Chapter 4 - The Kidnapping That Started a War
Norah woke inside a warehouse.
Her wrists were tied.
Her head throbbed.
A man sat across from her.
He wore a gray suit.
No mask.
No attempt to hide.
“My name is Adrian Vale.”
Norah swallowed.
“What do you want?”
“You.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother left something behind.”
“What?”
“Something Vincent Costa has been searching for without knowing what it is.”
Norah’s heart pounded.
“The blue box.”
Adrian smiled.
“You know about that?”
“I saw it.”
“No. You saw the box.”
He leaned forward.
“You have what’s inside.”
“I don’t.”
He smiled.
“You have it. You just don’t know you have it.”
He placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Elena holding baby Norah.
On the back were six words.
When she is old enough, tell her.
Norah’s eyes filled with tears.
“Tell me about my mother.”
“Your mother was smarter than anyone realized.”
“What did she do?”
“She found records proving several powerful men had stolen millions from charities, hospitals, and city contracts.”
“Vincent?”
Adrian shook his head.
“Not Vincent.”
“Then who?”
“People who built Vincent’s empire before him.”
Norah stared.
“The Costa organization?”
“Partly.”
“Why keep me alive?”
“Because your mother hid the records somewhere no one would look.”
“Where?”
Adrian smiled.
“In you.”
Before Norah could ask what that meant, a gunshot exploded outside.
Men shouted.
Lights shattered.
Adrian stood.
“What is happening?”
Another shot.
Then another.
The warehouse doors slammed open.
Vincent walked through the smoke.
Every man in the room froze.
Vincent’s face was expressionless.
His eyes were not.
“Step away from her.”
Adrian smiled.
“Costa.”
Vincent raised his gun.
“You have ten seconds.”
“You always did have a temper.”
“Eight.”
Adrian laughed.
“Six.”
“Five.”
Adrian moved.
Vincent fired.
The bullet struck the table.
Adrian ran.
Vincent cut Norah’s restraints.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
He grabbed her shoulders.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
Vincent pulled her into his arms.
Norah froze.
Then, unexpectedly, she held him back.
For one second, the city disappeared.
There was only rain, smoke, and the knowledge that he had come for her.
When they returned home, Arthur was waiting.
He looked at Norah.
“You found my girl.”
Vincent stared at him.
“My girl?”
Arthur smiled.
“Your sister.”
Silence.
Norah’s knees nearly gave out.
Vincent went pale.
Arthur reached for Norah’s hand.
“She was born before you. Your mother gave her away to protect her.”
Vincent looked at Norah.
“No.”
Norah was crying.
Arthur continued.
“Vincent was three. The girl was born when he was a baby. Elena knew they would kill both children if they found out.”
Vincent’s mind raced.
The documents.
The payments.
The hidden child.
Norah was not merely connected to his family.
She was his half-sister.
And suddenly the attraction, the strange pull, the connection between them was no longer something he had to examine.
It was something entirely different.
He stepped back.
Norah covered her mouth.
Neither knew what to say.
Arthur smiled sadly.
“I lost both my children once.”
Vincent looked at him.
“You remember this?”
“Not everything.”
“But this?”
Arthur touched Norah’s cheek.
“A father never forgets the child he was forced to lose.”
The room fell silent.
Then Hayes entered.
“We have another problem.”
Vincent turned.
“What?”
“The people who took Norah were not working alone.”
“Who?”
Hayes placed a folder on the table.
“Councilman Daniel Royce.”
Vincent’s eyes narrowed.
Royce was one of the most respected men in the city.
A public reformer.
A charity chairman.
A man who regularly condemned organized crime on television.
And now there was evidence he had been paying Adrian Vale.
Vincent opened the folder.
There was a photograph of Royce meeting the old investigator.
Another of Royce meeting one of Vincent’s rivals.
Another of Royce standing outside St. Agnes Hospital on the day Norah was born.
Vincent looked at Norah.
“This goes deeper than my family.”
Norah wiped her tears.
“Then we find out how deep.”
For the first time, Vincent saw something in her eyes that matched his own.
Determination.
And somewhere in the city, Daniel Royce received a message.
The girl survived.
Royce smiled.
May you like
Then he made the call that would change everything.
“Activate the second plan.”
