Chapter 2 - The Letter from a Dead Man
Nora knew Eli's handwriting.
She knew the careless way his capital W leaned too far to the right.
She knew how he pressed harder on the final stroke of an F.
She knew because he had once left her notes everywhere.
Inside the refrigerator.
On the bathroom mirror.
Under her pillow.
Don't forget your appointment.
Buy milk.
I love you.
That final note still sat inside her nightstand.
So when she saw WIFE written across the black envelope, she did not need Adrian to tell her somebody was playing with them.
Either Eli had written it.
Or somebody knew him well enough to imitate him.
"Don't touch it," Adrian said.
Nora looked at him.
"It's addressed to me."
"It could contain something."
"Like what?"
Adrian didn't answer.
The silence was answer enough.
Nora gave him a tired stare.
"If somebody wanted me dead, Celeste nearly saved them the trouble."
Celeste's eyes flashed.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
Nora laughed once.
"Being slapped at work while pregnant? Absolutely. Best night of my life."
Adrian almost smiled.
Almost.
Then he took the envelope from the courier using a folded cloth napkin.
The courier raised both hands.
"Hey, I just deliver things."
"Who gave it to you?"
"A guy outside South Station."
"Description?"
"Baseball cap. Gray coat. Maybe forty. Paid cash."
Adrian's security man photographed the courier's identification and took his number.
Nora watched all of it with growing unease.
Eli had hated organized men.
That was the phrase he used.
Organized men.
Once, while watching the news, a story about the Moretti family appeared.
Eli had changed the channel so quickly that Nora had teased him.
"What, scared of mobsters?"
He had smiled.
"Only smart people are."
At the time, she'd thought it was a joke.
Now Adrian held Eli's watch.
Celeste knew his secret.
And a photograph proved Eli had survived his own death.
Nora suddenly wondered how many jokes had actually been warnings.
Adrian opened the envelope.
Inside was a small key and a folded piece of paper.
He handed the note to Nora.
She unfolded it.
Three lines.
Nora,
If you're reading this, the watch has been recognized.
Do not trust the woman who hit you.
At the bottom:
Locker 314. South Station.
Nora looked up.
"That's it?"
Adrian took the paper.
His eyes moved across the handwriting.
"That's Elias."
"You know his handwriting too?"
"He used to forge my father's signature when we were teenagers."
Despite everything, a strange sadness moved across Adrian's face.
"He was terrible at it."
Nora stared at him.
For the first time, she saw something besides danger.
A grieving brother.
That made the situation worse.
Because it made him believable.
Celeste moved toward the exit again.
Adrian noticed.
"So that's why you hit her."
Celeste spun around.
"I hit her because she spilled wine on me."
"One drop."
"She was careless."
"You saw the watch."
Celeste's mouth tightened.
Nora remembered the moment before the slap.
Celeste had grabbed her arm.
Nora had thought the woman was stopping her from walking away.
But Celeste's eyes had lowered.
Toward her wrist.
Then the slap came.
"You recognized it," Nora whispered.
Celeste said nothing.
Nora stepped closer.
"You didn't hit me because of the wine."
"You have no idea what you're talking about."
"You saw the watch."
Celeste looked at Adrian.
"Control her."
Nora's laugh was bitter.
"Control me?"
Adrian's gaze never left Celeste.
"She's doing fine."
Celeste's face hardened.
"What exactly do you think happens if you open that locker?"
Adrian leaned slightly forward.
"Tell me."
"No."
"Then we'll find out."
Celeste looked genuinely frightened now.
"Adrian, your brother died because he refused to leave things alone."
Nora's heart slammed against her ribs.
"You said you barely knew him."
Celeste realized her mistake.
Nobody spoke.
Adrian's voice became terrifyingly calm.
"How did Elias die?"
Celeste backed away.
"I didn't say I knew."
"You just told me why."
"No. I said—"
"How did my brother die?"
Nora watched Celeste's eyes fill with panic.
Then Celeste turned and ran.
One of Adrian's men caught her near the doors.
Guests gasped.
Adrian raised one hand.
"Don't hurt her."
Celeste struggled.
"Get your hands off me!"
Nora suddenly felt another contraction.
This one stronger.
She gripped the table.
Adrian's attention snapped toward her.
"That's the third one."
"I'm counting."
"You need a hospital."
"It's stress."
"Stress causes problems."
"So does being kidnapped by strangers in restaurants."
"I'm not kidnapping you."
"The doors are blocked."
"For Celeste."
"Comforting."
Another minute passed.
Nora's breathing steadied.
Adrian made a decision.
"We're going to the hospital."
"The locker."
"Can wait."
"If Eli left that message because somebody was following me, it can't."
Adrian looked at her.
For several seconds they silently measured one another.
Finally he said, "Hospital first. Station second."
"No."
"Nora."
"I've spent seven months being told my husband died because he lost control of his car. Tonight I've learned his name wasn't his name, his family wasn't his family, his death might not have been his death, and somebody has been photographing my home. I'm going to that locker."
Adrian's jaw flexed.
"You're stubborn."
"Eli said that too."
Something painful crossed his face.
"He was worse."
Nora's eyes burned.
"Then maybe you really are brothers."
They left St. Cordova through a private service exit.
Adrian's security surrounded them.
Celeste was placed in another vehicle.
"Where are you taking her?" Nora asked.
