Chapter 2 - The Man Who Comforted Me at My Husband’s Funeral Was the First Person Alessandro Ordered Me Never to TrustThe footsteps stopped outside the door.
Thomas spoke again.
“Alessandro?”
No answer.
“Open the door.”
Alessandro looked at me.
“Don't let him in.”
I locked the door again.
Thomas's voice changed.
“I know you're in there.”
I backed away.
“Who is he?”
Alessandro struggled to sit.
“Your husband's killer.”
“Then why was he at the funeral?”
“Because he wanted to know whether David had told you anything.”
I remembered Thomas standing beside me in the church.
His hand on my shoulder.
His voice soft.
“I'll make sure your family is never alone.”
I had believed him.
Now I wanted to vomit.
“Why didn't David tell me?”
“He tried.”
I stared.
“When?”
“The week before he disappeared.”
I remembered.
David had come home late.
His clothes were wet.
His hands were shaking.
He had stood in the kitchen and stared at me.
“Catherine,” he'd said.
“What?”
“If anything happens to me—”
I laughed nervously.
“Don't talk like that.”
He had looked toward Logan's bedroom.
Then back at me.
“Take him and leave.”
“Leave where?”
“Anywhere.”
I had thought he was stressed.
I had told him to sleep.
The next morning, he was dead.
Or so I thought.
Alessandro's voice brought me back.
“David left something.”
“What?”
“A message.”
“Where?”
“In his safe.”
“Where's the safe?”
He pointed weakly.
“Your house.”
I froze.
“My house?”
“He knew you'd eventually find it.”
“How?”
“Because he knew you would come to me.”
I stared.
“Why would I?”
“Because when I died, your son would wake me.”
I looked at Logan.
“You knew about him?”
Alessandro nodded.
“I met him once.”
“When?”
“Three months before David died.”
I felt hurt.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“David made me promise.”
“Promise what?”
“Never let you know who he really was.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You all made decisions for me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because knowing would have made you a target.”
“I already am.”
“Yes.”
He closed his eyes.
“I know.”
Thomas struck the door.
“Open it!”
Security moved outside.
Alessandro whispered:
“There's a second exit.”
I looked around.
“Where?”
“Behind the cabinet.”
I found a hidden panel.
It opened into a narrow service corridor.
I picked up Logan.
Alessandro tried to stand.
“You can't go.”
“I need to.”
“Why?”
“Because if Thomas finds me alive, he will kill everyone in this hospital.”
“You're in no condition.”
“I've been in worse.”
He stepped toward us.
Then collapsed.
I caught him.
“Alessandro!”
He looked at me.
“Take the ring.”
I stared at his hand.
“Why?”
“Because you'll need it.”
I took David's ring.
It was warm.
The moment I touched it, something strange happened.
A tiny red light blinked from the inside.
I froze.
“What is that?”
“A key.”
“To what?”
“David's archive.”
My heart raced.
“Where?”
“Your son's room.”
“What?”
“He hid it inside Logan's crib.”
The absurdity of it almost made me laugh.
“My son doesn't remember his crib.”
“He doesn't need to.”
The door shook.
Thomas was trying to break through.
Alessandro grabbed a weapon from the table.
“Go.”
“I can't leave you.”
“You have to.”
“Why?”
“Because David died so you could live.”
I took Logan.
We ran.
The service corridor was dark.
Alessandro followed slowly.
Behind us, the trauma door burst open.
Men shouted.
“Find Romano!”
“Search the rooms!”
We reached the elevator.
Then Alessandro stopped.
“Which floor?”
“The family wing.”
I pressed the button.
The doors opened.
We stepped inside.
Before they closed, Alessandro looked at me.
“Catherine.”
“Yes?”
“Whatever happens, don't trust the hospital.”
“What does that mean?”
“The Meridian Circle owns part of it.”
The elevator doors closed.
We reached Logan's temporary room.
I found his crib.
Nothing.
I searched beneath the mattress.
Nothing.
Then I saw his stuffed bear.
Captain Bear.
Logan hugged it every night.
I opened the back seam.
Inside was a tiny metal capsule.
I stared.
Alessandro took it.
“That's it.”
The capsule had no opening.
I pressed the ring against it.
Click.
It opened.
Inside was a memory card.
David.
I almost cried.
“Play it.”
We inserted it into a laptop.
My husband's face appeared.
Alive.
Smiling.
Tired.
“Catherine.”
I stopped breathing.
“If you're seeing this, I'm probably dead.”
Logan moved closer.
“Daddy.”
The video continued.
“I need you to know I never abandoned you.”
My eyes filled.
“I wanted to tell you everything.”
“But I knew if you knew, they would follow you.”
“The organization is called Meridian.”
“They control banks.”
“Ports.”
“Hospitals.”
“Law firms.”
“And people.”
“I discovered something they don't know.”
“An archive.”
“A complete record of their operations.”
“The archive is encoded.”
“And the key isn't digital.”
David touched his chest.
“It is biological.”
I stared.
“What?”
He continued:
“Logan inherited it from me.”
I covered my mouth.
“The archive only opens through his genetic sequence.”
“That's why they want him.”
A shadow crossed my husband's face.
“If they get Logan, they can erase everything.”
“If they get Catherine, they can force her to cooperate.”
“My brother, Thomas Reed, will tell you he loved me.”
“He didn't.”
“He loved control.”
I froze.
Thomas was his brother.
My husband had married into his own family's enemy.
David continued:
“Alessandro is the only man who can keep you alive.”
I looked at him.
Alessandro closed his eyes.
“Don't trust him blindly.”
“Trust him when he gives you a choice.”
David smiled.
Then the video ended.
I couldn't breathe.
Thomas Reed wasn't just David's boss.
He was his brother.
And he had been trying to control me.
Logan.
The archive.
Everything.
Alessandro stepped forward.
“We need to leave.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere Meridian can't reach.”
My son grabbed my hand.
“Mommy.”
“Yes?”
“Daddy said you have to listen to the bad man.”
I smiled through tears.
“Your daddy wasn't wrong.”
Then the hospital lights went out.
A voice came through the intercom.
“Mrs. Winters.”
May you like
Thomas.
“Bring me the boy.”
Related Stories
