Chapter 5 - THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN DEAD FOR SIX YEARS
The search lasted forty minutes before a guard discovered something in the garden.
A small pink mitten.
It had been placed beside the old greenhouse.
Damien knelt and examined it.
Lily had been wearing matching mittens that morning.
He stood.
"Check the greenhouse."
Two guards entered first.
Inside, they found a broken window and a trail of muddy footprints leading toward the rear wall.
But there was no Lily.
Elena arrived moments later.
"Where is my daughter?"
Damien faced her.
"I'm going to bring her home."
"You promised she would be safe."
Her voice broke.
"I trusted you."
The words struck him harder than any accusation Richard could have made.
He had built an empire around controlling every possible threat.
Yet a three-year-old girl had disappeared from his own home.
"I won't ask you to forgive me," he said. "But I need you to trust me long enough to find her."
Elena covered her mouth.
Then Damien noticed something on the greenhouse floor.
A small piece of paper.
It had been torn from an old notebook.
There were three handwritten words.
Cole. Station. Eleven.
Damien immediately called Harold.
"Find every abandoned railway station connected to Martin Cole."
Harold hesitated.
"Sir, Martin Cole is dead."
"Apparently, nobody told the person leaving these messages."
Within minutes, the security team found an old property record.
Martin had owned a storage unit near an abandoned railway depot outside Chicago.
The unit had never been transferred after his supposed death.
Damien took two guards and left.
Elena insisted on coming.
"No," Damien said.
"She's my daughter."
"And whoever took her may be armed."
Elena stepped closer.
"Then don't ask me to sit in that room and wait."
He studied her.
Finally, he nodded.
They drove through the snow.
The depot stood near an industrial district, its windows broken and its entrance covered with rust.
Inside, Damien found a metal storage cabinet.
The brass key Elena had inherited from her mother fit perfectly.
She turned it.
The lock opened.
Inside were several boxes, a collection of photographs, and an old cassette recorder.
Damien found a photograph of his father standing beside Martin.
On the back was a date.
The night of the accident.
There was also a small notebook containing a list of payments made to a private security company.
Every payment had been authorized by Richard.
Elena opened another box.
Inside was a photograph of a young man holding a little girl.
She stared at it.
"That's my father."
Damien looked closer.
The little girl was Elena.
But someone had written a message beneath the photograph.
If Elena ever returns to the Vescari estate, keep her away from the eastern wing.
Elena's eyes filled.
"Why would he write that?"
Damien found another envelope.
Inside was a letter.
Elena, if you're reading this, I failed to protect your mother. I need you to know that I never abandoned you. Richard told me your mother was dead. He threatened to hurt you if I returned. I have spent every year since trying to find a way to bring the truth into the open.
Elena pressed the letter to her chest.
"He's alive."
Damien said nothing.
A sound came from the other side of the depot.
Footsteps.
One of the guards raised his weapon.
"Who's there?"
A man stepped into the light.
He was older, thinner, and had a deep scar across his cheek.
But Elena recognized him immediately.
"Dad?"
The man stopped.
His eyes filled with tears.
"Elena."
She ran toward him.
For a moment, the two embraced without speaking.
Then Elena pulled away.
"Where is Lily?"
Martin's expression changed.
"Richard has her."
Damien stepped forward.
"Where?"
Martin looked at him.
"You don't understand. Richard isn't acting alone."
"Then explain."
Martin reached into his coat and produced a photograph.
It showed Richard standing beside a man in a dark suit.
Damien recognized the second man.
Anthony Moretti.
A rival crime boss who had spent years trying to take control of Chicago's northern territory.
"They've been working together," Martin said. "Richard arranged your father's death. Moretti helped him move the money afterward."
Damien's face darkened.
"Why return the watch now?"
"Because I finally found the original ledger. I sent it to you."
"Where is it?"
Martin looked toward Elena.
"Your mother hid it before she died."
Elena shook her head.
"She never told me."
"She left you the key."
Damien understood.
The brass key had opened the storage cabinet.
Inside the cabinet was a second compartment.
Martin opened it.
A small black notebook lay inside.
The original ledger.
Damien reached for it.
Then a phone rang.
Martin answered.
He listened.
His face drained of color.
"What?"
He looked at Elena.
Then at Damien.
"They're moving the child."
Damien took a step forward.
"Where?"
Martin swallowed.
"To the old church on Ashland Avenue."
A moment later, another message arrived on Damien's phone.
It contained a photograph.
Lily was sitting on a wooden chair, holding Miss Buttons.
She appeared frightened but unharmed.
Beneath the photograph was a message.
Come alone. Bring the ledger. Or the little girl disappears before midnight.
Elena began shaking.
Damien looked at Martin.
"How many men?"
"At least six."
Damien put the ledger inside his coat.
Then he looked at Elena.
"I'm bringing her home."
She grabbed his hand.
"Please."
He squeezed her fingers.
"I promise."
But as he turned toward the exit, Martin stopped him.
"Damien."
"What?"
Martin's voice became barely audible.
"Your father wasn't the only person Richard tried to kill that night."
May you like
He looked toward Elena.
"Your mother was in the car too."
