on, there was this kind of nagging sensation deep inside of me. I had been riding that high from being responsible for Galloway’s fall, but it was starting to wane. I needed to feel that rush again. You can imagine my excitement one day when Mills called saying some schmuck was looking into your father, convinced he wasn’t guilty of the fire or any of the other deals. We learned he worked in Cryptology and had been the lone survivor of that fire. Then he told me a bit of news I wasn’t anticipating… That this guy had found your mother and she was still alive. We both grew concerned everything would crumble on top of us if they spoke and began to put the pieces together. I saw this as a golden opportunity to chase that high again, so we took matters into our own hands.”
“You killed my mother and had Charlie institutionalized.”
“More or less, although I didn’t pull the metaphorical trigger myself.”
“No. Whitman did, didn’t he?”
“He was a very reliable employee of the hotel. He got the job done, so to speak.”
“Why are you telling me all of this?” I asked.
He gave me an ominous look as he sliced into the apple. “You’re a bright young girl, Serafina. I think you can figure out why I’m telling you everything.” He popped the apple into his mouth and took a bite, the juices flowing down his chin.
“Well, what happened next?” I asked. It was readily apparent he had no intention of allowing me to walk out of that house so my only saving grace was to try to stall him as long as possible in the hopes that someone would figure out where I was. Or for me to come up with some sort of plan. I wasn’t putting too many eggs in that basket, though.
“Killing your mother wasn’t enough. I was addicted to this now, desperate to recreate that high I felt when your father was killed. There was something lacking and it drove me crazy so I did the only thing I could think of. I knew it would only be a matter of time until someone else came out of the woodwork, throwing Mills’ and my world into a tailspin once again, so we decided to take preemptive action this time. Everyone on Mills’ team at the embassy fire… Gone. The Ranger unit in Bosnia… Gone. Anyone who could potentially leak the truth… Disposed of. Of course, law enforcement never put the pieces together, the incompetent fools they are. For the most part, Whitman made everything seem like an accident and no one ever thought it odd that nearly an entire Ranger unit had died. And with each new kill, that rush came back, but it still wasn’t enough. Then, roughly two years ago, I got a phone call from a frantic Mills, telling me something I never expected to hear.”
“That my father was alive.”
He nodded. “Yes, and he was convinced your father knew everything. It was only a matter of time until he ruined it all. The only thing we had on our side was that Galloway was deemed a treasonous bastard, although some higher-ups of the U.S. military issued a gag order on his alleged misdeeds so the public never knew about it.”
“But I’m sure it would have all come out if there was evidence that he was still alive and had committed a crime…say, murder.”
He winked. “Smart girl, but you’re skipping ahead. We’ll get to that. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to finally… What is the phrase you use to refer to recreating that first high?”
“Chase the dragon,” I muttered.
“Precisely! That’s the one. So, yes, with the news that your father was alive, this was my opportunity to feel that same rush again. Mills promised he would take care of Galloway once and for all and I grew antsy as I waited for news. Months had passed and I heard nothing. Nothing! Mills had forsaken his old life years ago, leaving behind his family for a deep cover assignment with the CIA, and I had become uneasy that this whole thing was a ticking time bomb. That’s when I found out the infamous daughter of Colonel Galloway, now parading around as Mackenzie Delano, was living on South Padre. And I knew this was the perfect spot to open up a new hotel.”
“So you came here and…what? Married Jenna to get close to me? Seems like a lot of effort, if you