Four's POV

Sarah Brindle isn't quite as beautiful in person as she appears on television. For one thing, she is older than I thought she'd be. Her face is so plastered with makeup that it's hard to see the fine lines that cross her face, but now that I'm sitting across the table from her, it's much more apparent.

She promised us some of her time, but she has been on her phone the whole time so far. "I don't think she's taking us too seriously." I whisper to Zeke, who sits beside me fiddling with his fingers."

"How could she. We haven't been allowed to speak yet." He replies.

The reporter looks over at us from her phone call, annoyed by our whispering if I'm right. She finally hangs up and puts on a forced smile.

"I'm very sorry about that. It's a big story I've been working on for a while. I'll need to reschedule with you boys."

Shit. That won't work. I don't have much time. "How big of a story is it?"

She looks back at me, not happy that I'd asked the question. "I can't tell you that." She begins to stand from her chair in the small café where we agreed to meet.

"Is it bigger than an abuse scandal concerning the mayor?"

That got her attention. She sits back down, pulling her bag off her shoulder. "I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?"

"I didn't yet, but if you stay and hear me out, I promise it will be worth your while."

Her eyes look to Zeke for a moment, for some kind of confirmation from him that this is not a joke, but he just shrugs his shoulders and directs her back to me.

I can see she is intrigued by the possibility of what I might have to say as she immediately redials the last person she'd talked to on her cell and tells them to push their meeting back an hour.

"May I have your permission to record this conversation?"

"Yes." I say, squeezing my eyes closed as she pulls the tape recorder out of her bag and sets it up on the table.

I let out a long shaky breath. I have her attention, now I just have to get the words out of my mouth. I start by giving her my name, and then my real name.

"People call me Four. But my real name is Tobias Eaton."

"Eaton? As in a relation to the mayor?"

I nod. "Mayor Eaton is my boss, and my father. I'm the head of his security department."

Sarah glares at me, as if she wants to challenge my claim. "I wasn't aware the mayor had any children."

"That's the way he wanted it. He said it was for my own good, to keep me from the media. In actuality, it was to hide what kind of person he really is."

"Go on."

I look over at Zeke for a moment as beads of sweat form on my forehead. "Marcus Eaton is an abusive piece shit that doesn't belong in public office. The only place he belongs is behind bars."

Sarah's mouth falls open. So does Zeke's. I'm nervous I won't be able to get everything out, but now that I got my initial accusation heard, my words come easier. I tell her about the years of abuse against me and my mother. I tell her about the constant threat of losing my mother if I ever revealed the truth. I even tell her about the dozens of instances that I made go away with a large sum of money. The words all fall out in an incredibly long sentence. When I finally feel I've made my point, I breathe a sigh of relieve, knowing it's not my burden to keep these secrets any longer.

Zeke places his hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze when I look into his face. His eyes are glazed over, but he fights to keep the tears from falling.

Sarah leans back in her chair, digesting everything I'd just said. "This is quite the story you've told me Mr. Eaton. And I'd love to make it public knowledge so your father will be held accountable for his crimes, but…"

"But?" My face drops as I suddenly wonder if she believed a single thing I've said.

"Do you have any proof? Unfortunately, I can't just take your word for it. I don't even know for sure that you are who you say you are. If I ran with this story without any proof, I'd not only lose my job but I'd also get sued."

I nod. I knew this was coming, and thought I was nervous about telling my story, this part is by far the scariest. "I would be happy to have a DNA test run to prove that he is my father. The hospital staff can testify that my father has never once visited my mother in the hospital."

"That's not going to be enough kid." Sarah looks at me with an apologetic expression.

"Yeah. Well, then there's this." I stand, turn my back to her and lift up the back of my shirt for her and anyone else in the café that happen to glance over. The woman lets out a loud gasp as the extent of the damage inflicted by my father is put on display for her.

Zeke reacts similarly and starts talking as if we were alone. "Why didn't you tell me Four? I might have been able to help. You could have moved in with Uri and me." He can't suppress his tears any longer and I watch, touched by his devotion to me, as he quickly wipes them away before anyone sees his emotional break down."

Sarah stands and walks to get a closer look. I assume she needs to confirm with her own eyes that they are indeed real. She touches the deepest one with her fingertips, but pulls them away immediately after making contact with the scarred tissue. "You are sure you want to go public with this? We can't do this anonymously. Everything will come out. Everyone will know what happened to you. That's the only way we can guarantee your father would be convicted."

