Chapter 2 - The Girl Who Was Supposed to Be DeadNuler stared at her father.
"What did you say?"
Thomas lowered his eyes.
"Your name is Eleanor Vale."
The apartment seemed to grow smaller.
Outside, traffic moved through the wet streets, ordinary people returning from ordinary jobs.
Inside, Nuler felt her entire life changing.
"My mother?"
"Margaret Vale."
"You told me her name was Sarah Turner."
"I know."
"You told me she died in a car accident."
Thomas began trembling.
"That was the only way I could keep you alive."
Nuler pulled a chair beside him.
"Tell me everything."
Thomas looked toward the locked front door.
"Twenty years ago, I worked for Richard Callahan."
"Andrew's father?"
"Yes."
"He was a dangerous man, but he wasn't responsible for everything people blamed him for. He was trying to move the organization away from the drug trade. Certain men didn't want that."
"Declan?"
Thomas nodded.
"Declan's father, Victor Hayes, was Richard's business partner."
Nuler remembered Declan's cold smile.
"Victor wanted control?"
"He wanted everything."
Thomas struggled to breathe.
"Your mother was Richard's accountant. She discovered Victor had been stealing money and paying corrupt officers to eliminate witnesses."
"What happened?"
"She collected evidence. Richard planned to confront Victor. But someone warned him."
Thomas closed his eyes.
"The night Richard died, Victor's men attacked the lakeside house."
Nuler felt cold.
"Was I there?"
"Yes."
"How did I survive?"
"Your mother carried you through the kitchen and gave you to me. She made me promise to take you somewhere safe."
"Where did she go?"
Thomas said nothing.
"Dad?"
"She went back for the evidence."
Nuler pressed a hand against her mouth.
"Did she die?"
"I never saw her again."
For years, Nuler had dreamed of a woman singing beside her bed.
A woman whose face she could never fully remember.
Now she understood why those dreams always ended in flames.
"Why did you let me work for Andrew?"
"I didn't know until you brought home the employment papers."
"You knew and said nothing?"
"I begged you to quit."
Nuler remembered those arguments.
She had dismissed them as the fears of an aging, ill man.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because Victor Hayes died, but his son inherited his secrets."
Nuler stood.
"Declan knows who I am?"
"I believe he does."
Her phone vibrated.
A message from Andrew Callahan.
Come to my office tomorrow morning before the other staff arrive. We need to talk.
Nuler showed Thomas.
His face turned gray.
"Don't go."
"I have to."
"Eleanor, listen to me—"
"My name is Nuler."
Thomas looked devastated.
"That was the name I gave you so nobody would find you."
She knelt beside him.
"Then help me understand who I really am."
Thomas reached beneath the cushion of his wheelchair.
He removed a small brass key attached to a faded blue ribbon.
"Your mother left this."
"What does it open?"
"I don't know."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because she said you could only have it when the Callahan family began asking questions."
Nuler examined the key.
An engraved number appeared on its handle.
317.
At that moment, headlights swept across the apartment window.
A black SUV stopped outside.
Thomas looked toward the street.
His expression changed instantly.
"Get away from the window."
Nuler moved the curtain.
Two men stepped from the vehicle.
Both wore dark coats.
One was carrying a photograph.
Her photograph.
Thomas grabbed her arm.
"Back stairs. Now."
A heavy knock struck the front door.
"Miss Turner?"
Nuler stopped breathing.
"We need to speak with you."
Thomas pushed her toward the kitchen.
"Go!"
She ran.
Behind her, the front door splintered.
May you like
And a man shouted:
"Find the girl. Hayes wants her alive."
Related Stories
