Chapter 2 - The Name Everyone Feared
The back seat of Adrian Russo's SUV smelled like leather, cedar, and something faintly medicinal.
Norah sat beside the old woman while Adrian occupied the opposite seat.
Three men traveled with them.
One drove.
One sat in the passenger seat.
Another followed in the second SUV.
Norah had never been surrounded by this many intimidating people in her life.
She kept her hands folded in her lap.
The old woman noticed.
“You're nervous.”
“Extremely.”
Adrian looked at her.
“You have nothing to fear from us.”
Norah almost laughed.
She remembered the newspapers.
“You're Adrian Russo.”
“Yes.”
“The Adrian Russo?”
His eyebrow lifted.
“Apparently.”
She looked out the window.
“That's not reassuring.”
The old woman laughed.
It was a warm, genuine laugh.
Adrian looked at her.
“Mother.”
“What?”
“You're enjoying this.”
“Very much.”
Norah couldn't help smiling.
The old woman extended her hand.
“I'm Elena Russo.”
Norah shook it.
“You're his mother.”
“Yes.”
“I figured that part out.”
Elena smiled.
“You didn't recognize me.”
“No.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Because I was testing something.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Mother.”
Elena ignored him.
“I wanted to know what people would do if they thought I was nobody.”
Norah looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because money changes how people look at you.”
She paused.
“Sometimes it is important to remember what happens when people think you have none.”
Norah studied her.
“You staged this?”
“No.”
Elena smiled faintly.
“I went out for medicine. I fell. That part was real.”
Adrian closed his eyes briefly.
“You scared half the city.”
“I slipped.”
“You disappeared for two hours.”
“I was talking to your future friend.”
Norah looked at him.
“Future friend?”
Adrian's gaze settled on her.
“My mother rarely likes strangers.”
Elena corrected him.
“I like her.”
Norah suddenly felt uncomfortable.
“I only helped because she was hurt.”
“Exactly,” Elena said.
The convoy entered an underground garage.
Norah expected a mansion.
Instead, the elevator opened directly into a spacious penthouse.
Glass walls.
Warm lighting.
Art.
Books.
A piano.
The place felt less like a criminal headquarters and more like a private museum.
Elena removed her wet coat.
A housekeeper rushed over.
“Mrs. Russo!”
Elena waved her away.
“I am fine.”
Norah stood near the entrance.
Adrian removed his coat.
“Sit.”
“I should probably go home.”
“We'll take you.”
“I can get the subway.”
“No.”
It wasn't harsh.
It was simply final.
Norah looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because you were fired because of my mother.”
“I was fired because my boss was awful.”
“You were fired while helping her.”
“Still.”
Adrian studied her.
“What were you earning?”
Norah blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“At the cafe.”
“Minimum wage plus tips.”
“That is not enough.”
“It's enough to survive.”
His expression changed.
“Surviving is not the same as living.”
Norah didn't answer.
Elena walked over.
“Come sit with me.”
Norah followed.
Tea arrived.
So did sandwiches.
Norah suddenly realized she had not eaten since breakfast.
Elena watched her.
“When did you last have a proper meal?”
Norah shrugged.
“This morning.”
Elena looked at Adrian.
He quietly made a call.
Norah frowned.
“What did you just do?”
“Nothing.”
“You definitely did something.”
“Dinner.”
“You ordered dinner?”
“Yes.”
“For six people?”
“For twenty.”
She stared.
“Why twenty?”
Adrian looked genuinely confused.
“Because people eat.”
Norah laughed.
For the first time that day, he smiled.
It was brief.
Almost reluctant.
And unexpectedly handsome.
She immediately looked away.
Elena noticed.
Her eyes sparkled with amusement.
Before anyone could say anything, Adrian's phone rang.
His expression changed instantly.
“Speak.”
A pause.
“Where?”
Another.
“Keep him there.”
He hung up.
Norah watched him.
“What happened?”
He looked at her.
“Nothing that concerns you.”
Elena sighed.
“That means something absolutely concerns her.”
“Mother.”
Elena smiled.
Then turned to Norah.
“You should know something.”
Adrian looked at her sharply.
But Elena continued.
“My son is dangerous to people who intend harm.”
Norah felt her stomach tighten.
“But he has never harmed someone because they are weak.”
Adrian stared at his mother.
She met his eyes.
“You need to hear it too.”
He looked away.
Norah suddenly noticed a photograph on the mantel.
It showed Elena much younger.
Beside her stood Adrian at perhaps fourteen or fifteen.
And another boy.
A little younger.
The two brothers were smiling.
Norah pointed.
“Your other son?”
Adrian's expression darkened.
“My brother.”
“Where is he?”
“Dead.”
The answer was immediate.
Norah lowered her hand.
“I'm sorry.”
Adrian nodded.
“It was years ago.”
But his face said otherwise.
Later, Elena showed Norah a guest bedroom.
“You can sleep here tonight.”
“Oh, no. That's too much.”
“It's cold outside.”
“I can manage.”
“You've spent nine hours on your feet, been fired, nearly drowned in sleet, and carried an eighty-year-old woman into a luxury cafe.”
“Seventy-nine,” Elena corrected.
Norah smiled.
“You're not eighty yet?”
“Not until spring.”
Norah laughed.
Elena squeezed her hand.
“Stay.”
Norah finally nodded.
That night, she lay beneath a blanket far more expensive than anything she owned.
She should have felt safe.
Instead, she felt restless.
Something about Elena's test bothered her.
Not the fall.
The way Elena looked at Adrian.
The way the men obeyed him.
The way everyone became silent when he entered a room.
Norah turned onto her side.
Then she heard voices through the hallway.
Adrian.
“I want the footage.”
Another man's voice.
“We're pulling every camera from the block.”
“Good.”
“And the man from the cafe?”
“Todd?”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“Find out who he is.”
Norah sat up.
Adrian's voice became colder.
“But don't touch him.”
The other man asked:
“Why?”
“Because my mother didn't ask us to punish anyone.”
Silence.
Then Adrian said:
“She asked us to find the girl.”
Norah's heart started beating faster.
The other man asked:
“Why her?”
Elena answered from somewhere farther down the hallway.
“Because people like Norah are rare.”
Norah slowly lay back down.
She stared at the ceiling.
She had met the most feared man in the city because she helped his mother.
But she didn't yet understand why Elena had looked at her as if she knew her.
The answer came the following morning.
Elena entered the kitchen holding a photograph.
She placed it in front of Norah.
It showed a younger woman.
Dark hair.
Gentle eyes.
A baby in her arms.
Norah stopped breathing.
“That's my mother.”
Elena nodded.
“I know.”
Norah's fingers began trembling.
“How?”
May you like
Elena looked at her.
“Because your mother once saved my son's life.”
