Chapter 587: In Which the Downfall Wasn't Quite What She Hoped For

"Where are the others?" Katherine turned to face the director. "The other members of The Company. Where are they?"

"They're also here, but they're on a different level—held a couple of floors above this area in a similar holding cell like Parker's," Director Hughes answered.

"Are they also going to be moved?"

"Some of them, yes. The others will stay here."

Katherine lowered her gaze to the floor, seemingly thinking over things about what would happen from here. "Will you be releasing a statement regarding Shadow to the public?"

Director Hughes glanced at Damien and then at Katherine. "I'm afraid we can't do that."

Katherine snapped her head to the front, her brows drawing together in confusion. Shadow had been hidden from the public eye, operating undergrounds with covert missions. A lot of Shadow's operations were unlawful and hurt the country. Why wouldn't they expose what they have done for the people to know? "Don't the citizens deserve to know?" she probed.

Letting out a deep breath, Director Hughes took a step forward towards Katherine. "I understand what you're thinking. Believe me, Ms. Young, I do. There's nothing more gratifying than to expose the truth of their heinous acts and let the world know that justice won and the people behind them are paying the price. However, it wouldn't also do good. It's true when they say that if you do not know something, you do not worry about it. Telling the world about this dark organization will only create fear. You're aware that some of the members of The Company are officials who should be serving the people. If the truth about Shadow comes out, citizens will stop trusting the government and those in uniform. Not everyone is bad. But if they have that fear, thinking that those who are serving them and those they should trust are evil, it will only create chaos."

Katherine felt every word that the director was telling her. She had a point. There was no need to instill fear in people who aren't aware of this truth. It would be better for them to stay innocent from this reality rather than constantly live in fear. "Shadow started as a secret organization… I guess it dies secretly too."

A small sympathetic smile flashed on Director Hughes's face as she reached for Katherine's hand and told her, "You've been through a lot, Ms. Young. I know how desperately you wanted to put an end to this. Relieve yourself from Shadow and the terror it brought you. We will take it from here. It's an international matter that's too big for your shoulders to carry. I know this is personal to you, but you've already done what you could. Leave the rest to us."

An overwhelming strange feeling coursed through Katherine. She couldn't quite wrap herself around the idea of finally letting go of Shadow. How was one supposed to move on from here? Parker and the other members are behind bars, yet why did it feel like she wasn't ready to let go?

All this time, she had been looking forward to Shadow's downfall. She turned her head to look at Parker through the one-way see-through wall. He was still sitting in a chair reading the damn book. And now that the end was right in front of her, the only thing she could feel was… blank.

She probably had been too quiet for a long time because Damien placed a hand on the small of her back, and Director Hughes also called for her, "Ms. Young? Are you okay?"

"It's just… Is it really over? Because I don't feel anything." Katherine's voice was low and toneless.

Director Hughes and Damien exchanged looks. Although they didn't converse, they could sympathize with why Katherine was feeling like so. After all, she just lost two friends. Perhaps even seeing Parker locked up wasn't enough to feel like justice was served.

"I'm sorry about your friends." Director Hughes offered her condolences.

The three of them talked for a few more minutes regarding how Parker and the other members of the organization would be after they were transported. Director Hughes didn't go into details, but she told them that over the next few weeks, news about the arrest of those members would be delivered, but they wouldn't have the same stories—everything was planned and would be dealt with as best as they could.

When they were about to leave, Damien wheeled Katherine back to the elevator, but she patted his hand and asked him to stop. Then she looked up at Director Hughes and asked, "Where are those kids? The children from that container…"

"Some of them are back to their families. The other kids are staying in an orphanage while we look for their parents. A lot of them turned out to be homeless, so it was hard to track down where they came from."

Katherine nodded. She was silent for a few seconds before asking another question, "Is it okay if we visit them?"

Director Hughes drew her brows up but a smile formed on her face. "I don't see a reason why not. I'm sure they would love to see the familiar faces of the people who saved them. I'll coordinate with the orphanage and send you the address."

"Thank you," replied Katherine. This time, the corners of her mouth curled upward.

…

Half an hour later, Katherine and Damien were ready to leave the facility. A female nurse handed her a ziplock bag with some of her stuff in it. She figured they were what she had on her when she was brought here that day.

She looked at the contents, taking out each of them one by one. There was a tank top, leggings, and a key. "Miss. This isn't mine…" she told the Nurse.

The nurse pursed her lips as she thought for a second. "Are you sure? It was in your hand while we were cleaning you up."

Katherine stared at the key that was now on the palm of her hand. She did not know what it was for and how she got it. That was weird. "Do you know what this is?" she asked Damien.

He came to her side and glanced at her hand. "I have no idea. I didn't notice you were holding something. When they brought you in from the ambulance, I wasn't allowed to go inside the room where they took you."

The last memory she had before she lost consciousness was when they were still inside the old Castle that was already trembling just as they left Chris. Could he have given her the key without her realizing it?