Chapter 4 - The Woman With Adrian’s Eyes
We drove to Milwaukee before sunrise.
I expected Adrian to be angry.
Instead, he became quiet.
Too quiet.
The city passed outside the window while snow turned the world white.
“Were you close?” I asked.
“To Lucy?”
“Yes.”
He smiled faintly.
“She followed me everywhere.”
“She was seven.”
“She had a yellow raincoat.”
I smiled.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“No. Tell me.”
“You remembered her raincoat.”
“I remember everything.”
He looked out the window.
“She hated thunderstorms. Loved pancakes. She could whistle before she could read. She once bit a neighbor's dog because she thought it was stealing my shoes.”
I laughed.
Adrian did too.
For the first time, I saw the boy inside the man.
Then his expression changed.
“Your family,” he said.
“What about them?”
“You need to call them.”
I stared.
“You said I could call them.”
“Call your brother.”
I reached for my phone.
My brother Daniel answered immediately.
“Mara? Where are you?”
“I'm safe.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“I'll explain later.”
“Mom's worried.”
“I know.”
A pause.
Then Daniel said, “A strange man came to the apartment asking about you.”
My stomach dropped.
“What did he look like?”
“Tall. Gray coat.”
Adrian's eyes met mine.
“What name did he give?”
“Victor.”
The line went silent.
Adrian took the phone from me.
“Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“This is Adrian Vale.”
My brother inhaled sharply.
“The Adrian Vale?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to Mara?”
“She is safe.”
“Then why are you with her?”
“Because someone is trying to kill her.”
Daniel cursed.
Adrian continued.
“Do not leave the apartment. Do not open the door for anyone.”
Daniel hung up.
I stared at him.
“You scared my brother.”
“I saved his life.”
“You can't know that.”
“I know.”
The way he said it made me stop arguing.
At 7:42 a.m., we reached Saint Mark's.
The building was old and modest.
Children's drawings covered the hallway.
Christmas music drifted from a room.
A woman came out.
She was in her late thirties.
Brown hair.
Gray eyes.
She stopped when she saw Adrian.
He couldn't breathe.
Neither could I.
The woman's face went white.
“Adrian?”
He whispered.
“Lucy?”
She stared at him.
Then covered her mouth.
For a second, nobody moved.
Then she ran.
Straight into his arms.
He caught her.
She cried against his shoulder.
“You're alive.”
“So are you.”
He held her like a man terrified she would disappear.
I stepped away to give them privacy.
Lucy looked at me over Adrian’s shoulder.
“Who is she?”
Adrian turned.
“Mara.”
Lucy smiled through tears.
“The locket?”
I touched my apron.
She laughed.
“You found it.”
“I didn't know who you were.”
“You weren't supposed to.”
“Why?”
“Because anyone who knew could get hurt.”
Adrian's face hardened.
“Bellano.”
Lucy nodded.
She led us into a small office.
“My father knew Bellano was corrupt,” she said.
“Corrupt?” Adrian asked.
“He knew much more than that.”
Lucy opened an old wooden box.
Inside were documents.
Names.
Accounts.
Dates.
Photographs.
One photograph showed Henry Vale speaking to a younger Victor Bellano.
Another showed a police officer accepting an envelope.
Another showed the Vale house before the fire.
“This is the ledger,” Lucy said.
Adrian stared.
“Why didn't Father expose him?”
“Because the ledger wasn't complete.”
“What was missing?”
“The final account.”
“The money trail.”
She nodded.
“The fire was supposed to destroy the remaining evidence.”
“But you survived.”
“Eleanor rescued me.”
“Why was everyone told I was dead?”
“To protect me.”
Adrian looked at his sister.
“You let me mourn you.”
Lucy began crying.
“I was seven.”
He immediately softened.
“I know.”
“I wanted to come back.”
“I know.”
“But every time I asked, Eleanor said it wasn't safe.”
Adrian knelt before her.
“You don't have to apologize.”
Then Lucy looked at me.
“Do you know why Bellano wants Mara?”
“No.”
“She found the missing piece.”
I froze.
“What?”
Lucy opened the back of the photograph.
A tiny strip of paper was taped behind it.
There was a name.
Mara Bell.
I stared.
“That’s my mother’s maiden name.”
Adrian looked at me.
“Your mother worked for my father.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“She was his assistant.”
Lucy continued.
“Your mother was there the night of the fire.”
I shook my head.
“My mother told me she was visiting relatives.”
“She lied.”
“Why?”
“Because Henry gave her something.”
“What?”
Lucy pointed to the locket.
“The missing account.”
I took a step back.
“You're saying my mother hid evidence inside a coat?”
“She hid it because she knew Bellano would search the family.”
Adrian looked at me differently.
Not suspiciously.
Terrified.
“Where is your mother now?” he asked.
I swallowed.
“She died when I was twelve.”
Silence.
Lucy looked devastated.
“I’m sorry.”
I nodded.
“She never told me anything.”
Adrian's phone rang.
Nolan.
Adrian answered.
His face changed.
“What happened?”
I watched the blood disappear from his expression.
He lowered the phone.
“Daniel is gone.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Your brother was taken twenty minutes ago.”
Lucy looked at the photograph.
“Bellano has him.”
I reached for Adrian.
“What do we do?”
Adrian looked at me.
For one moment, there was fear in his eyes.
Then something harder took its place.
“We get your brother back.”
“And then?”
May you like
He looked at the locket.
“Then we end this.”
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