Chapter 4 - Roman's Mother Was Kidnapped Because Of Me—And She Knew A Secret About My Father
Roman left the salvage yard like a man on fire.
I followed.
He told me three times to stay behind.
I ignored him three times.
By the fourth time, he stopped arguing.
The Caldwell estate sat behind tall iron gates in one of the wealthier parts of Chicago.
When we arrived, the gates were open.
Security vehicles were abandoned across the driveway.
Roman got out first.
I followed.
Inside, the house looked untouched.
No broken windows.
No signs of a struggle.
That frightened me.
People who fought their way in left damage.
People who knew what they were doing left silence.
Roman walked into the library.
His mother's chair was empty.
On the desk was a single envelope.
He opened it.
Inside was a note.
Bring the blue ledger to Warehouse 9.
Come alone.
My stomach dropped.
"That's impossible."
Roman looked at me.
"Why?"
"Because they know about the ledger."
"Yes."
"Then they know it isn't valuable enough to be the only reason."
He nodded.
"What do you think?"
"The person who took your mother isn't after money."
"What are they after?"
"The information inside."
Roman looked at the ledger.
"Then we give them a copy."
He made a duplicate.
The plan was simple.
Fake the handoff.
Track the signal.
Rescue his mother.
But the moment we reached Warehouse 9, everything fell apart.
The lights came on.
Twenty men.
Armed.
Standing on the upper catwalks.
Roman stopped.
A man stepped into view.
I recognized him.
Victor Hale.
One of the city's most respected businessmen.
He was also one of Roman's oldest associates.
Roman looked stunned.
"Victor."
Victor smiled.
"You always were slow to notice betrayal."
Roman's jaw tightened.
"You took my mother."
"She knows where the original records are."
"What records?"
"Your father was smarter than we thought."
Victor looked at me.
"And hers was smarter than both of them."
I felt sick.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Victor smiled.
"Ask your father."
"He's dead."
"So you believe."
Roman went still.
Victor continued.
"The blue ledger contains only half the truth."
He threw a photograph onto the floor.
It showed my father.
Alive.
Standing beside another man.
Years after the date he was supposedly dead.
My knees almost gave out.
"No."
Roman looked at me.
"Mave."
I shook my head.
"That's him."
The photo was dated six years after the official death.
My father had been alive.
He had hidden from me.
Why?
Victor laughed.
"You both inherited more than debt."
A shot rang out.
Roman shoved me behind a steel beam.
His men returned fire.
Chaos exploded.
I heard screaming.
Running feet.
A crash.
Then Roman grabbed my wrist.
"Come on."
We ran through a side corridor.
At the end was his mother.
Alive.
Bound to a chair.
An older woman with silver hair and sharp gray eyes.
Roman rushed toward her.
"Mom."
She smiled.
"You brought her."
I froze.
"Who?"
His mother looked at me.
"You."
She studied my face.
Then shook her head.
"No."
Roman cut her restraints.
"What?"
"I've seen those eyes before."
My stomach turned.
"Where?"
She looked at me.
"Twenty-four years ago."
She reached into her coat and pulled out an old photograph.
A little girl.
A woman.
My father.
I stared.
"That's me."
She nodded.
"You were six."
"How do you know?"
"Because your father brought you to my husband once."
Roman looked at her.
"Why?"
"He needed protection."
"For what?"
"He had stolen something."
"What?"
She looked at me.
"A list of every person who controlled Chicago's underground economy."
My heartbeat quickened.
"Why would my father steal it?"
"Because he wanted to leave."
"For me?"
"Yes."
I couldn't breathe.
My father had wanted to take me and disappear.
Someone had stopped him.
"Who?"
His mother looked at Roman.
"His father."
Roman's face hardened.
"My father?"
"Your father and yours were partners."
"They betrayed each other."
"No."
She shook her head.
"They were trying to escape together."
Silence.
"Then who stopped them?"
She looked toward the warehouse doors.
"Victor."
Roman's eyes went cold.
Victor had been playing both families.
He had orchestrated the debts.
The lies.
The ledger.
Even the disappearance of Roman's father.
Then a voice came from behind us.
"Not quite."
A man stepped into the doorway.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Calm.
My father.
He looked at me.
"Mave."
I forgot how to breathe.
"Dad?"
Roman reached for his weapon.
My father raised a hand.
"I didn't come to hurt you."
"Then why did you disappear?"
"To keep you alive."
I shook my head.
"You left me."
"I was trying to protect you."
"You let me believe you were dead."
"I had no choice."
"Everyone says that."
My father looked at Roman.
"You know what happens if Victor gets that ledger."
Roman nodded.
"He'll burn the city."
My father looked back at me.
"No."
May you like
He smiled sadly.
"He'll own it."
Related Stories
