Chapter 5 - The Secret Adrian Left Behind
Kieran ordered everyone away from the entrance.
He didn't open the door.
Instead, he watched the security monitor as Elise stood beneath the porch light, her hands visible, her face pale.
I stepped beside him.
“She's alive.”
“Yes.”
“Then let her explain.”
Kieran turned.
“You don't understand what she might be carrying.”
“Neither do you.”
He stared at me, then gave the guard a short nod.
The door opened.
Elise entered slowly.
She looked thinner than in the photographs. A faint scar crossed her left temple, disappearing into her hairline.
Her eyes went straight to Kieran.
“You look older.”
“You look dead.”
A bitter smile crossed her face.
“That's what your father wanted.”
Kieran's jaw tightened.
Elise turned toward me.
“You must be Mila.”
I nodded.
“And Noah?”
“Upstairs.”
“Good. Keep him there.”
“What do you want?”
Elise removed a small silver key from her coat.
“Adrian left something with me before he disappeared.”
Garrett arrived from the study.
“What kind of something?”
“A storage key. The contents of a private safety deposit box.”
Kieran frowned.
“Why didn't you bring it sooner?”
“Because I didn't know who was still working for Vincent.”
“Vincent is dead.”
“His organization isn't.”
She placed the key on the table.
“Adrian believed Vincent had prepared a final insurance policy. Something that would destroy every person connected to his operation if the truth ever came out.”
Garrett looked uncomfortable.
“What was it?”
“Names. Payments. Recordings. And a list of people who were ordered to disappear.”
Kieran studied her.
“Why contact Mila?”
“Because Adrian told me to.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“What exactly did he say?”
Elise hesitated.
“He told me that if anything happened to him, I should find his daughter and give her the truth.”
“My mother said he died in a car accident.”
“He didn't.”
The room went silent.
I gripped the back of a chair.
“Are you telling me Daniel is alive?”
Elise lowered her eyes.
“I believe he is.”
My heart seemed to stop.
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“Then how can you believe that?”
“Because I received a letter from him six months ago.”
She reached into her bag and handed me an envelope.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
I'd seen it on birthday cards, grocery lists, and the last letter Daniel had sent before disappearing.
Inside were three sentences.
Mila, if you're reading this, I've failed to keep my promise. Noah must never be allowed to inherit what I took. And whatever Kieran tells you about his family, remember that his father wasn't the only monster.
I read the last sentence again.
Then again.
Kieran took the paper from my hand.
“What does he mean?”
Elise looked at him.
“That's what I came to find out.”
Before anyone could speak, a crash came from upstairs.
I ran.
Noah's bedroom door was open.
His bed was empty.
The window was locked.
A small drawing lay on the carpet.
It showed a man standing beside a black car.
Underneath, Noah had written in his uneven kindergarten handwriting:
DADDY CAME BACK.
My blood ran cold.
Kieran reached the doorway behind me.
“Where is my son?”
I turned toward him.
“Someone has taken Noah.”
His security team searched the property within minutes. The gates had never opened. The cameras showed no one entering.
Then Elise noticed something.
A second door in the hallway stood slightly ajar.
It led to an old service staircase that connected to the underground garage.
Kieran ran downstairs.
On the floor beside a parked vehicle lay a small silver bracelet.
It was Noah's.
May you like
And attached to it was a note.
BRING ADRIAN'S KEY TO THE OLD RIVER WAREHOUSE. COME ALONE.
