Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Was Never Supposed to Return
"Elena..."
I had never heard Dominic say a name like that before.
Not with fear.
Not with disbelief.
Not with the kind of silence that followed it.
The screen continued showing the woman standing inside Lily's room.
She was not moving.
She was not hiding.
She was looking directly into the camera.
Like she wanted us to find her.
Like she knew exactly who would see the footage.
My first thought was simple.
Who was Elena?
My second thought was worse.
Why did Dominic look like he had just seen a ghost?
I turned toward him.
"Who is she?"
He didn't answer.
"Dominic."
His eyes stayed on the screen.
"She can't be here."
The words made my stomach tighten.
Can't.
Not shouldn't.
Not shouldn't have been.
Can't.
"What does that mean?"
He finally looked at me.
For a moment, I saw the same man everyone feared.
Cold.
Controlled.
Impossible to read.
Then it disappeared.
And I saw something else.
A man who was terrified.
"Norah, take Lily and go upstairs."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"Now."
"No."
His expression changed.
I stepped closer.
"You don't get to do that anymore."
"What?"
"You don't get to tell me to leave every time something happens."
The words surprised him.
Maybe they surprised me too.
But I was tired.
Tired of being protected without knowing why.
Tired of secrets deciding my life.
"I am carrying your child," I said quietly. "And someone entered this house. Someone was watching me. Someone sent me a warning. I deserve to know what is happening."
Dominic looked at the monitor again.
Then back at me.
"You really want to know?"
The question sounded like a warning.
I nodded.
"Yes."
He was silent for several seconds.
Then he walked toward the kitchen table.
He picked up the ultrasound photo that he had left there earlier.
His fingers tightened around it.
"When Lily was born, her mother disappeared."
I froze.
"Disappeared?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
Dominic looked down.
"That's the question."
The answer confused me.
"What do you mean?"
He placed the photo down.
"Everyone thinks Elena left."
"Everyone?"
"My security team. Her family. The people around me."
"But you don't?"
His silence answered.
I felt a chill.
"Why?"
"Because Elena didn't leave."
I waited.
"She was taken."
The room suddenly felt smaller.
"By who?"
Dominic looked toward the screen.
Toward the woman inside Lily's room.
"I don't know."
The honesty scared me.
Because Dominic Russo admitting he didn't know something meant the situation was bigger than I understood.
"Then why did you never tell anyone?"
His jaw tightened.
"Because the last person who tried to find her disappeared too."
I stopped.
"Who?"
"My brother."
The word hung in the air.
I had never heard Dominic mention a brother.
Not once.
"What was his name?"
Dominic didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
"Marco."
A sound came from the monitor.
A small movement.
The woman in Lily's room turned.
The camera angle changed.
She stepped closer.
And suddenly, the screen showed her face clearly.
I expected Dominic to react.
Instead, he became completely still.
Because she was holding something.
A photograph.
She placed it directly in front of the camera.
Dominic walked closer.
His face changed.
"What is it?"
He didn't answer.
I looked at the screen.
The photograph showed a younger Dominic.
A woman.
And a baby.
Lily.
My breath caught.
But there was something written on the back.
The security camera zoomed in.
Four words.
"She knows the truth."
Dominic stepped back.
"No."
I looked at him.
"What?"
He grabbed his phone.
He called someone immediately.
"Lock down the house."
A voice answered through the speaker.
"Already done."
"Find Elena."
A pause.
Then:
"Dominic..."
"What?"
The voice became quieter.
"She's not on the property."
I looked at the screen.
My heart started racing.
"Then who is that?"
Nobody answered.
Because at that exact moment, the camera feed went black.
Someone had disconnected it.
Dominic moved instantly.
He grabbed the weapon from the hidden compartment near the security panel.
I froze.
Not because of the weapon.
Because of his face.
He was not angry.
He was afraid.
"Stay behind me."
I followed him toward the stairs.
"Dominic."
He stopped.
"If she is really here..."
He looked back.
"Then everything I believed for four years was a lie."
The words stayed with me.
Four years.
That was how long Lily had lived without her mother.
Four years believing someone was gone.
Four years believing a story that might not be true.
We reached the hallway outside Lily's room.
The door was slightly open.
Dominic raised his hand.
A silent command.
Wait.
Listen.
I stood behind him.
My hand moved protectively over my stomach.
Inside the room, there was no sound.
No movement.
Nothing.
Dominic slowly pushed the door open.
The room was empty.
The window was locked.
The curtains moved slightly.
But nobody was there.
Then Lily's voice came from behind us.
"Dad?"
We both turned.
She was standing at the end of the hallway.
Holding her stuffed rabbit.
Her eyes moved between us.
"Why is Mommy's picture here?"
My heart stopped.
Dominic went completely still.
"Mommy?"
Lily walked closer.
She pointed toward the room.
"The lady put it there."
I looked inside.
On the wall above Lily's bed was a photograph I had never seen before.
A family photograph.
Dominic.
Elena.
Baby Lily.
But underneath the picture was something new.
A handwritten note.
Dominic walked toward it.
He removed the paper.
I watched his expression change as he read.
Then he handed it to me.
Three sentences.
My hands trembled.
"Norah, I know about the baby."
I looked at Dominic.
The second line made my blood run cold.
"I know Dominic is not the only person hiding the truth."
And the third line...
was signed.
Elena.
Before I could speak, Dominic's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered immediately.
No one said anything.
Then a woman's voice whispered:
"Dominic, if you are hearing this, it means they found Norah."
His face changed.
The voice continued.
"Do not trust anyone inside that house."
A pause.
Then:
"Especially the person who told you I was dead."
The call ended.
Dominic slowly lowered the phone.
I looked at him.
"Who told you she was dead?"
He didn't respond.
Because someone was already walking toward us.
Slow footsteps.
Coming from the end of the hallway.
A shadow appeared.
May you like
And a familiar voice whispered:
"Dominic..."
