Chapter 6 - A Mother's Fight
Nora woke to the sound of a car engine.
Her head throbbed. Her wrists were bound with plastic restraints, and a wool blanket covered her legs.
For several seconds, she couldn't remember where she was.
Then she felt her daughter move.
Fear cleared her mind.
She twisted against the restraints.
"Hello?"
A man in the front passenger seat turned around.
He wore a black mask and leather gloves.
"Don't make trouble."
"Where are you taking me?"
"Somewhere your boss can't reach you."
"I'm not his—"
The man struck the metal partition beside him.
"Be quiet."
Nora forced herself to stop speaking.
She had spent months learning how to survive Mrs. Gable's cruelty. She knew that panic made people careless, and careless people made mistakes.
She studied the car's movement.
They were traveling uphill. The road was rough, and the tires occasionally slipped on snow.
When the vehicle slowed at a sharp turn, Nora deliberately dropped her shoulder and pushed against the door.
The man looked back.
"What are you doing?"
"My stomach hurts."
"Then sit still."
"I'm pregnant. Something's wrong."
He swore and told the driver to pull over.
The moment the rear door opened, Nora shoved herself sideways and fell into the snow.
Pain shot through her hip.
She scrambled toward a line of trees.
"Get her!"
A man grabbed her coat.
Nora twisted, clawed at his hand, and screamed with every ounce of strength she possessed.
A gunshot cracked through the forest.
She froze.
The man holding her released her and fell backward.
A black SUV skidded onto the road.
Marcus's men emerged with weapons raised.
Within seconds, the kidnappers were disarmed and forced to the ground.
Marcus ran toward Nora.
"Miss Bennett!"
She collapsed against him.
"My baby."
"We're getting you to a doctor."
"Please don't let them take her."
"They won't."
Marcus wrapped her in a blanket and carried her to the SUV.
Nora had no idea that the kidnappers had been hired by a man whose name appeared on the Moretti family's payroll.
She had no idea that Vincent's plan had been designed to make Lorenzo look incapable of protecting his household.
All she knew was that her daughter was still moving.
And that was enough to keep her conscious until they reached the hospital.
Lorenzo arrived minutes later.
When he saw Nora in the examination room, bruised and trembling beneath a blanket, something inside him nearly broke.
He stopped at the doorway.
"Nora?"
She turned her head.
For a moment, she looked as if she might recoil from him.
Then she began to cry.
He crossed the room and knelt beside her bed.
"I'm sorry."
"You said I would be safe."
"I know."
"You promised."
He accepted every word without defending himself.
"I failed you."
Nora covered her face.
"I don't want your money. I don't want your guards. I just want my daughter to be born somewhere nobody can hurt her."
Lorenzo bowed his head.
"Then that's what we'll do."
She lowered her hands.
"You can't promise that."
"No," he admitted. "But I can promise I won't ask you to trust me until I've earned it."
The doctor entered and examined Nora. Fortunately, the baby was stable, although Nora would need several days of rest and continued monitoring.
Lorenzo remained outside the examination room until she asked him to return.
When he did, she gave him a small, exhausted nod.
It wasn't forgiveness.
It was permission to begin again.
That night, Marcus discovered that one of the men assigned to protect Nora had received a substantial payment through an offshore account.
The account belonged to a company associated with Vincent.
But the transfer had not originated overseas.
It had come from inside the Moretti organization.
Marcus placed the evidence before Lorenzo.
"We have a traitor among the senior captains."
"Who?"
"We're checking the records."
Lorenzo stared at the account number.
He recognized it.
The money had passed through a private account used by his own father before the stroke.
Someone had been using Giovanni's identity for years.
Then a nurse entered carrying a sealed envelope.
"Mr. Moretti, this was left at the front desk. The sender said it was intended for your father."
Lorenzo opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
Giovanni stood beside a woman in a hospital corridor.
The woman was young, dark-haired, and visibly pregnant.
May you like
On the back were four words.
ASK HIM ABOUT YOUR SISTER.
