Chapter 3 - EIGHT YEARS OF SILENCE
The next morning, Aldrich moved Riona and Anel to a secure Ferrante property.
Riona protested.
“I don't need protection.”
“You were attacked.”
“Because of your family.”
“Exactly.”
“That doesn't make this safer.”
“It does when my people are protecting you.”
She glared at him.
“Your people?”
“The people you once trusted.”
“I trusted you.”
His face tightened.
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
She turned away.
“You believed a stranger over me.”
“I believed evidence.”
“You believed forged evidence.”
“Yes.”
“You didn't even ask me.”
“I know.”
“You never came after me.”
“I was told you disappeared.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because Roland threatened me.”
Aldrich froze.
“What?”
“He came to my apartment the night after you sent me away.”
“Roland?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“That if I went public, my family would disappear.”
“You had family?”
“My mother was alive.”
“And?”
“He found her.”
Aldrich's face hardened.
“What happened?”
“She vanished.”
Silence.
“Is she dead?”
“I don't know.”
He stepped closer.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know who I could trust.”
Aldrich looked toward the floor.
Then he remembered.
Eight years ago, Roland had claimed Riona was working with rival organizations.
He had produced bank transfers.
Encrypted messages.
Photographs.
Every piece had looked convincing.
But there had been one inconsistency.
Aldrich hadn't noticed it then.
Now he did.
The photographs had timestamps.
Riona had supposedly been meeting someone on a Tuesday.
But Aldrich remembered being with her that entire Tuesday.
He looked at her.
“Where did you go after you left?”
“Vancouver.”
“You were there the whole time?”
“Yes.”
“With Anel?”
“I gave birth there.”
“Who helped you?”
“No one.”
He stared.
“You did this alone?”
“I had a nurse.”
“That isn't what I meant.”
She looked at him.
“Yes.”
Aldrich closed his eyes.
He imagined it.
Riona pregnant.
Alone.
No money.
No protection.
No family.
And him believing she had betrayed him.
He wanted to apologize.
But the word felt too small.
“I was wrong.”
She laughed bitterly.
“I know.”
“I should have listened.”
“Yes.”
“I should have trusted you.”
“Yes.”
“I don't know how to fix that.”
Riona's expression softened for half a second.
“You can't.”
He nodded.
“What do I do?”
She looked toward the door.
“Start with Anel.”
Aldrich followed her gaze.
The boy sat on the floor drawing.
“Can I talk to him?”
“Slowly.”
He sat across from the child.
“What are you drawing?”
“A boat.”
“You like boats?”
“My mom says boats are good because they know how to leave when storms come.”
Aldrich looked at Riona.
She said nothing.
Anel continued.
“I don't like storms.”
“Neither do I.”
“Do you have storms?”
“Sometimes.”
“Where?”
“In my head.”
Anel looked at him thoughtfully.
“That sounds bad.”
“It is.”
The boy returned to his drawing.
After several minutes he asked, “Do you have a family?”
Aldrich swallowed.
“Yes.”
“Do they like you?”
“Some do.”
“Do you like them?”
“Some.”
Anel nodded.
Then asked the question Aldrich had feared.
“Do you have kids?”
Riona's breath caught.
Aldrich looked at her.
Then at Anel.
“Yes.”
The boy looked surprised.
“Who?”
Aldrich's voice nearly broke.
“I think I'm talking to him.”
Anel stared.
Riona closed her eyes.
“You think?”
Aldrich turned to her.
“I need confirmation.”
She shook her head.
“Not yet.”
Anel looked between them.
“Why?”
Riona knelt.
“Because adults have complicated things to figure out.”
Anel nodded.
“Okay.”
Then he asked Aldrich.
“Can you stay for dinner?”
Aldrich looked at Riona.
She hesitated.
“Yes,” she said.
Aldrich smiled.
“I'd like that.”
That night, Anel fell asleep at the dinner table.
Aldrich carried him upstairs.
Riona watched.
He moved carefully.
As though holding something sacred.
When he returned, she was waiting in the hallway.
“He likes you.”
Aldrich smiled.
“I like him.”
“You don't know him.”
“I know enough.”
She stared at him.
“He's stubborn.”
“I've noticed.”
“He hates peas.”
“Good.”
“He asks too many questions.”
“I know where he got that.”
She almost smiled.
Then Aldrich said quietly.
“Why did you come back?”
Riona's expression changed.
“To get the ledger.”
“Only that?”
She hesitated.
“No.”
“What else?”
“To see whether you were safe.”
He stared at her.
“You still care.”
She looked away.
“That's not your business.”
“It is if I still care too.”
She didn't answer.
Aldrich stepped closer.
“Do you?”
Riona's eyes filled.
“Don't.”
“Riona.”
“Don't make this harder.”
“I've spent eight years regretting not making it harder.”
She looked at him.
For one second, everything between them disappeared.
Then a security alarm sounded.
Aldrich turned.
Anel's bedroom door opened.
The child stood there, trembling.
A red laser dot moved across the wall behind him.
Aldrich grabbed him.
“Down!”
Gunfire shattered the window.
Riona screamed.
Aldrich shielded Anel with his body.
The attack lasted seconds.
Then silence.
When security rushed in, Aldrich was still on the floor.
Anel was in his arms.
The boy was shaking.
Aldrich whispered.
“You're safe.”
Anel buried his face against Aldrich's chest.
Riona stared.
She had never seen Aldrich hold anything with that kind of fear.
That was when she realized something.
She had spent eight years protecting Anel from the Ferrantes.
May you like
But now the Ferrante himself was willing to die protecting Anel.
And maybe that was the beginning of forgiveness.