I lower my shirt, nodding my head as I turn back to her. "I know that. I will cooperate in any way I can. I do have one request first though."

"Of course. Anything you want."

"I need you to buy me some time. I don't want this to come out until tomorrow. I need to say goodbye to my mother first. After that, I don't care who finds out. I just want this over with and I want my father to pay for what he's done."

We didn't talk much longer after that. Sarah had us meet up again in my office where I was able to show her records of the payoffs I've made to keep various people from pressing charges or making a scene. I gave her as much information as I could, other than any details about the actual victims of Marcus' actions. She was thrilled with everything I gave her, assuring me that there was no way my father would be able to get away with all the evidence I presented her with.

She also asked a friend of hers to come by and take detailed photographs of my back. She assured me I wouldn't have to show my scars to anyone else if they were able to get thorough photographs taken, and that was a huge sense of relieve for me.

Zeke stayed with me the whole time, though he didn't say much. I don't think he knew what to say, but just being there helped me feel less alone.

By the time the whole ordeal was over, Sarah felt the need to give me a hug before leaving. I know she meant well, but I'm not a person who likes to be touched. No doubt another side effect of what my father had done to me. When she wrapped her arms around my shoulders, I froze up. She felt my reaction, and immediately regretted the action and I felt bad that I made her uncomfortable.

"This will all be over soon Tobias. You're doing the right thing. The mayor won't be able to hurt anyone else after this."

I nodded, not having any more words. I held the door open as she and her photographer friend left, then collapsed to my knees as soon as they were gone and the door was closed. I buried my face in my hands, demanding my body to regain control over my emotions.

Zeke came over and sat on the floor beside me. He looked like he wanted to say something, but every time he opened his mouth nothing came out.

"You don't need to say anything." I finally managed to say. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you before. I just wasn't strong enough."

"It's okay Four. I understand." Zeke fumbled for words. "I honestly have no idea how I would have dealt with the situation if I was in your shoes. What I do know, is that I'm proud of you. Man, you are one brave son of a bitch."

"Thank you," I squeaked. "I don't feel brave though. I waited all this time to stop him. If I'd done it sooner, fewer people would have been hurt."

Zeke nodded. "You did it as soon as you were able. Some people may have never been able to do what you did tonight. Others would have just run off, taken themselves out of the situation, but leaving an opportunity for even more people to get hurt. You broke the cycle."

"I wouldn't have if it hadn't been for her."

"Who? Sarah? Nah, you would have found someone else to help."

I shook my head. "No, not Sarah. Someone else."

Zeke looked confused. "Who?"

"The girl I mentioned to you this morning."

"You mean the one who's house we stopped by?"

"Yeah. It was all her. She's the one that made me look at my life differently. She's the one that made me take action."

"Okay. But it was still you that did it."

I shook my head again. "That's not what I'm getting at. She is going through something similar. Someone out there is hurting her. I don't know where she is, or how to find her. I just know I need to help her."

Zeke set his hand on my shoulder and I looked up to meet his gaze. "Then we will. I'll help you find her."

I smiled at my friend. I knew all along I could count on him, and a pain of guilt took root in my chest. I should have trusted him long ago. "I was hoping you'd say that. My father is being released from the hospital tomorrow afternoon. I need to find her before that, because I'm going to have to disappear for a while after that. We need to get her out of her situation, because I can't leave knowing she is still being hurt, still trapped by someone just like Markus." I pulled a sheet of paper out of my back pocket. "This is everything I know about her. She has very little on her medical records, almost no education records past the fourth grade. I need you to see what you can find out about her. I have reason to believe her step-mother lied to you. Can you do this for me?"

"Yeah, of course. But what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to say goodbye to my mother. Can we meet back here at 6:00?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll find out everything I can. One of the girls in the records department owes me a big favor. I'll cash in that favor and you'll know stuff about this girl that you don't even want to know."

I let out a quick laugh. "I just need to find where she is. I believe that if I talk to her one more time, I can convince her to tell me who is hurting her."

"Sounds like a plan." Without warning, Zeke pulled me in for a strong hug. It took everything I had not to tense up like I had with Sarah. Instead I gave him a solid pat on the back and he released me immediately.

"You are a great friend Zeke. I owe you one."

"Yeah, I'll send you a bill later. Right now, we've got a girl to find."