Chapter 7 - THE FATHER WHO CHOSE THE WRONG SIDE
Nora watched the footage six times.
Her father.
Alive.
Walking.
Not imprisoned.
Not being forced.
Walking willingly beside Julian.
“That video at the gala…”
Roman finished the thought.
“May have been staged.”
Nora shook her head.
“No. He warned me.”
“Both can be true.”
Roman crouched in front of her.
“He may be protecting you while still hiding something.”
Nora laughed bitterly.
“That seems to be the family tradition.”
The storage facility yielded one clue.
A drop of blood.
Fresh.
And an address written beneath a shelf.
Gloucester.
The coast.
Roman wanted Nora to stay behind.
She refused.
This time he didn’t argue.
Before dawn, they reached an abandoned marine repair yard overlooking gray Atlantic water.
Nora recognized it immediately.
Her father’s old workplace.
A light burned inside.
Roman’s men surrounded the building.
Nora entered with Roman.
Thomas Bellamy stood beside a workbench.
Julian sat nearby with blood soaking through his shirt.
Nora stopped.
“Dad.”
Thomas turned.
Twenty years disappeared from his face.
“Nora.”
She crossed the room.
Then slapped him.
Roman blinked.
Thomas accepted it.
Nora’s voice broke.
“Twenty years.”
“I know.”
“You let me bury you.”
“I know.”
“You let Mom die thinking—”
“She knew.”
Nora froze.
“What?”
Thomas looked down.
“Celeste always knew I was alive.”
The betrayal hurt differently.
Nora stepped back.
Thomas explained.
After Anthony Calder was murdered, Thomas discovered that Sebastian had ordered the hit to prevent Anthony from exposing the network.
Thomas intended to testify.
Then threats arrived against Celeste and Nora.
He disappeared to protect them.
Celeste maintained secret contact for years.
“But why come back now?”
“Because Sebastian learned about you.”
Nora touched her stomach.
“No. About the evidence.”
Thomas looked at the pendant.
“Yes.”
Julian groaned.
Nora turned.
“What happened?”
“He saved me,” Julian said weakly.
Thomas had intercepted men sent to kill Julian after he stole the storage case.
Nora looked at her ex-husband.
“Why steal it?”
Julian laughed painfully.
“For once? To do the right thing.”
The case sat on the workbench.
Inside were Celeste’s journals.
Financial ledgers.
Audio recordings.
And one sealed letter addressed to Nora.
Her hands shook as she opened it.
My darling girl,
If you are reading this, then the secrets I kept to protect you have become the secrets putting you in danger. For that, I am sorry.
Nora stopped.
Roman stood silently beside her.
She continued.
Celeste explained everything.
Her marriage.
Thomas’s disappearance.
The Calder investigation.
Her fear.
And something else.
She had not died naturally.
Celeste knew Dr. Vane had been slowly poisoning her heart medication.
She had known for weeks.
Nora sobbed.
“Why didn’t she go to police?”
Thomas’s eyes filled.
“Because Vane threatened you.”
Nora pressed the letter to her chest.
Roman turned away, jaw tight.
Thomas continued.
“Celeste used the time she had left to assemble evidence.”
“Against Sebastian?”
“And Vivienne.”
Roman looked at the case.
“Enough to convict them?”
“Enough to bury the entire organization.”
A vehicle engine sounded outside.
Dante’s voice exploded through Roman’s earpiece.
“Movement!”
Gunfire cracked outside.
Roman pulled Nora down behind the workbench.
Thomas grabbed the case.
Julian struggled upright.
“Back exit!”
They moved through the old workshop as windows shattered.
Roman stayed behind Nora.
Not ahead.
Behind.
Shielding her.
They reached the dock.
A boat waited.
Then Thomas stopped.
A red laser point appeared on Roman’s chest.
“Roman!”
Thomas shoved him.
The shot struck Thomas.
Nora screamed.
Roman caught him before he hit the dock.
Dante’s men returned fire.
Seconds later, the attackers retreated.
Nora dropped beside her father.
Blood spread across his jacket.
“No. No, no, no.”
Thomas looked at her.
“I missed your graduation.”
“Stop talking.”
“Your wedding.”
“Dad.”
“Every birthday.”
“Please.”
His hand found hers.
“But I never stopped being your father.”
Nora sobbed.
Sirens approached.
Thomas looked at Roman.
“Don’t protect her by lying.”
Roman nodded.
“Never.”
Thomas’s eyes closed.
“Dad!”
A medic rushed forward.
“He has a pulse!”
They carried him toward the ambulance.
Nora tried to follow.
Then sudden pain tore through her abdomen.
She doubled over.
Roman caught her.
“Nora?”
Warm blood appeared against the pale fabric of her dress.
Roman’s face went white.
“Nora!”
She clutched him.
May you like
“The baby.”
And for the first time anyone there had ever heard it, Roman Calder screamed for help.
