I Am Sher-locked

21. Betrayal

"Jack Norton claims to be your father, Irene Adler!!"

"But...", she gulped, terrified. "My father died when I was two years old..."

*****************

Suddenly the call ended the same time when Sherlock and John burst out of the morgue. The smartphone slipped from her trembling hand and ended up on the marble floor, making a loud thud. Sherlock instantly jumped to her side and grabbed her only a second before she collapses on the floor. 

"Irene!!", Sherlock wrapped his arms around her worried. "What happened? My mother said that my father is missing!! What did she tell you?!"

"I'm gonna lose it...", Irene mumbled, her face white as a sheet. 

"John, go to the hotel", Sherlock turned to him. "Try to calm down my mother, please. I'm going to deal with the rest."

"Yes, of course", John hastened to the exit. "Call me if you find anything!", he called out right before he disappeared. 

"Sherlock, listen to me...", Irene pulled away from him. Her breath was coming uneven out of her lips. She was panicking. Sherlock stared at her. "Mycroft called me and said that he is with a man named Jack Norton... He has your father and he--...", she stuttered. "He... he claims to be my father..."

"What?!", Sherlock hissed. "Your father is dead! Who is this man?!"

"I have no clue...", she mumbled and gathered her phone from the floor. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "We need to go find Mycroft right now."

Sherlock gently took her by the elbow and pulled her with him out of the building. They got in the first taxi that stopped in front of them and Sherlock gave the adress to Mycroft's office. 

Irene was immersed in her chaotic thoughts. She tried to bring to mind the image of her father but it was of course impossible. She was only two years old when he died. She had no memory of him. In their house there were only a few photos with him. The only thing Irene clearly remembered was her mother always avoiding talking about him. It was as if her mother was blaming her father who died so early. To me he was dead long before he died. This is what her mother said when Irene asked questions about him. 

Sherlock was too worried to pay attention to Irene. He was staring outside the window, silently. They didn't even hold hands. 

Jack Norton. That was her father's real name and her real last name. Irene Norton. She changed it when her mother died and she left to start a new life. Nobody knew, not even Sherlock. He did not need to know, after all. For her, the surname Norton belonged in the past.

The taxi stopped and her thoughts cut short. They got out but didn't even look at each other as they walked in the building and went up to the seventh floor where Mycroft's office was. Sherlock burst in the office without a knock and Irene followed. 

Mycroft was sitting behind his desk, his face inside his palms. A man was standing right beside the desk. It only took a second for Irene to observe him. The man was tall with dark hair but gray temples. Sure he was older than he looked but that was not the most important thing. He had a deep scar on his upper lip. The blood froze in Irene's veins. In one of the photos of her father that Irene had seen, his scar was clear.

"This can not be...", she gulped, her throat suddenly felt dry. Her heartbeat increased. She stared at him wide eyed.

The man greeted her with a wide grin. "Hello pumpkin."

"Where is my father??", Sherlock growled, ready to rush at him furiously but Mycroft jumped up, scared.

"Don't touch him!", Mycroft exclaimed. "Dad is wrapped up in explosives and he has the button! He showed to me with a live footage!"