How Far Will She Go?

Chapter Twenty-Three

Scarlett's POV

We walked down the hall in silence until we found an empty waiting room. I pushed the door closed as he sat in a chair. I followed his lead and sat in the chair across from him.

"Dad. I know. I would like to hear your side of the story." I said looking at him. I watched as his eyes widened slightly in shock.

"Know what?" Dad asked in a confused tone. "Scarlett seriously what are you talking about?" Dad asked looking at me.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Umbrella." I said using the operation name that cage had told me.

Dad's eyes spread wide, his face turned pale, and his gasp could be heard across the room. "Are you going to tell your Mom?" Dad asked once he finally found his voice.

"No. I have forgiven you already. I just want to hear your side of the story. Those men have told me so many lies that I can't believe anything that I have learned from the past fifteen years." I said grimly.

"What do you know about umbrella?" Dad asked with a sigh.

"I know that something went wrong. I know that you guys were robbing a bank. What happened that turned them against you?" I asked quietly.

"Scarlett first I want to apologize. I never expected them to go after you. I thought that they were just going to kill me. When you went missing and the police could find no trace of forced entry I actually believed that you had run away." Dad said tired.

"But Dad the door was open when I got there. I heard noises back in your room so I went back there. Your room was a complete disaster. Drawers were pulled out. Everything was out of place." I said confused.

"Scarlett you have to understand that these guys are professionals. They probably put everything back where they found it." Dad answered my sort of unspoken question.

"Oh. So what were they looking for?" I asked and he sighed again.

"I'm going to tell you the story okay. Just save your questions until I'm done okay?" Dad asked and I nodded.

Dad's POV

"So sixteen years ago I agreed to help some people rob the bank that I used to work for. About that time is when I screwed up." I said not able to look at my own daughter.

"Cage I can't do this." I say looking at my one time best friend.

"Dustin you owe me one. I took the fall for Rachel. Remember what happened that night?" Cage asked looking at me.

"I remember that I was extremely drunk. And I made a mistake." I said shaking my head.

"You shouldn't have gotten behind that wheel. My sister wouldn't have died. People think I murdered her you know. You owe us all." Cage said motioning toward Henry and Steve.

"Fine I'll get you the layouts." I finally agree cursing myself. I walked out of the room and got in my car as I headed to work. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called the cops.

"911 what's your emergency?" The dispatcher asked sounding extremely bored.

"There are some men planning on robbing the bank tonight. You should step up the security." I said hanging up the phone.

As I walked into work I was instantly met by my boss. "Dustin I'm not going to accept you resignation. We have an anonymous tip that there is going to be robbery tonight." He said staring me down.

"Mr. Morris I'm just here to pick up my things. You and the cops can take care of this." I said walking away from him and into my office. I looked over my shoulder to make sure that he wasn't following me.

I pulled out burner phone and sent a text. Operation Umbrella is a go. I smiled then sent them the plans. I threw the phone into the box that I was storing my things in.

A few minutes later I walked out the front door of the bank and went home. I walked into the garage and torched the phone before throwing it into the trash.

I walked in the side door of the house and saw Scarlett laying on the couch. "Hey Scar aren't you supposed to at school?" I asked smiling as her head shot up.

"So that's what happened." I said looking up at a confused Scarlett.

"Dad that doesn't explain what they were looking for. Did you actually steal any of the money? I figure that they were looking for something like that." Scarlett asked me.

"I didn't ever steal anything. I gave them the wrong plans so that they would get caught. I can't think of anything that they would have been looking for." I answered thinking back.

"Did they know about me?" Scarlett asked suddenly surprising me.

"No. I never mentioned you or your mother. I didn't want either of you in danger." I answered immediately.

"So when I found them going through your room they were completely surprised? The only problem with that is that they knew my name. They knew I was your daughter. They even knew when my birthday was." Scarlett said and I honestly can't remember telling any of them that I had a daughter.

"Scarlett I swear. I never told them about you. I'm not sure how they knew all that stuff but I didn't tell them." I said as sincerely as I could.

"I wonder what they were looking for. They took me for a reason. Either they wanted something from you or they wanted to teach you a lesson. And Dad one day I'm going to find out. And once I find out you better not deny it." Scarlett said standing using that crutch and reminding me.

"Oh Scarlett. Your doctor stopped by looking for you. He said that he could get you a prosthetic leg if you wanted it. I think that it's your decision but I just don't like seeing you have to use a crutch all the time." I said before she walked out the door.