Chapter 4 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
I stopped breathing.
Reed raised the gun.
“Stay here.”
I grabbed his arm.
“That’s Marcus.”
“Maybe.”
“I know his voice.”
“That doesn’t mean you open the door.”
The voice came again.
“Elena.”
My body moved before my mind.
Reed blocked me.
“Move.”
“No.”
“That’s Ava’s father.”
“Then he can wait thirty seconds.”
“Reed.”
“If Marcus Vale survived eight months while everyone believed he was dead, he can survive thirty more seconds while I confirm who is outside.”
He spoke into his phone.
Security camera footage appeared.
A man stood in the hall.
Thinner than I remembered.
Beard.
Dark hair longer.
A scar along one cheek.
But him.
Marcus.
My Marcus.
I covered my mouth.
He looked toward the camera.
“Callaway, I know you’re watching.”
Reed’s expression hardened.
Marcus lifted both hands.
“I’m unarmed.”
Reed looked at Adrian.
“Scan?”
“Clear.”
The door opened.
Marcus stepped inside.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then he saw Ava.
His face broke.
“Elena.”
I hit him.
Hard.
The sound cracked through the room.
Marcus staggered one step.
I hit him again.
“You were dead!”
“Elena—”
“You were dead!”
I shoved him.
“You let me bury you!”
Tears blurred everything.
“I had a baby!”
“I know.”
“You knew?”
“I watched from a distance.”
That hurt worse than anything.
“You watched?”
“I couldn’t come near you.”
“You watched me lose the apartment?”
His face collapsed.
“I tried to send money.”
“I never got money!”
“I know. They intercepted it.”
“You watched me work double shifts?”
“I had no choice.”
“There is always a choice!”
Ava started crying.
Marcus froze.
He stared at her.
Eight months old.
His daughter.
He had last held her when she weighed nine pounds.
Now she stared at him like a stranger.
Because he was one.
Marcus whispered, “Can I?”
I pulled her closer.
“No.”
The word destroyed him.
Good.
Maybe part of me wanted it to.
Reed lowered his gun slightly.
“Explain.”
Marcus looked at him.
“You found the drive.”
“Yes.”
“Then you know enough.”
“I know you let Elena believe you were dead.”
Marcus looked ashamed.
“I was supposed to die.”
“Yet here you are.”
“Rainer’s people grabbed me before the shooting. The body in the alley was someone else.”
“Who?”
“A runner named Caleb Moss.”
Adrian typed the name.
Marcus continued.
“They beat him badly enough to make identification difficult. Mercer switched the records.”
“The detective?” I asked.
“Yes.”
I sank into a chair.
“Why?”
“To make Rainer think the problem was finished.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It bought me time.”
“From who?”
Marcus looked at Reed.
“Him.”
I stared at Reed.
“You knew?”
“No.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not Callaway. Someone inside his organization.”
Reed became very still.
“Name.”
Marcus hesitated.
“Victor Hale.”
Adrian swore.
I looked between them.
“Who is Victor?”
Reed’s face had gone cold.
“My uncle.”
That landed heavily.
Marcus continued.
“Victor found me two days after the staged death. He said he knew about the files. He offered protection.”
“Why would he do that?” Reed asked.
“I thought he wanted leverage against Rainer.”
“And now?”
Marcus looked toward the window.
“Now I think he wanted the drive for himself.”
Reed’s jaw tightened.
“Where have you been?”
“Safe houses.”
“Whose?”
“Victor’s.”
“So why leave?”
“Because three days ago I heard him tell someone Elena had become useful.”
My skin prickled.
“Useful for what?”
Marcus looked at Ava.
I stood.
“No.”
“Elena—”
“No. Don’t look at her like that.”
“They believe there’s a second copy.”
“Second copy of what?”
“The records.”
Reed said, “Is there?”
Marcus hesitated.
That was answer enough.
“Where?” Reed asked.
Marcus looked at me.
“I don’t know.”
I laughed.
Nobody else did.
“You hid evidence from gangsters but forgot where?”
“I didn’t hide it.”
“Who did?”
He looked at Ava.
The room went silent.
I felt sick.
“You used my baby?”
“No.”
“You put something on her?”
“No. Listen to me.”
“Then explain.”
“When Elena was pregnant, I knew I might not get out clean. I created two copies. The drive in the blanket was one.”
“And the second?” Reed asked.
“I gave the access key to someone I trusted.”
“Who?”
Marcus looked at me.
“My mother.”
I frowned.
“Your mother died before Ava was born.”
Marcus nodded.
“She did.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“She hid the key before she died.”
“Where?”
“I never found out.”
Reed paced once.
“Rainer believes Elena knows.”
“Yes.”
“But she doesn’t.”
“Yes.”
“So why take Ava?”
Marcus’s face darkened.
“To make Elena talk.”
Rage moved through me.
“They were going to kidnap my daughter for information I don’t even have?”
Marcus nodded.
I turned away.
My hands trembled so badly I nearly dropped Ava’s pacifier.
Reed picked it up and handed it to me.
Our eyes met.
Something unspoken passed between us.
Whatever else he was, Reed understood one thing.
Nobody touched Ava.
Marcus took one step closer.
“Elena, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t.”
“I thought staying dead protected you.”
“It left us alone.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
I looked at him.
“You don’t know what it was like to wake up every two hours with a newborn and realize there was nobody else coming.”
His eyes filled.
“You don’t know what it was like to choose between diapers and groceries.”
“Elena—”
“You don’t know what it was like to stand over a grave and tell our daughter her father loved her.”
He closed his eyes.
“I loved you.”
“Past tense?”
His eyes opened.
“No.”
That made everything worse.
Reed stepped away, giving us privacy without leaving.
Marcus looked at Ava again.
“She has your eyes.”
“She has your chin.”
He almost smiled.
Then shame crushed it.
“What do you want from me?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“That’s a lie.”
“I want you safe.”
“You came here.”
“Because Victor knows where you are.”
Reed turned.
“How?”
“Someone inside your building told him.”
Every face in the room changed.
Adrian immediately checked his phone.
Reed looked toward the hallway.
“How long?”
“Maybe twenty minutes.”
Adrian spoke.
“Boss.”
Reed turned.
“The west elevator just stopped responding.”
Marcus moved instantly.
“He’s here.”
Lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then everything went dark.
Emergency lighting switched on.
Red.
Ava began crying.
I held her.
Reed drew his gun.
Adrian did the same.
Marcus moved toward the door.
A voice came through the penthouse intercom.
Calm.
Older.
Almost amused.
“Reed.”
Reed’s face went completely blank.
“Uncle.”
The lock on the front door clicked.
May you like
From the outside.
Victor Hale had just opened it.
