Chapter 6 - A Bullet Through the Window
Chloe couldn’t move.
Arthur pulled her behind him.
“Show yourself.”
A flashlight clicked on.
A woman stood near the loading doors.
Early thirties.
Dark hair.
Daniel Romano’s eyes.
Luca whispered, “Isabella?”
The woman smiled sadly.
“You remember.”
Luca crossed the warehouse.
They embraced.
Chloe remained frozen.
“That makes no sense.”
Isabella looked at her.
“No. Marco misunderstood the letter.”
Marco frowned.
Isabella continued.
“Daniel had two children. Luca and me.”
Chloe exhaled.
“So I’m not—”
“Daniel’s daughter? No.”
Arthur looked at Marco.
“You nearly killed her with that revelation.”
Marco wiped blood from his mouth.
“I read it while three men were beating me.”
“Excuses.”
For the first time that night, Chloe laughed.
Arthur looked at her.
The sound lasted only a second.
But it mattered.
Isabella explained that Thomas Henderson had protected Daniel’s children after the bombing. Chloe’s father had helped their mother escape.
“Then why did Dad write my name?”
“Because he protected three children,” Isabella said. “Us—and you.”
“From what?”
“Salvatore.”
Arthur’s face darkened.
Isabella looked at him.
“Your father believed Thomas kept Daniel’s evidence. He threatened Chloe when she was a baby.”
Chloe sat slowly.
“My father changed his entire life because of your family.”
“Yes.”
Arthur looked sick.
“My family.”
Chloe met his eyes.
“You aren’t your father.”
The words surprised both of them.
Before Arthur could answer, gunfire shattered the warehouse windows.
“Down!”
Arthur covered Chloe with his body.
Luca and Marco returned fire.
Isabella crawled behind machinery.
Arthur kept one arm over Chloe’s head.
“Still think coming was a good idea?”
“Terrible time for this conversation.”
Another bullet struck steel.
Arthur almost smiled.
Then Chloe gasped.
He looked down.
“Were you hit?”
“No.”
She gripped her stomach.
“Something’s wrong.”
Arthur’s face changed instantly.
“Marco!”
The attack stopped as suddenly as it began.
Arthur lifted Chloe.
“We’re going.”
At the hospital, doctors found contractions but managed to stop them.
Arthur sat beside Chloe until dawn.
Neither spoke much.
His hand rested near hers.
Eventually Chloe said, “Touch me.”
Arthur looked over.
“My stomach.”
He hesitated.
She placed his hand there.
The baby moved.
Arthur closed his eyes.
“Boy or girl?”
“I didn’t find out.”
“Why?”
“I wanted it to be a surprise.”
He looked at her.
“Then we wait.”
“We?”
“If you let me.”
Chloe studied him.
“You can’t fix two months in one night.”
“I know.”
“You hurt me.”
“I know.”
“I may never trust you the way I did.”
Arthur nodded.
“Then I’ll earn whatever version of trust you can give me.”
No demand.
No threat.
For Arthur Romano, that was almost revolutionary.
Chloe’s fingers covered his.
“Start by telling me everything.”
So he did.
He told her about the photographs.
The threat.
The diner shooting.
The marriage demand.
How Harrison promised peace if Arthur married Vivian.
How Arthur convinced himself sacrificing his own happiness was protecting Chloe.
“I was wrong.”
“Yes.”
“I know.”
Chloe’s eyes filled.
“You should have told me.”
“Yes.”
“I would have been scared.”
“I know.”
“But at least I wouldn’t have thought you stopped loving me.”
Arthur leaned closer.
“I never stopped.”
She looked away before tears escaped.
A knock interrupted them.
Vivian entered.
Arthur stood.
“Amelia?”
Vivian shook her head.
“No.”
Then she handed him a phone.
“My father called.”
“What did he want?”
“You.”
Arthur took it.
A video was paused on-screen.
He pressed play.
Harrison Croft appeared.
Beside him sat Vivian’s younger sister, bound but alive.
Harrison spoke calmly.
“Bring me Daniel Romano’s ledger by midnight.”
Arthur looked at Vivian.
“What ledger?”
Isabella appeared behind her.
“The metal case Marco took.”
Harrison continued.
“If Arthur brings police, Amelia dies. If he brings soldiers, Amelia dies. If he sends anyone except Chloe Henderson…”
Arthur went still.
The video continued.
“…Amelia dies.”
Chloe stared at the screen.
Arthur said one word.
“No.”
Then Harrison leaned toward the camera.
“And Chloe, ask Arthur why your father was really killed before you decide whether he deserves your trust.”
The video ended.
Chloe slowly turned toward Arthur.
His face told her enough.
“You know.”
Arthur said nothing.
Her voice broke.
“You know who killed my father.”
Arthur opened his mouth.
Before he could answer, Chloe’s phone received a message from her dead father’s old number.
DON’T BELIEVE ARTHUR.
May you like
Then came a photograph taken outside her hospital room.
Someone was already there.
