Chapter 9 - THE LAST FAMILY SECRET
Norah backed away.
"Tyler?"
Her brother closed the door.
"Put the phone down."
She stared at the gun.
"What's happening?"
Tyler's hand trembled.
"They have Rachel."
"Who?"
"Victor."
Norah felt her stomach drop.
"You're working for him?"
"No!"
His voice broke.
"Not because I wanted to."
He explained that Victor had approached him weeks earlier, threatening to expose a financial crime Tyler had committed years ago. He had been desperate, frightened, and convinced that cooperating would keep Norah safe.
Instead, Victor had used him to track her.
"I thought if I told him where you were, he'd leave you alone."
Norah's eyes filled.
"You gave him my location."
Tyler lowered the gun.
"I didn't know he'd send people after you."
A sharp knock came from the hallway.
Tyler turned.
"Get behind me."
The door burst open.
Two men entered.
Tyler fired once, striking the ceiling light. Norah dropped behind the bed as the room plunged into darkness.
Then came a series of heavy impacts.
When the emergency lights flickered on, both attackers were on the floor.
Dante stood in the doorway.
His black suit was torn at the shoulder.
Nico stood behind him.
Norah stared.
"How did you find me?"
Dante looked at her phone.
"Your brother's car had a tracking device installed by Victor's people. We followed it."
Tyler raised his hands.
"Dante, I can explain."
"I know."
Dante's gaze shifted to the weapon on the floor.
"Put that down."
Tyler did.
Then he broke down.
"I'm sorry, Norah."
She wanted to hate him.
She wanted to scream.
But he was her brother.
And he had been manipulated by the same man who had destroyed their family.
Norah walked toward him.
"Don't ever make a decision about my safety without telling me again."
Tyler nodded, crying.
"I won't."
Rachel was being held at an abandoned warehouse near the river.
Dante's team found her alive.
She was weak but conscious.
When Norah entered the room, Rachel reached for her hand.
"You have your mother's eyes."
Norah began crying.
"Why didn't you find me?"
"I was afraid."
"Of Victor?"
Rachel nodded.
"Your mother hid the evidence because she knew he would kill anyone who had it."
"What evidence?"
Rachel looked at Dante.
Then back at Norah.
"Your father discovered that Victor had been selling confidential police information to criminal organizations. He also discovered that Elena was helping him gather evidence."
Dante's jaw tightened.
"Why would Victor kill his own niece?"
"Because Elena found out he had arranged your father's murder."
Rachel took a shaky breath.
"But there's something else."
She reached into her coat and pulled out a small envelope.
"Your mother gave me this the night she disappeared."
Norah opened it.
Inside was a photograph of a newborn baby.
On the back, her mother's handwriting read:
NORAH — YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHO YOUR FATHER REALLY WAS.
Norah stared at the photograph.
"That's me."
Rachel nodded.
"Yes."
"But what does it mean?"
Rachel looked directly at Dante.
"Thomas Hayes was the man who raised you."
Norah's face went pale.
"Then who was my biological father?"
Rachel's answer came in a whisper.
"Your father was Alessandro Moretti."
Dante went completely still.
Alessandro Moretti had been his father.
Which meant Norah wasn't merely connected to the Moretti family.
She was his half-sister.
Before anyone could speak, every phone in the warehouse began vibrating.
A message appeared on Dante's screen.
A photograph of the Moretti estate.
May you like
And a single sentence:
YOUR FAMILY SECRET IS OUT. COME HOME, DANTE.
