Chapter 6 - The Mother Behind the Curtain
Diane Hayes disappeared before Nora could confront her.
Her mansion was empty.
Her bank accounts were drained.
Every security camera had been erased.
Arthur and Nora discovered a hidden room beneath the Hayes estate.
Inside were files on dozens of women.
Medical records.
Marriage contracts.
Debt agreements.
Photographs.
Some women had been sold to criminal families.
Others had been placed into political marriages.
Diane had built a system that turned vulnerable women into bargaining chips.
Nora stared at the files.
“She did this?”
Arthur nodded.
“But why?”
A recording answered.
Diane's voice filled the room.
“Because women have always been currency.”
Nora turned.
A speaker hidden in the wall was playing automatically.
Diane continued.
“Men call themselves kings because they control money.”
“They're wrong.”
“The person who controls the women controls the bloodlines.”
Nora's stomach twisted.
Arthur found another file.
His name was on it.
So were his children's.
Then Nora saw hers.
At the bottom was a handwritten note.
SUBJECT NORA HAYES — PRIMARY REPLACEMENT CANDIDATE.
Replacement for whom?
Nora kept searching.
Then she found the answer.
Diane had been planning to replace Arthur's missing wife with Nora.
Not because Nora couldn't have children.
Because she could.
Diane wanted Nora to marry Arthur.
She wanted access to the Costa organization.
And she wanted Nora's future children to become political heirs.
The infertility diagnosis had been temporary.
A lie designed to make Nora believe she had no future.
Nora's knees weakened.
Arthur caught her.
“I'm sorry.”
She pulled away.
“No.”
“Nora—”
“I spent ten years believing my body betrayed me.”
Her voice cracked.
“My own mother did that.”
Arthur said nothing.
Nora stared at the files.
“She didn't just sell me.”
“She erased me.”
Arthur stepped closer.
“You're still here.”
Nora looked at him.
“And you?”
“What?”
“Are you choosing me because I'm useful?”
Arthur's expression hardened.
“No.”
“How do I know?”
“You don't.”
She blinked.
Arthur continued.
“That's why I'm not asking you to marry me anymore.”
Nora stared at him.
“You're not?”
“No.”
He stepped back.
“If you stay, stay because you want me.”
“If you leave, I'll protect you anyway.”
Nora's eyes filled with tears.
Arthur reached toward her.
Stopped.
He remembered his promise.
She closed the distance herself.
Her forehead rested against his chest.
Arthur wrapped his arms around her.
No hunger.
No possession.
Just two damaged people holding on.
Then the lights went out.
Gunfire erupted upstairs.
Arthur pushed Nora behind a wall.
Security shouted.
A bullet struck the doorway.
Arthur drew his weapon.
Nora noticed something.
A small red light blinking beneath the desk.
A tracking device.
She ripped it free.
“Arthur!”
He looked.
“It's transmitting.”
“Where?”
“Your office.”
They realized the attacker wasn't targeting Nora.
He was targeting the files.
Arthur looked at the hidden documents.
“Someone wants these destroyed.”
Nora picked up one photograph.
Daniel Costa stood beside Diane.
But behind them was another man.
A man Arthur knew.
His oldest lieutenant.
Victor Hale.
Arthur's face went cold.
“Victor.”
Nora stared.
“He's been with you for twelve years.”
Arthur nodded.
“And he was the only person who knew where my wife was buried.”
May you like
A pause.
“Because he knew there was no grave.”
