Chapter 3 - Reed Put a Gunman Outside My Apartment and Told Me the Truth—Someone Had Been Watching Ava Since the Day She Was BornReed refused to let me go home alone.
I argued.
He ignored me.
I argued harder.
He became quieter.
That was how I learned Reed Callaway's version of an argument wasn't shouting.
It was making decisions.
By nine that night, two security men were stationed outside my apartment.
I stood in the doorway.
“I can't afford this.”
“You're not paying.”
“I don't need bodyguards.”
“You do.”
“You can't just decide that.”
“I already did.”
I crossed my arms.
“You're impossible.”
“I've been called worse.”
A tiny sound came from inside.
Ava was awake.
Reed's attention immediately shifted.
“She needs you.”
I went inside.
He followed.
For some reason, seeing the most feared man in Chicago standing awkwardly beside a stack of baby bottles almost made me laugh.
Almost.
He picked up the bottle.
“Is this empty?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I didn't have enough money for formula.”
His jaw tightened.
“You had eleven dollars.”
I looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“Your bank account.”
My mouth fell open.
“You checked my bank account?”
“Yes.”
“That is wildly inappropriate.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because I wanted to know how close you were to breaking.”
I stared at him.
“I don't break.”
His eyes met mine.
“Everyone breaks.”
I shook my head.
“I don't have time.”
That answer made something change in his face.
Maybe understanding.
Maybe respect.
Then Ava reached for him.
He looked down.
“She keeps doing that.”
“She likes you.”
“Why?”
“Maybe because you don't talk to her like she's stupid.”
He looked almost offended.
“She can't understand me.”
“She understands more than you think.”
Ava grabbed his finger.
Reed froze.
Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.
The door opened.
Tommy entered.
“Boss.”
Reed stood.
“What?”
“We found surveillance footage.”
He handed Reed a tablet.
I looked over his shoulder.
The video showed my apartment building.
A man standing across the street.
Then another.
Then another.
They were taking turns watching the entrance.
“How long?” Reed asked.
Tommy's face was grim.
“Since the day Ava was born.”
My stomach dropped.
“That's impossible.”
Tommy shook his head.
“No.”
He showed another clip.
The hospital.
The day Ava was born.
A man standing in the hallway.
I recognized him.
Ethan.
My knees almost gave out.
“He was there.”
Reed looked at me.
“You said he left before she was born.”
“He did.”
“Apparently not.”
I stared at the screen.
Ethan had been at the hospital.
He had watched Ava being born.
And then he disappeared.
Why?
Tommy continued.
“He wasn't alone.”
The footage showed Elena.
My manager.
Standing beside Ethan.
They exchanged an envelope.
I felt sick.
“Why would Elena do that?”
Reed didn't answer.
His phone rang.
He listened.
Then he looked at me.
“Your manager is gone.”
“What?”
“She left the city.”
“When?”
“Forty minutes ago.”
My hands trembled.
“Where is she going?”
“Detroit.”
Reed turned toward Tommy.
“Bring her back.”
Tommy nodded.
Then I asked the question I'd been afraid to ask.
“Reed.”
He looked at me.
“What?”
“Why does someone want Ava?”
His expression darkened.
“Because her father isn't who you think he is.”
I stared.
“What does that mean?”
Reed hesitated.
Then he said:
“Ethan Mercer used to work for my father.”
The room went silent.
“He wasn't selling solar panels in Phoenix.”
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“What did he do?”
“Money.”
“Your money?”
“Callaway money.”
“Then why did he leave?”
Reed looked at Ava.
“Because six years ago, my father discovered Ethan had stolen something.”
“What?”
“A ledger.”
“What was in it?”
“Names.”
“Of who?”
“People who paid my father.”
Judges.
Police.
Politicians.
Businessmen.
People who had bought protection.
People who had paid for silence.
My stomach turned.
“Does Ethan still have it?”
Reed shook his head.
“We don't know.”
Then Ava started crying.
Reed immediately went toward her.
He picked her up.
She quieted.
I stared.
The man who supposedly didn't care about anyone was holding my daughter like she was made of glass.
And suddenly, I understood something.
Ethan hadn't come back to Chicago for me.
May you like
He had come back because of the ledger.
And Ava had somehow become part of the equation.
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