Not About Angels (A Tom Riddle Story)

Chapter 88

"Minister...we found him. We've been following him in secret. He was good at hiding his tracks, but not good enough. We located him in London last night." Auror Arnold Benard said, delivering the good news. "Alana Teller found him in a teashop under the pretense of selling him flowers. She took pictures." 

He laid out the moving photographs of the couple on the table.

The Minister smiled. At last. 

The Riddle boy was running reckless, with a fortune that should have belonged to the Minister's family.  

To him, Gabriel was the only true Delacroix.  

The Minister himself had been eyeing the Delacroix fortune for quite some time. Had it not for Marvolo's business savvy, he would have never allowed his daughter to marry that dangerous man...  

His retirement was inevitable, and he must make amends for himself and his family clan. 

In a way, this was his way of revenge. By having a bastard and bringing it out to the entire world, Marvolo put great shame on the sacred name of the Minister's family, right after Anna's death.  

The boy was a cruel insult to the family and to Anna's place as Marvolo's wife.

Either way, the boy had to go.  

"But...it appears that he isn't alone, Minister." Arnold Benard added. "He has people. Marvolo's security..."

The Minister chuckles. "Of course he does. He's not stupid. But your unit can't handle them and a couple of kids?" 

"Of-Of course not, sir. That's not what I was implying at all. It's just that...there's a girl."  

"Oh? And?"

"I've seen this girl before, sir. She was the one who had accompanied your grandson to New York. She was one of the last people to see Anna before..before the incident. One of our guys said that the morning of, Anna had hinted that she was going to brunch with this girl..."

"Why am I hearing this just now?" He yelled, irritated. 

"I'm sorry, Minister...but Gabriel insisted that she was with him the entire morning...and instructed us specifically not to question her. He said that she had a rather anxious temperament."  

"So you listened to him? A kid who knows nothing? If that girl is associated with Tom Riddle...that could change everything." He tightened his fists. The very thought of his daughter's gruesome, humiliating, and unsolved end stirred primitive anger in him. 

"What are you thinking, sir? Surely...It couldn't have been the work of the Riddle boy...He wouldn't have the stomach nor the motive...We can confirm that he wasn't at the scene. We tracked his coordinates in London at the inferred time of the attack." 

The Minister was already deep in thought. 

Anna's death was ruled as an act of revenge, given the gruesome nature of its execution. The family had many political and business enemies, but none dared so something so outrageous...It was too far..this was a not the work of a political rival, but the work in blood.

Whoever had carried it out must have had a mole inside the family's immediate entourage. Anna's whereabouts were always secured...unless someone had lured her out of the safe perimeter.    

The girl. 

The disgruntled bastard son...

The more he thought about it, the clearer the dots became. 

"Find him now! Bring him here right away." The Minister yelled. 

"The girl?" Benard asked. 

"Bring her too."

.............................................. 

The morning had begun on a pleasant note.

She leaned on his bare chest, thinking about what to have for breakfast.

"I'm craving peanut butter." She said. He chuckled.

"Then you'll have it." he said, in his husky morning drawl. 

"Don't leave so soon today...stay with us, please." She begged, not wanting to get out of bed. 

He was quiet for a moment, then pressed a kiss on her forehead. "You know I have to." 

She sighed...she didn't want to break out of yesterday night. 

"You know I want to be here with you...I'll be back before you know it." He said gently, and somehow, that sentence was enough for her to hear. 

But then the noises from outside came. The fortress they once thought of as impenetrable, was crumbling in defense. 

The men dressed in cloaks outside were skilled indeed.  

The scene was chaos...

"Come with me!" Tom Riddle yelled, trying to grab her hand as Bernard pulled her away. Tom Riddle shot Bernard with a spell, but Bernard dodged it. 

Tom Riddle was only a foot away from the secret Portkey...  

"Surrender, Tom Riddle." Arnold Bernard snarled. 

Tom Riddle regained his composure. He knew how to deal with people like Bernard.

He must not betray any sign of emotion. 

"Or what?" Tom Riddle said, a poisonous smile on his face. 

Bernard pulled her closer. "We have your girl, Riddle. If you don't come with us, we'll kill her."

Her eyes pleaded with him. If it were only her...she needed him to save their daughter. 

He met those eyes for a second, but then pulled away. 

He cannot surrender at any cost. Once he falls into the Minister's hands, the game ends, and he loses everything he's ever worked for.   

They wouldn't kill her...at least not now. They needed her. 

Tom Riddle knew he was playing a risky game, but he could not afford to be captured...

"Tom...please." She begged. Bernard pointed his wand at her neck, digging into her flesh. 

Tom Riddle forced himself to chuckle. "Take her." He said, no emotion in his eyes. As those words landed in the air, she couldn't breathe.  

"You can't touch me, Bernard." Tom Riddle said, not letting the smile fall off his face.

"Tom Riddle..." She sobbed. "Please..." 

Without a second look, he grabbed onto the portkey and was gone. The Aurors lunged for him, but he was already long gone... 

"Take her back to the Minister," Bernard instructed. "The rest of you, come with me. He can't be far gone..."