Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN IN THE HOSPITAL ROOMI found Nico in the library at two in the morning.
He stood beside a wall of bookshelves, his jacket discarded over a chair, his shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows. A laptop glowed on the desk. Several photographs lay beside it.
One showed a younger Anthony Moretti standing outside a warehouse.
Another showed a man I recognized immediately.
My father.
He looked no older than thirty, with dark hair, a crooked smile, and one arm resting across Anthony Moretti's shoulders.
For a moment, the room tilted.
“You knew what he looked like.”
Nico turned.
“I knew what the photographs showed.”
“You could have told me.”
“I was trying to verify something before giving you half an answer.”
I picked up the photograph.
“My mother said he repaired boats.”
“He did. He also handled shipping records for my father.”
“Was he a criminal?”
Nico considered the question.
“He worked for a criminal. That doesn't tell you what kind of man he was.”
I hated that answer because it sounded honest.
He opened a drawer and removed an old newspaper clipping. The headline reported Anthony Moretti's death in an explosion at a warehouse near the Chicago River.
Beneath it was a smaller article about Daniel Bennett, who had vanished two days later.
“Your father was investigating missing shipments,” Nico explained. “My father believed someone inside the organization was stealing money and moving weapons through legitimate businesses. Daniel found discrepancies in the records.”
“Who was stealing?”
“We don't know. The original ledger disappeared.”
“The blue ledger.”
Nico's eyes sharpened.
“You heard that name from your mother?”
I played him the voicemail.
He listened without interrupting. When it ended, his expression became unreadable.
“My father mentioned a blue ledger shortly before he died,” he said. “I was sixteen. I remember an argument between him and my uncle, Vincent.”
“Your uncle?”
“Vincent Moretti. My father's younger brother. He runs the family's shipping division.”
“Does he know I'm here?”
“He will by morning.”
“Then why am I still here?”
“Because if Vincent is involved, sending you away without understanding why would put you directly into his hands.”
I stared at him.
“You really know how to make a woman feel safe.”
His mouth twitched.
“I've been told I'm not particularly charming.”
“Whoever told you that was being generous.”
For a second, the tension between us loosened.
Then his phone rang.
Marco appeared in the doorway before Nico answered.
“Boss, the hospital called. Mrs. Bennett collapsed in her apartment.”
I was already moving.
My mother lay in a hospital bed beneath fluorescent lights, an oxygen tube resting beneath her nose. She looked smaller than I remembered, her familiar face pale against the white pillow.
I took her hand.
“Mom?”
Her eyelids fluttered open.
“Hannah.”
“I'm here.”
Her eyes moved toward Nico, who stood near the door.
Fear transformed her face.
“No,” she whispered. “You brought her to him.”
“Mom, please. You have to tell me what's happening.”
She gripped my fingers.
“Did you find the ledger?”
“I don't know anything about a ledger.”
“Daniel hid it. He said if anything happened to him, the truth had to survive.”
Nico stepped forward.
“Mrs. Bennett, I need to know what happened to my father.”
She looked at him with exhausted hatred.
“Your father tried to save my husband.”
Nico went still.
“What?”
“Anthony discovered Vincent was selling information to men who wanted control of the docks. Daniel had proof. They arranged to meet Anthony at the warehouse.”
Her breathing became uneven.
“But Vincent knew about the meeting. The explosion was supposed to kill them both.”
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“My father survived?”
My mother closed her eyes.
“I don't know. Daniel never came home. I received one letter six months later. He told me to keep you away from the Moretti family.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because someone had been watching our apartment. I was afraid they would take you.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
“I thought silence would keep you alive.”
I bent over her hand, fighting to breathe.
Nico stood perfectly still.
“Where is the ledger?” he asked.
My mother shook her head.
“I never saw it. Daniel told me only one thing. If the truth ever surfaced, I should look for the woman who wears Anthony's ring.”
Nico looked down at his hand.
On his right little finger was an old silver ring engraved with a small compass.
“My father wore this every day,” he said.
My mother stared at it.
Then she began to cry.
“That isn't his ring.”
Nico's expression changed.
“What?”
“Anthony had two. One was his wedding ring. The other was a signet he gave Daniel before the warehouse explosion.”
She looked at Nico with sudden urgency.
“Your father didn't die because he trusted the wrong man. He died because he trusted the right one.”
Before she could explain further, the heart monitor began to beep rapidly.
Nurses rushed inside.
I was pushed into the corridor while Nico stayed beside me, his face rigid with fury.
After several minutes, the doctor emerged.
“She's stable, but she needs rest.”
I sank into a chair.
Nico crouched in front of me.
“Hannah, listen to me. Whatever happened twenty years ago, your mother is not facing it alone anymore.”
I looked at the man who was supposed to be my enemy.
“Promise me you'll protect her.”
“I promise.”
“And if you discover my father was responsible for yours?”
His eyes held mine.
“Then I'll follow the truth wherever it leads.”
For the first time, I wanted to believe him.
Neither of us noticed the nurse at the far end of the corridor slipping a phone into her pocket.
May you like
She had just sent a message.
THE GIRL IS WITH MORETTI. VINCENT WANTS HER ALIVE.
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