and bloodst
THE AUTHORITY HE COULD NOT HIDE
Pierce forced his grip to relax and kept his expression controlled. He needed Simon to end the conversation without revealing why the answer was so dangerous.Simon’s eyes became colder when he finally responded.“That no longer concerns you.” He said.“It concerns me when my sister trusts you,” Ethan replied. His voice carried no trace of the contempt he had shown outside the Ashbourne estate. “Clara believes you are an ordinary man who once sold fish. I watched you defeat eight former soldiers without receiving a serious wound.”“I saved your life tonight,” Simon said as he stopped beside the door. “Do not turn that into permission to investigate mine.”“I am not asking because you sold fish.”“No,” Simon replied. “You are asking because the answer frightens you.”Ethan became silent. Several hours earlier, he had considered Simon unworthy of Clara because of his background. That opinion had disappeared on the old road.What remained was far more unsettling.Simon possessed combat k
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