Chapter 2 - The Man She Ran From Wasn't the Man Who Chased Her
Roman took Nora out through the kitchen.
The snow had become heavier.
Tommy opened the rear door of a black SUV.
Nora stopped.
“I’m not going with you.”
Roman looked back.
“You are.”
“No.”
He turned fully.
“Nora.”
“Don't use that voice.”
“What voice?”
“The one that makes everyone else obey you.”
“I don't care about everyone else.”
“I do.”
Roman's eyes softened slightly.
“That much is obvious.”
She folded her arms.
“I can take care of myself.”
“You were followed.”
“I survived.”
“You were shot at.”
“Because you showed up.”
Roman stared.
“You think the shooter came because of me?”
“Yes.”
“Then explain the symbol.”
She couldn't.
The Ash Crown terrified her.
Not because she knew what it meant.
Because she'd seen it before.
Three years earlier.
The night she ran.
She had been standing outside Roman's private study when she saw a black envelope beside the elevator.
On it was the same crown.
Inside was a single photograph.
Roman.
Dead.
She had believed it.
Because the photograph had been covered in blood.
She had panicked.
Then the power failed.
And men entered the building.
She had escaped through a service corridor.
For years, she had convinced herself Roman had sent those men.
But now the symbol had returned.
And Roman looked genuinely confused.
That meant somebody else had been behind it.
She finally got into the SUV.
Roman sat opposite her.
Tommy drove.
The city blurred outside.
After ten minutes, Roman broke the silence.
“Where have you been?”
“Everywhere.”
“Specifics.”
“Too many places.”
“You moved three times.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“How do you know?”
“I looked.”
“You said you stopped searching.”
“I lied.”
She looked out the window.
“Why?”
“Because I never stopped.”
“Roman.”
“What?”
“You can't go back to before.”
“I know.”
“Then don't pretend.”
His expression became tired.
“I don't want before.”
That surprised her.
He continued.
“I want to know why you left.”
“You know.”
“You said you were afraid.”
“Yes.”
“Of what?”
She didn't answer.
Roman leaned forward.
“Was it me?”
Nora looked at him.
“Yes.”
He flinched almost imperceptibly.
She noticed.
“You were cruel.”
“I know.”
“You made people disappear.”
“They were dangerous.”
“You decided who deserved to live.”
Roman looked away.
“I thought I was protecting everyone.”
“You weren't.”
“I know that now.”
That sentence made her pause.
The old Roman would never have admitted that.
The SUV entered an underground garage.
Nora stared.
“This isn't your penthouse.”
“No.”
“Where are we?”
“Somewhere safe.”
He took her upstairs.
The apartment was elegant but surprisingly warm.
A fireplace.
Books.
A kitchen.
No visible guards.
Nora frowned.
“I expected a fortress.”
“I got tired of living in one.”
He handed her a towel.
She noticed an old photograph on a shelf.
Roman and his younger sister, Elise.
Nora had met Elise twice.
Elise had always hated Nora.
Or so she believed.
Nora remembered their last conversation.
Stay away from him.
Why?
Because if you love Roman, someone will use you to destroy him.
At the time Nora thought Elise was being cruel.
Now she wondered if it had been a warning.
Roman saw her staring.
“Elise is gone.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“What happened?”
“She disappeared six months before you.”
Nora looked at him.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought telling you would put you in danger.”
She almost laughed.
“Too late.”
Tommy entered.
“We found something.”
He placed a folder on the table.
“Your apartment.”
Nora froze.
“What about it?”
“Someone broke in yesterday.”
She looked at Roman.
“How do you know?”
“We checked the building.”
“What did they take?”
Tommy slid photographs across the table.
Nothing obvious.
But one drawer was open.
Another chair moved.
A framed photograph missing.
Nora stared.
It was the picture of her younger sister.
Except she didn't have a sister.
She looked at Tommy.
“That's not mine.”
He pointed to a second photograph.
An infant.
“Then whose child is this?”
Nora's hands began shaking.
She knew the baby.
Not from the photograph.
From memory.
A hospital bracelet.
A crying infant.
Her hands holding a newborn.
Then Roman's face appeared in her mind.
No.
She stood.
“I don't want this.”
Roman caught her shoulders.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Nora.”
“Nothing.”
She pushed away.
Roman didn't stop her.
That was the first moment she understood he really was different.
The old Roman would have ordered someone to restrain her.
This Roman stepped back.
Tommy watched both of them.
“You know the baby,” he said.
Nora looked at him.
“No.”
He studied her face.
“You do.”
Roman turned toward Tommy.
“Leave us.”
Tommy hesitated.
“Roman—”
“Leave.”
He did.
Roman faced her.
“What are you hiding?”
She stared at the floor.
“Three years ago, before I left…”
“Yes?”
“I found out something.”
“What?”
She looked up.
“You had a daughter.”
Roman went completely still.
“What?”
Nora continued.
“I never knew if she was alive.”
His face changed.
“You're saying I have a child?”
Nora nodded.
“I was pregnant when I left.”
Roman stopped breathing.
“You were what?”
“I found out two weeks before I disappeared.”
He stepped backward.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because the people who were after you knew.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You knew about my daughter?”
“I knew about ours.”
The silence that followed felt infinite.
Roman looked devastated.
“You were pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“You left without telling me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because somebody left a photograph of you dying in front of my apartment.”
Roman closed his eyes.
Nora continued.
“I thought they wanted to kill you. Then I heard your men arguing about a child.”
His expression hardened.
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
That answer almost broke him.
“How long have you been looking?”
“For three years.”
His eyes opened.
“Then why didn't you contact me?”
“Because I didn't know who to trust.”
Roman stared at her.
“You could have trusted me.”
“I loved you.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“It was exactly the answer.”
He looked away.
Then his phone rang.
Tommy.
Roman answered.
“Tell me.”
Tommy spoke rapidly.
Roman's face hardened.
“What?”
He listened.
Then he looked at Nora.
“They found the hospital.”
She froze.
“Which one?”
“The one where you gave birth.”
Nora whispered:
“I never gave birth there.”
Roman stared.
“What?”
“I miscarried.”
Tommy interrupted through the phone.
“No.”
Roman looked confused.
Tommy said:
“The hospital records show a live birth.”
Nora sat down.
Her face went white.
“No.”
Roman crouched beside her.
“Stay with me.”
“That's impossible.”
Tommy continued.
“There is more.”
“What?”
“The baby's record was altered.”
“By whom?”
A pause.
Then:
“Someone using Roman's family credentials.”
Roman went silent.
Nora stared at him.
The truth was beginning to emerge.
Someone had stolen their child.
And whoever had done it had access to Roman's inner circle.
Tommy added:
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“The person who changed the record was Elise Black.”
Roman's face went blank.
“My sister.”
Nora whispered:
“She hated me.”
Roman stood.
“No.”
“What?”
“She wasn't trying to hurt you.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she disappeared six months before you.”
Nora stared.
Roman looked toward the dark window.
“I think she was trying to tell us something.”
The phone rang again.
This time, Tommy didn't speak.
Instead, a woman's voice came through the speaker.
Elise.
“Roman.”
He froze.
“Where are you?”
“Don't trust anyone.”
“You changed the records.”
“I was protecting the baby.”
“Where is she?”
A long silence.
Then Elise said:
“She's closer than you think.”
The line disconnected.
Roman looked at Nora.
“We're finding our daughter.”
May you like
For the first time in three years, Nora allowed herself to believe that maybe she had not been running from the end of a story.
Maybe she had been running toward its beginning.
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