"Somewhere she can wait."
"You're not going to hurt her?"
Adrian looked offended.
"She's useful."
"That was not the reassurance you think it was."
They drove to South Station.
Boston glittered through wet glass.
Nora sat beside Adrian in the rear seat of a black SUV.
Her contractions faded.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Nora asked, "What was he like?"
Adrian looked out the window.
"Elias?"
"Before he became Eli Reyes."
Adrian thought about it.
"Annoying."
Nora smiled despite herself.
"That sounds right."
"He questioned everything. Never followed orders. Thought every problem could be solved by talking."
"Also right."
"He wanted to leave the family business."
Nora turned.
"What business?"
Adrian's eyes met hers.
"You already know what people say."
"People say a lot of things."
"Some are true."
Nora swallowed.
"Was Eli a criminal?"
"No."
The answer came immediately.
Adrian looked back toward the window.
"He was the only one of us who wanted nothing to do with that life."
"Then why did he change his identity?"
"That's what we're going to find out."
South Station was quieter than Nora expected.
Adrian sent two men ahead.
Locker 314 sat along a dim corridor near the bus terminal.
The small key fit.
Nora inserted it.
Adrian covered her hand.
"Wait."
"What now?"
"If something happens—"
"Then stop me."
His eyes stayed on hers.
"That's exactly what I'm trying to do."
Nora opened the locker.
Inside sat a brown leather backpack.
She knew it immediately.
Eli had owned it when they met.
He told her he'd lost it during a move.
Nora pulled it out.
Inside were three items.
A flash drive.
A sealed medical envelope.
And a photograph.
Nora picked up the photograph first.
It showed Eli standing beside Adrian.
They were younger.
Maybe twenty-two and twenty-five.
Both smiling.
Between them stood an older man.
Their father, Nora assumed.
On the back, Eli had written:
I had a brother before I had a new name.
Nora's throat tightened.
Adrian turned away.
The medical envelope was addressed to Nora.
She opened it.
Inside was a prenatal DNA report.
Her vision blurred.
"What is this?"
Adrian took the pages.
His face changed.
Nora grabbed them back.
The report listed two samples.
Maternal: Nora Reyes.
Paternal: Elias Matteo Moretti.
Probability of paternity: 99.99%.
Nora stared at the words.
"How did he get this?"
"When did you have genetic testing?"
"I didn't."
Adrian looked troubled.
"Did you have an amniocentesis?"
"No."
"Blood work?"
"Routine prenatal screening."
"Someone could have accessed it."
Nora looked toward the final page.
A handwritten note had been clipped to the report.
Our daughter deserves the truth.
Nora pressed one hand over her belly.
"Daughter."
Adrian looked at her.
"You didn't know?"
"We wanted it to be a surprise."
Her voice broke.
"Eli knew."
Adrian's eyes softened.
The flash drive remained.
One of Adrian's men produced a secured laptop.
They plugged it in.
Only one video file appeared.
Dated the day before Eli's supposed death.
Nora clicked play.
Eli appeared on screen.
Alive.
Nora stopped breathing.
He looked tired.
Scared.
But alive.
"Nora," he said, "if you're watching this, then I failed to come home."
Her hand flew to her mouth.
Adrian moved closer.
Eli continued.
"My real name is Elias Moretti."
Nora began crying silently.
"I wanted to tell you a hundred times. I didn't because I thought keeping you outside my past would keep you safe."
He looked away from the camera.
"I was wrong."
Adrian stared at the screen.
"The Moretti organization has enemies," Eli continued. "But the person I'm afraid of isn't an enemy."
Adrian's expression sharpened.
"It's someone inside the family."
The video flickered.
Nora leaned closer.
Eli lowered his voice.
"I found evidence that somebody has been using Adrian's businesses to move money, weapons, and people without his knowledge."
Adrian swore under his breath.
"I was going to give the evidence to federal investigators. Then they found out."
Eli looked directly into the camera.
"If I'm dead, Celeste knows more than she's saying."
Nora closed her eyes.
"But she isn't the person in charge."
Adrian's hand tightened on the laptop.
Eli continued.
"The person behind everything is—"
The screen went black.
Nora stared.
"No."
The file ended.
Adrian clicked again.
Nothing.
"The video is damaged."
One of his men checked the drive.
"There's another partition."
"Open it."
"Encrypted."
"Can you break it?"
"Not here."
A sound echoed from the end of the corridor.
Footsteps.
Adrian immediately moved Nora behind him.
His security drew weapons beneath their jackets.
The footsteps stopped.
A station employee appeared.
"Mr. Moretti?"
Adrian didn't lower his guard.
"What?"
"There's another locker registered under the same access code."
Nora frowned.
"Which one?"
The employee pointed deeper into the corridor.
"Locker 315."
Adrian looked toward Nora.
Nobody had noticed it because a maintenance cart blocked the door.
They moved it.
Nora inserted the key.
It worked again.
She opened the locker.
Inside was a cheap prepaid phone.
The screen lit immediately.
One incoming call.
Caller ID:
ELIAS.
Nora stared at it.
The phone kept ringing.
Then Adrian whispered, "Answer it."
Nora pressed the button.
She lifted the phone to her ear.
For two seconds, there was only static.
Then a man's voice said:
"Nora?"
May you like
Her knees nearly gave out.
It was Eli.
