Chapter 2 - The Mother in the Coma and the Secret Her Daughter Saw
The hospital room smelled like disinfectant, sterile sheets, and fear.
Gideon had spent enough time in hospitals to know the smell instantly.
Norah sat on a chair beside her mother’s bed.
She hadn't moved in forty minutes.
Lydia Miller lay unconscious beneath white blankets.
A breathing tube ran between her lips.
Bruises marked the side of her face.
Bandages covered her left arm.
Norah watched every machine as if she believed staring hard enough could force her mother awake.
Gideon stood near the window.
He kept his distance.
He didn't want to become the center of the child's world.
Yet Norah kept looking back at him.
As if checking that he was still there.
Finally she whispered,
“Mr. Gideon?”
“Yes?”
“Are you leaving?”
“No.”
“Promise?”
He looked at her.
“I promise.”
The word felt heavier than he expected.
Promises had once destroyed him.
Now he was making one again.
A nurse entered.
She adjusted Lydia's IV.
“She hasn't regained consciousness.”
“Will she?”
The nurse hesitated.
“The doctors are hopeful.”
Norah nodded.
Then looked at her mother.
“Mommy doesn't like hospitals.”
Gideon almost smiled.
“Neither do I.”
“Why?”
“I have bad memories.”
Norah hugged the rabbit.
“Me too.”
He didn't ask.
The silence said enough.
Hours passed.
Daniel investigated.
The attack had occurred behind a private parking garage two miles from the park.
Security footage showed Lydia walking with Norah.
A man approached.
They argued.
Lydia tried to run.
The man grabbed her.
Norah hid behind a delivery truck.
The camera angle failed to show the man's face.
But it showed his car.
A black sedan.
The same one Norah had seen.
Daniel returned to the room.
“We have a partial plate.”
Gideon turned.
“And?”
“Registered to a shell corporation.”
“Owner?”
“Thomas Reed.”
Gideon frowned.
“That name mean anything?”
Daniel nodded.
“Reed is a former executive at one of your companies.”
Gideon stared.
“Former?”
“He was fired two years ago.”
“Why?”
“Fraud.”
“Would he have a reason to target Lydia?”
“Not that we know.”
Gideon looked at Norah.
“Don't tell her yet.”
Daniel nodded.
Norah stood.
“I already know.”
Both men froze.
She looked at Gideon.
“The man is called Tommy.”
“How do you know?”
“Mommy said his name.”
“When?”
“Before he hurt her.”
Gideon's gaze sharpened.
“What else did she say?”
Norah squeezed the rabbit.
“She told me to run.”
“Where?”
“To the park.”
“Why the park?”
“Because she said somebody would find me.”
Gideon's chest tightened.
“She knew me?”
Norah shook her head.
“No.”
“Then why did she think I'd find you?”
“I don't know.”
The answer stayed with Gideon.
Until the doctor approached him privately.
“Mr. Vale.”
“Yes?”
“We found something.”
“What?”
The doctor handed him a plastic evidence bag.
Inside was a tiny silver pendant.
Gideon recognized it.
A Vale Foundation insignia.
He stared.
“Where did you find this?”
“In Lydia's clothing.”
“Why was it there?”
“We don't know.”
Gideon turned to Daniel.
“Find out if she ever worked for the foundation.”
Daniel left.
Gideon looked through the glass at Norah.
The child was whispering to her mother.
Then she placed the rabbit against Lydia's hand.
“You can wake up now.”
Gideon turned away.
He could not watch.
Twenty minutes later Daniel returned.
“She did work for us.”
Gideon's expression hardened.
“What position?”
“Financial auditor.”
“Who hired her?”
“That gets complicated.”
“Explain.”
“She discovered missing foundation funds six months ago.”
“How much?”
“Thirty-two million dollars.”
Gideon went silent.
“Who had access?”
“Three executives.”
“Names?”
Daniel handed him a file.
Gideon scanned it.
Then stopped.
One name was crossed out in red.
Evelyn Shaw.
His chief financial officer.
His most trusted executive.
The woman who had worked beside him for nine years.
The woman who had helped him build the foundation.
The woman who knew everything.
Gideon looked at Daniel.
“Where is Evelyn?”
“Her office.”
“Bring her here.”
Daniel hesitated.
“Should I alert law enforcement?”
“Not yet.”
Daniel nodded.
Gideon returned to Lydia's room.
Norah looked up.
“Is my mama going to wake up?”
Gideon crouched.
“We're doing everything we can.”
“She always wakes up.”
“I believe she will.”
Norah smiled faintly.
Then whispered,
“She told me Daddy would come.”
Gideon's heart stopped.
“Your father?”
Norah nodded.
“He's coming?”
She shook her head.
“He's already here.”
Gideon's eyes narrowed.
“Where?”
She pointed at the rabbit.
“Inside.”
Gideon stared.
“What?”
“Daddy said he put the secret in Bunny.”
Gideon slowly took the rabbit.
He examined it.
The stitches looked old.
But one seam had recently been opened and sewn again.
He carefully loosened the thread.
Inside was a tiny memory card.
Gideon stared.
Daniel leaned closer.
“Boss.”
“This explains why someone wants the child.”
He looked at Norah.
“And why they couldn't kill her.”
“What do you mean?”
Gideon looked at the card.
“Because she may know where the rest of the evidence is.”
He turned to Daniel.
“Get this decrypted.”
Daniel nodded.
But before he could leave, a hospital alarm sounded.
A nurse rushed into the room.
“Mr. Vale, step away from the bed.”
“What happened?”
“The oxygen line was cut.”
Gideon froze.
Someone had entered Lydia's room.
Someone had tried to finish the job.
The hospital doors locked automatically.
Security personnel flooded the corridor.
Gideon grabbed Norah.
“Stay with me.”
A man in medical scrubs appeared at the end of the hallway.
He looked directly at Norah.
Then turned and ran.
Daniel chased him.
Gideon followed with Norah.
The man disappeared through a stairwell.
Gunfire erupted outside.
Daniel returned seconds later.
“Gone.”
Gideon looked at Norah.
Her face was white.
“Did you recognize him?”
She nodded.
“That's him.”
“The man from the car?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“The other man.”
Gideon's blood chilled.
“There was another man?”
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Norah whispered:
“He was with my mama.”
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