Chapter 21 - BRODY RETURNS
Lorenzo did not hide the file.
He called Nora immediately.
Growth.
Nora hated the information.
But she appreciated the call.
Brody had disappeared three days earlier.
No evidence suggested he escaped willingly.
His safe house had been torn apart.
Blood found inside did not belong to him.
Someone had taken him.
The obvious assumption was revenge from Thomas or Elias’s surviving associates.
Then Nora received a package.
Inside was Lily’s hospital bracelet from the day she was born.
Only three people besides Nora had handled it afterward.
Lorenzo.
Brody.
And a NICU nurse.
A note read:
He kept this for seven years. Ask yourself why.
Nora sat down.
Lorenzo returned home that night.
“Brody kept her bracelet.”
“He was her father.”
“He gave up his rights.”
“That doesn't erase biology.”
Nora looked at him.
“Does that bother you?”
Lorenzo answered carefully.
“Yes.”
She appreciated the truth.
“Why?”
“Because I love her.”
“I know.”
“And there is a part of me that hates the idea that another man has a claim to memories I think of as ours.”
Nora took his hand.
“That's jealousy.”
“Yes.”
“Ugly jealousy.”
“Extremely.”
She smiled faintly.
“But honest.”
He looked ashamed.
Nora continued.
“Brody being Lily’s biological father doesn't make you less her dad.”
“I know logically.”
“And emotionally?”
“I'm working on it.”
Lily entered halfway through.
“Working on what?”
Lorenzo froze.
Nora decided not to lie.
“Your birth father is missing.”
Lily knew about Brody.
They had explained him in age-appropriate ways.
“Brody?”
“Yes.”
“Is he bad?”
Nora hesitated.
“He did bad things.”
“That wasn't my question.”
Lorenzo looked at Nora.
Lily had inherited uncomfortable directness from everyone.
Nora said:
“I don't think people are only one thing.”
Lily considered this.
“Do we find him?”
Nora’s heart hurt.
“Yes.”
They tracked the package.
It originated in Philadelphia.
A security camera showed Brody mailing it himself.
Two days before disappearing.
Meaning it was not a threat.
It was a warning.
The note’s handwriting was Brody’s.
“He kept this for seven years. Ask yourself why.”
Nora understood.
The hospital bracelet contained something.
Marcus examined it.
Inside the plastic seam was a microfilm strip.
Brody had hidden it there years earlier.
It contained account numbers.
Not Vale money.
Elias Moretti’s remaining offshore reserves.
Brody had stolen information before entering witness protection.
He kept it as insurance.
Now someone wanted it.
Nora felt furious.
“He used Lily’s bracelet to hide criminal evidence?”
Lorenzo said nothing.
She looked at him.
“Say something.”
“I’m trying to decide whether agreement would sound too enthusiastic.”
She glared.
“He's an idiot.”
“Yes.”
“A selfish idiot.”
“Yes.”
“But he's missing.”
“Yes.”
“And we're finding him.”
Lorenzo sighed.
“Yes.”
They traced one account withdrawal.
Rural Pennsylvania.
An abandoned horse farm.
Lorenzo wanted Nora nowhere near it.
Nora wanted to come.
They compromised.
She remained at the command vehicle half a mile away.
Progress again.
The rescue team entered.
Gunfire.
Then silence.
Marcus radioed.
“We found him.”
Alive.
Brody was chained inside a basement.
But he wasn't alone.
Another prisoner sat beside him.
An elderly woman.
Nora recognized her immediately from photographs.
Mrs. Gable.
The former head housekeeper.
Nora stared.
Mrs. Gable had disappeared after serving part of her sentence and being released.
Why was she with Brody?
When brought outside, Mrs. Gable looked at Nora.
For the first time, there was no cruelty.
Only terror.
“They're coming back.”
“Who?”
Mrs. Gable grabbed her sleeve.
“The people who paid me before Elias ever did.”
Nora’s blood chilled.
“Who?”
May you like
Mrs. Gable whispered:
“The Moretti Council.”
