C225 The Price Of Justice

Peter smiled at her warmly. "While I was away for months..." "She raised our children." "She attended school meetings." "She celebrated birthdays." "She comforted them when they were weak." "I wasn't there." "I missed most of their childhood." Georgia slowly shook her head. "No..." "You were protecting other families." Peter sighed. "I kept telling myself that." "But a family still needs a father."

He looked toward Mark. "When I finally decided to take leave..." "Mark was around twenty-two." "He had already become a dependable young man." Peter smiled sadly. "And Malice..." A warm smile appeared on everyone's faces despite the sadness. "She had just turned twenty." "Brilliant." "Confident." "Fearless." Peter laughed quietly. "Sometimes she reminded me of yourself."

Mark couldn't help smiling. "She really did." Peter nodded. "She questioned everything." "If she didn't agree with you..." "She would debate until you surrendered." Georgia wiped away a tear while laughing softly. "She won almost every argument." Even Alicia smiled through her tears. "I really resemble her that much?" Peter turned around and looked at her carefully. "My child..." "Not just your appearance." "Your personality." "Your intelligence." "The way you refuse to give up." "Even the way you challenge people."

He smiled sadly. "Sometimes..." "When I look at you..." "I forget she is gone." Alicia's eyes instantly filled with tears again. Peter looked away before continuing. "When my leave ended..." "I received another request here at home." "The Scotland Police Department had encountered a case they couldn't solve." "It involved international drug trafficking." "They asked me to assist."

He slowly sat back down. "The investigation lasted nearly eleven months." "Every clue..." "Led nowhere." "The syndicate was extremely careful." "They never handled drugs personally." "They used intermediaries." "They bribed officials." "They eliminated witnesses." "They erased evidence." Peter clenched his fists. "But eventually..." "We found something." Mark immediately leaned forward. "The shipping routes?"

Peter nodded. "Exactly." "We discovered a connection between Scotland..." "...and Colombia." Everyone remained silent. Peter continued. "The supplier was one of South America's most notorious traffickers..." "Alvaro Gonzalez." "He operated from Colombia." "He supplied enormous quantities of narcotics across Europe." "They never dealt with him directly." "His organization always sent trusted representatives."

Peter looked toward Alicia. "Our investigation eventually revealed something even more frightening." "The distributor inside Scotland..." "...was the Harris Family." The room instantly became tense. I frowned. "The Harris Family?" Peter nodded slowly. "Back then..." "They controlled almost every major drug route in Scotland." "They were respected businessmen during the day..." "...and ruthless criminals at night." "They had politicians." "They had police officers." "They had businessmen." "They had everyone."

Mark quietly asked, "They were untouchable?" Peter sighed. "Almost." He folded his hands together. "We spent months planning." "If we arrested the wrong people..." "The entire operation would disappear." "So..." "We decided to catch them during an exchange." "The drugs..." "The money..." "The buyers..." "Everything." "It had to happen at once." Alicia listened without blinking.

Peter continued. "The operation succeeded." "We surrounded the warehouse." "There was gunfire." "Several officers were injured." "But we captured them." "We arrested one of Alvaro Gonzalez's senior representatives..." "...along with Frank Harris." He closed his eyes. "I still remember placing the handcuffs on Frank myself." "He looked straight into my eyes." "And smiled." Alicia frowned. "He smiled?"

Peter nodded. "Yes." "He wasn't afraid." "He simply said..." Peter's voice became lower. "You'll regret this for the rest of your life." The entire room fell silent. Even I felt goosebumps. Peter slowly continued. "At the time..." "I thought it was nothing more than the threat of a defeated criminal." "I ignored it." "The evidence against him was overwhelming." "He was convicted." "Years ago..." "Drug trafficking on that scale wasn't punished with life imprisonment."

Peter's eyes became distant. "The punishment..." "...was execution." Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. Peter swallowed heavily. "Frank Harris was executed after the court found him guilty." "I attended the final hearing." "I believed..." "Justice had won." He laughed bitterly. "I was wrong." A heavy silence settled over the room once again. Peter lowered his head. "I didn't know..." "...that justice would eventually come looking for my family."

His voice broke slightly. "And when it did..." "It took from me..." "...what I treasured most." The room became unbearably quiet. Everyone already knew... The hardest part of the story... Was still yet to come. Peter remained seated, his hands clasped together, staring at the floor for several long moments before finally lifting his head. His eyes were already wet. "When Frank Harris was executed..." "I believed everything was over." "I thought the people of Scotland would finally have peace."

He laughed bitterly. "I was wrong." "There is always someone waiting to take the throne." He slowly continued. "Frank Harris had a younger brother..." "Willy Harris." "He disappeared immediately after Frank's arrest." "At first, we believed he had fled the country." "But in reality..." "He stayed." "He quietly rebuilt everything his brother had lost." "He became the new head of the Harris Family."

Mark slowly clenched his fists. "He was much smarter than Frank." Peter nodded. "He never exposed himself." "He never personally handled drugs." "He never left evidence." "He simply watched..." "...and waited." Peter looked toward Alicia. "During those years..." "I retired from the Army." "I came home believing I would finally spend time with my family." "I wanted to enjoy watching my children build their futures."

He smiled sadly. "Your grandmother was happy." "She said..." "'Now our family can finally eat dinner together every night.'" Georgia immediately burst into tears. Peter reached over and gently held her trembling hand. "But..." "My return home..." "Made it easier for them to find me." Alicia quietly asked, "They came after you?" Peter nodded. "Several times." "I noticed people following me."

He slowly closed his eyes. "I received anonymous threats." "My tyres were slashed." "There were attempts to lure me away from home." "They wanted revenge." "But..." "They never succeeded." "So..." "They stopped coming after me." Everyone frowned. Peter's voice trembled. "They came after the people I loved instead."