All Chapters of The Debt He Can't Collect: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The safe house smells like someone else's life. Old coffee. Dust. That particular staleness of a place nobody actually lives in.Victoria's already there when we arrive, hunched over a laptop at the kitchen table. Three monitors. Too many cables. The blue light makes her look sick.She glances up. Sees my face."Your father," she says. Not a question.I don't answer. There's nothing to say about a man who died handcuffed to a table because he finally told the truth.Damien checks the windows. Twice. Then the back door. Then the windows again. His hand keeps drifting toward his hip where his gun sits. He hasn't stopped moving since we left the burning police station."Sit," Victoria says. "Please."The couch is brown. Seventies, maybe. The cushions sag in the wrong places. I sit anyway because my legs hurt and I can't remember the last time I ate or slept or did anything normal people do to stay functional.Damien stays by the window.Victoria turns one of her monitors toward me. "Dr.

The van idles in the driveway. Emma watches Damien load gear into the back. Tactical vests. Medical supplies. Weapons they won't get to use."This is insane," he says. Doesn't look at her. "You know that, right?""I know.""Then don't do it.""Lily's already there. Sophie's been there for nineteen years. I'm the last piece. If I don't go, he kills them both."Damien slams the cargo door. Turns. His jaw is tight. "He's going to kill you anyway. The moment he has what he needs.""Maybe. But at least they'll have a chance."Victoria comes out, phone still pressed to her ear. She's been on calls for two hours. Coordinating. Planning. Looking for angles that don't end in body bags.She hangs up. "My contact just confirmed. Torres moved Lily to the main facility. Same wing where Sophie's held. Adjacent examination rooms."Emma's chest tightens. "He wants all three of us.""He wants to run experiments simultaneously. Use you as the baseline while he tests enhancement on Lily. Compare results

The examination theater is cold. Too cold. Emma shivers in her medical gown as the guards strap her to the table beside Sophie.Metal restraints bite into her wrists. Her ankles. Across her chest.She turns her head. Sophie is inches away. Still unconscious. Breathing shallow."She's stable," Torres says. Reading monitors. "Enhanced healing kept her under longer than expected. Fascinating. Her body metabolizes sedatives differently than baseline humans."He approaches Emma's table. Pulls on fresh gloves. Snaps them tight."Your father looked well, didn't he? Considering." Torres picks up a syringe. Clear liquid. "I've kept him alive specifically for this moment. So he could see what you'd become. What Sophie became. The full scope of his work."Emma's jaw tightens. "You're going to kill him anyway.""Eventually. But not today. Today is about you. About understanding why Project Angel succeeded in your biology when it failed in everyone else." He taps the syringe. Air bubbles rise. "Th

The countdown ticks. 9:03 9:02 9:01 Emma stares at the terminal. At the code she doesn't understand. At Sarah's fingers flying across the keyboard. Trying everything. Failing. "There has to be a way," Emma says. "There is." Torres pulls himself up. Leaning against a table. Blood dripping from his mouth. "Me. Only I can stop it. Only I have the master code." Emma crosses to him. Fast. Grabs his collar. "Then stop it." "Why would I do that? You've already destroyed everything. The FBI is here. My research will be seized. My work will be buried. I'll spend the rest of my life in prison. Or worse." He smiles. "At least this way, I control the ending. I decide who lives and who dies. That's worth something." Emma's hands tighten. "I'll kill you right now." "Then everyone dies. Including your sisters. Is that what you want?" Emma wants to hit him. Wants to break him. But he's right. She needs him alive. Needs him cooperative. She releases him. Steps back. 8:34 8:33 8:32 Sophi

Three months pass.Emma stands in front of her new apartment. Brooklyn. Small. Affordable. Hers.The boxes are still packed. She hasn't had time to unpack. Too busy with depositions. Interviews. Therapy sessions mandated by the government.Too busy learning how to live again.Lily is staying with Rebecca. Recovering. Learning to control her new abilities. She's stronger now. Faster. But scared. Uncertain.Sophie is in a treatment facility. Voluntary. Working through nineteen years of trauma. Of captivity. Of torture.She visits Emma twice a week. They don't talk much. Just sit together. Existing.It's enough.Damien moved to Boston. New job. Fresh start. He calls sometimes. Asks how she's doing. She says fine. They both know it's a lie.Emma hasn't seen him in six weeks.She thinks about calling. Doesn't.Victoria calls instead. "Turn on the news."Emma finds the remote. Clicks on the TV.Her face fills the screen.A reporter stands outside the ruins of Torres's facility. "Three month