Chapter 8 - THE LAST WOMAN WHO KNEW THE TRUTH
Vincent moved in front of Norah.
"Put the gun down, Daniel."
Daniel laughed softly.
"You still think this is about you."
"It's over."
"No. It's almost over."
He raised the photograph.
"Your father has been lying to you for twenty years, Vincent. Your mother didn't die because of cancer or a tragic accident. She died because she discovered what this family really was."
Vincent's face tightened.
"Don't use my mother to excuse what you did."
"I'm not excusing anything."
Daniel looked at Norah.
"I'm explaining why your mother had to disappear."
"Where is she?"
"Somewhere you won't find her."
Norah stepped around Vincent.
"Did you kill her?"
Daniel's expression shifted.
For the first time, something like regret crossed his face.
"I loved Evelyn."
"You loved her enough to burn thirty people alive?"
"I loved her enough to offer her a chance to escape. She refused."
"Because she knew what you were."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"She thought she could destroy me. She hid the evidence, took you, and ran. When I found her, she was already dying."
Norah's hands curled into fists.
"You watched her die?"
"I tried to save her."
"You forged a death certificate."
"Because if the truth came out, everyone would come looking for you."
"Everyone except you, apparently."
Daniel's eyes darkened.
"I searched for you for years."
"Then why didn't you find me?"
"Because Carmine helped your mother disappear."
Vincent glanced toward the stairs.
"Your men are surrounded."
Daniel smiled.
"Are they?"
A burst of gunfire erupted upstairs.
Vincent ducked, dragging Norah behind a concrete pillar.
Daniel vanished through a side door.
Vincent shouted into his radio.
"Secure the exits! Nobody fires unless they have a clear target!"
Norah heard footsteps pounding overhead.
Then a woman's voice called from the darkness.
"Norah?"
She froze.
The voice was older, thinner, but instantly recognizable.
"Mom?"
A figure appeared at the end of the corridor.
Evelyn Hale stood leaning against the wall, one hand pressed to her ribs. Her hair had turned almost entirely gray, and deep lines marked her face.
But she was alive.
Norah ran to her.
For one suspended second, neither woman spoke.
Then Evelyn touched Norah's cheek.
"Oh, sweetheart."
Norah collapsed into her arms.
"You're alive."
"I'm sorry."
"You let me bury an empty coffin."
Evelyn began to cry.
"I thought it was the only way to keep you safe."
"You left me alone."
"I know."
"You let me believe you were dead."
"I know."
Norah pulled away, shaking.
"I needed you."
Evelyn looked as though every word had struck her physically.
"I know, darling. And there isn't a day I haven't regretted it."
Vincent stood a few feet away, giving them room.
Evelyn glanced at him.
"You're Carmine's son."
"Yes."
She studied his face.
"You have your mother's eyes."
Vincent looked down.
"I never knew what happened to her."
"She was a good woman. She tried to stop the family from becoming something monstrous."
A gunshot echoed from upstairs.
Evelyn flinched.
"We have to leave."
"Not without the evidence," Vincent said.
Evelyn nodded toward the wall behind her.
"There's a safe in the old examination room. The code is the melody."
Norah stared at her.
"The forbidden song?"
"Every note represents a number. Your grandfather created it to protect the ledger."
They hurried into the room.
A small safe was embedded behind a cabinet. Norah examined the combination dial.
She hummed the melody her mother had taught her as a child.
The first phrase corresponded to three. The second, seven. The third, two.
She entered the numbers.
The safe clicked open.
Inside lay a black ledger, a stack of photographs, and a sealed envelope addressed to Norah.
Evelyn reached for it.
"That letter is the reason Daniel never stopped searching."
Norah opened the envelope.
The first page contained a confession signed by Daniel Cross.
It described the smuggling operation, the stolen money, and the order to seal the warehouse doors.
But the final page contained something far worse.
A list of thirty names.
Next to each name was a payment authorization.
Every authorization had been signed by Carmine Marino.
Norah looked at Evelyn.
"Did Carmine order the fire?"
Evelyn's face crumpled.
"He gave the order to keep the men quiet. Daniel made sure the doors stayed locked."
"So they both did it."
"Yes."
Vincent closed his eyes.
The truth was uglier than any of them had expected.
A crash sounded outside the room.
Daniel appeared in the doorway, bleeding from his shoulder.
He looked at the ledger in Norah's hands.
Then he smiled.
"Excellent."
He raised his gun toward Evelyn.
May you like
"Now we can finish what we started."
---
