Chapter 4 - The Woman They Tried to Make DisappearMara's life changed overnight.
Her apartment was broken into.
Nothing was stolen.
Except a photograph.
The one of her and her father.
Gabriel saw the damage.
His expression went cold.
“They're sending a message.”
“I know.”
“You're moving.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“My mother lives there.”
“She won't be alone.”
Mara looked at him.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“If they come for me, they'll come for you.”
Gabriel smiled without humor.
“They already have.”
He took her to the Ror estate.
Not as an employee.
As a protected guest.
Mara hated the arrangement.
Patrick loved it.
He smiled every time she entered the room.
One evening, Mara sat beside him reading.
Gabriel watched from across the room.
Patrick suddenly tapped Mara's arm.
“What?”
He pointed toward Gabriel.
Then toward her.
Mara looked confused.
Gabriel sighed.
“My father is trying to arrange my marriage.”
Patrick smiled.
Mara laughed.
“Maybe he has good taste.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Maybe.”
She stopped laughing.
The atmosphere changed.
Patrick closed his eyes as if deliberately pretending to sleep.
Mara shook her head.
“You two are impossible.”
She stood.
Gabriel followed her into the hallway.
“About what Victor said…”
“What about it?”
“He knew your father.”
“Yes.”
“I think he knows where he is.”
Her heart stopped.
“You think my father is alive?”
“I think we don't have proof that he's dead.”
She swallowed.
“That's not the same thing.”
“No.”
“But you believe it.”
“Yes.”
Mara looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because the money transfer after his disappearance was too carefully hidden.”
She stepped closer.
“What happens if he is alive?”
“I find him.”
“And then?”
He looked into her eyes.
“Then you get your father back.”
Tears filled her eyes.
Gabriel touched her cheek.
She didn't pull away.
The kiss happened slowly.
Almost cautiously.
Then Mara closed the distance.
His hand moved to the back of her neck.
For a few seconds, nothing existed except them.
When they separated, she whispered:
“This is a bad idea.”
“Probably.”
“You're my employer.”
“Not anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“I've already changed your contract.”
She stared.
“You fired me?”
“No.”
“I quit?”
“No.”
“What then?”
“You work directly for my family now.”
She laughed.
“That's not better.”
“I know.”
She kissed him again.
Then Patrick's voice came from the bedroom.
A loud, annoyed grunt.
Mara covered her mouth.
“He knows.”
Gabriel sighed.
“He always knows.”
The next morning, Mara's mother arrived.
She saw Gabriel.
Then her daughter.
Her face became pale.
“Mara, no.”
“Mom?”
“You don't understand.”
“What?”
Her mother looked at Gabriel.
“Your father never trusted the Ror family.”
Gabriel stiffened.
“Why?”
She opened her purse.
Inside was an envelope.
“Because he knew what happened.”
She handed it to Mara.
Inside was a letter.
Samuel Ellis had written it before his disappearance.
Mara read it.
Robert Ror is not the enemy.
If anything happens to me, protect Gabriel.
Mara stared.
“Why Gabriel?”
Her mother shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Another page.
Samuel had written:
Victor Vale is using someone inside the family.
Mara looked at Gabriel.
“Someone close to you.”
Gabriel's face hardened.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
Then his phone rang.
Marcus.
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
“Someone accessed the private medical files.”
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
“Whose?”
“Your father's.”
Mara whispered:
“Someone is looking for something.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Or someone.”
The next morning, Patrick disappeared.
His bed was empty.
The medical equipment was still running.
The guards were unconscious.
And on the pillow lay a note.
GIVE US MARA, AND THE OLD MAN LIVES.
Gabriel read it once.
Then twice.
His face became expressionless.
Mara stood behind him.
“It's me.”
“No.”
“They want me.”
“No.”
She stepped forward.
“Gabriel—”
“You are not going anywhere.”
“They'll kill him.”
“They won't.”
“How do you know?”
“Because they need him.”
She looked at the note.
“Then how do we get him back?”
Gabriel turned toward her.
May you like
His eyes had gone terrifyingly calm.
“We find the person who thinks they can take something from me and survive it.”
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