Chapter 2 - The Man Who Sold Her Name
Brody looked healthier than Nora remembered.
That was the first thing she noticed.
When he disappeared, he had been pale, sleepless, and desperate, with creditors calling him every hour. Now he wore an expensive wool coat and a gold watch she had never seen before.
“Nora,” he said, stepping out of the SUV. “Get in. You're freezing.”
She backed away.
“Stay away from me.”
“I'm trying to help you.”
“You left me.”
His expression tightened.
“We don't have time for this.”
Nora looked at the driver. The man was broad-shouldered, with a scar beneath his right ear.
“Who is he?”
“A friend.”
“Then why is he locking the doors?”
Brody glanced toward the driver.
That single glance told Nora everything.
She turned and ran.
Or tried to.
Her swollen stomach made every movement difficult, and the snow reached above her ankles.
Brody caught her sleeve.
“Nora, stop!”
She twisted away.
“Don't touch me!”
The driver stepped out.
Brody lowered his voice.
“Listen carefully. The people who hired me are not going to let you walk away.”
Nora froze.
“Hired you?”
Brody looked miserable.
“I didn't know what they wanted at first.”
“Who?”
He swallowed.
“They paid me to make sure you applied for the job at the Moretti estate.”
For a moment, Nora forgot the cold.
“What?”
“Six months ago, someone approached me at the casino. They knew about my debts. They said if I convinced you to take a housekeeping job, they'd clear everything.”
“You disappeared before I started working there.”
“I know.”
“You left me pregnant and homeless.”
Brody looked away.
“I thought they'd leave you alone afterward.”
Nora stared at him.
“You sold me?”
He didn't answer.
The driver approached.
“Enough talking.”
Brody stepped between them.
“She needs medical attention.”
“Our instructions were clear.”
Nora saw the driver's hand move toward his coat.
She reacted before she could think.
She grabbed the SUV door, slammed it into his arm, and stumbled backward.
The man cursed.
Brody caught her before she fell.
For one strange second, they stood together like the couple they had once been.
Then Nora pushed him away.
“You don't get to save me after selling me.”
Headlights suddenly swept across the road.
Another SUV approached.
The driver reached for his weapon.
A commanding voice cut through the storm.
“Step away from her.”
Lorenzo Moretti emerged from the vehicle.
Marcus and two security officers followed.
The stranger immediately raised his hands.
Brody went pale.
Lorenzo looked at Nora.
She was shaking violently.
Her lips had turned blue.
“Get her into the car.”
Nora stepped backward.
“No.”
Lorenzo stopped.
“I understand why you don't trust me.”
“You threw me outside.”
His expression tightened.
“Yes.”
“You watched me beg.”
“I did.”
“And you believed her.”
Lorenzo looked toward the mansion in the distance.
“I was wrong.”
Nora laughed bitterly.
“You think that fixes it?”
“No.”
He removed his coat and held it out.
“It doesn't fix anything. But you're in danger, and your baby needs warmth.”
She hesitated.
Then another cramp tightened across her stomach.
Her knees buckled.
Lorenzo caught her before she struck the ground.
“Call an ambulance,” he ordered.
Marcus was already reaching for his phone.
The storm had closed the main road, and emergency services warned that reaching the estate could take hours.
Lorenzo looked down at Nora.
“Stay with me.”
Her eyes fluttered.
“Don't let them take Lily.”
His expression changed.
“Who?”
But Nora had already lost consciousness.
When she woke, she was lying in a warm bedroom.
A physician sat beside the bed, checking her blood pressure.
“Your baby is doing well,” the doctor assured her. “You were dangerously cold and dehydrated, but we aren't seeing signs of active labor. We still need to monitor you.”
Nora turned her head.
Lorenzo stood near the window.
“Where am I?”
“Back at the estate.”
She tried to sit up.
“No.”
“Please don't move too quickly,” the doctor said.
Nora looked at Lorenzo.
“I won't stay here.”
“You don't have to.”
That surprised her.
Lorenzo approached, keeping a respectful distance.
“As soon as the roads open and the doctor clears you, I'll arrange transportation anywhere you choose.”
Nora studied him.
“And Brody?”
“In custody.”
“Your custody?”
“For the moment. My attorney is contacting the authorities.”
She looked away.
“I don't want anything to do with your family.”
Lorenzo nodded.
“I understand.”
He placed something on the bedside table.
Her coat.
Her suitcase.
And the small pink blanket she had packed for Lily.
“I had your belongings returned.”
Nora touched the blanket.
For the first time since being thrown outside, tears filled her eyes.
Lorenzo turned toward the door.
“Mr. Moretti?”
He stopped.
She looked up.
“Your father didn't deserve what happened to him.”
“No,” Lorenzo said quietly. “He didn't.”
“And neither did I.”
He lowered his eyes.
“I know.”
Downstairs, Mrs. Gable sat in a locked guest room under guard.
Marcus entered with a tablet.
“The security administrator account was used to delete the original recording,” he told Lorenzo. “But the footage Mrs. Gable showed you wasn't exported directly from our system.”
“Meaning?”
“Someone created a replacement file.”
“Can you recover the original?”
“Possibly. The recorder may have retained fragments in its backup storage.”
Lorenzo looked through the glass toward the security room.
“And Brody?”
“He admitted receiving money from a woman who used the name Claire Morgan.”
“Fake name?”
“Almost certainly.”
“Payment trail?”
“An offshore company.”
Lorenzo rubbed his jaw.
“Find out who owns it.”
Marcus hesitated.
“There's something else.”
He handed Lorenzo a photograph.
It showed Nora entering a women's clinic in Manhattan.
The date was six months earlier.
“Someone had been watching her before she came here.”
Lorenzo stared at the image.
“Why?”
Marcus turned the photograph over.
A handwritten message covered the back.
SHE MUST BE INSIDE THE HOUSE BEFORE THE OLD MAN REMEMBERS.
Lorenzo read it twice.
Then he looked toward the staircase.
For the first time, he understood that Nora hadn't simply been unfortunate enough to work for a cruel housekeeper.
Someone had placed her near his father.
Someone had wanted her there.
And that someone had now tried to make her disappear.
That night, Giovanni's nurse, Evelyn Price, repaired the loose power connection on his communication device.
Lorenzo sat beside the wheelchair.
“Dad, I need you to tell me why Nora was brought here.”
Giovanni watched him.
“Did you know about her before she arrived?”
A pause.
Then the device answered.
NO.
“Do you know who arranged it?”
Giovanni's eyes shifted.
Letters appeared slowly.
R O M A N O.
Lorenzo felt his stomach tighten.
“Isabella?”
The old man's breathing changed.
The device spoke.
NOT ONLY HER.
Lorenzo leaned forward.
“Who else?”
Giovanni began selecting letters.
M A R—
A loud crash echoed from the hallway.
Lorenzo turned.
When he looked back, Giovanni was staring at the doorway.
And standing there was Marcus Bellini.
His oldest friend.
His most trusted lieutenant.
The man who had been standing beside Lorenzo throughout the entire investigation.
“Boss,” Marcus said.
His expression was unreadable.
“We have a problem.”
May you like
He held up his phone.
“Someone just transferred forty million dollars from your father's trust.”
