Chapter 3 - The Woman in the Black Coat
Evelyn read the message three times.
Adrian is Michael's son.
Her former fiancé.
The father of her unborn child.
Vincent's nephew.
She looked at Vincent.
"You knew?"
"No."
"You recognized his name."
"I recognized Vale."
"So you knew something."
Vincent moved to the chair beside the window and sat for the first time since she had awakened.
Suddenly he looked less like a feared man and more like someone who had just watched the dead return.
"My brother dated a woman named Celeste Vale."
"Adrian's mother?"
"Possibly."
"Possibly?"
"Michael never told us she was pregnant."
Evelyn tried to think.
"What happened to her?"
"She disappeared after Michael died."
"And nobody looked?"
"I did."
"Not very well."
Vincent's eyes sharpened.
"I was twenty-one. My brother was dead. My father was tearing Chicago apart looking for his killers. Celeste vanished under a new identity. I searched for years."
Evelyn looked down at the ultrasound photograph.
"Then Adrian is family."
"If that certificate is real."
"And my baby—"
Vincent's gaze followed hers.
Would be Michael Moretti's grandchild.
Would be Vincent Moretti's grandniece or grandnephew.
Suddenly his strange reaction made sense.
Partly.
"But you didn't know when you first saw the ultrasound."
"No."
"Then why did you freeze?"
"The number."
"317."
"Yes."
Evelyn leaned back.
Somebody had connected her pregnancy to Michael Moretti's death before either of them understood why.
"Who would know?"
Vincent stood again.
"Someone who knew your father."
The missing archive box.
Daniel.
Michael.
Salvatore.
The old photograph.
Evelyn's mind raced.
"My father knew Adrian existed."
Vincent looked at her.
"What makes you say that?"
"Because Adrian was obsessed with my father's records."
"That proves Adrian thought Daniel knew something."
"No."
Evelyn shook her head.
"There's more."
She remembered something she had not thought about in years.
"When my father was dying, he kept asking me whether anyone had contacted me."
Vincent came closer.
"Who?"
"He never said."
"What exactly did he ask?"
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Hospital room.
Her father thin beneath blankets.
Machines.
His fingers squeezing hers.
If someone named Michael comes back, don't trust the name. Trust the eyes.
She opened her eyes.
"He said something about Michael."
Vincent stopped breathing.
"What?"
Evelyn repeated it.
Vincent's face went pale.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"Because I forgot. Because I thought morphine was making him confused."
Vincent turned away.
"Michael was dead."
"I know."
"No. Daniel knew he was dead."
"Then what did he mean?"
Vincent stared at the city.
"I don't know."
The door opened.
Marco entered.
He had a cut along his cheek.
Evelyn looked at it.
"What happened?"
"Fire escape had opinions."
Despite herself, she smiled.
Vincent did not.
"Certificate."
Marco handed him a folder.
"Looks authentic. Birth recorded under Celeste Vale. Father listed as Adrian's middle name only at first. Amended later."
"Who amended it?"
"Daniel Hayes."
Evelyn's head snapped up.
"My father?"
Marco nodded.
"His signature is on the filing."
Vincent looked at Evelyn.
There it was.
Proof.
Daniel had known.
"Date?"
Marco answered.
"Three weeks after Michael died."
Evelyn felt sick.
"So Dad helped hide Adrian."
"Looks that way," Marco said.
Vincent took the document.
"Anything else?"
"Plenty."
Marco hesitated.
"Celeste Vale died twelve years ago."
"Cause?"
"Reported overdose."
Vincent's face tightened.
"Reported?"
"Records are messy. No autopsy photograph. Body released fast. Cremated."
"Who signed?"
Marco handed him another page.
Vincent read the name.
His expression darkened.
Evelyn asked, "Who?"
"Dr. Samuel Bellini."
Marco added quietly, "Same man who signed Michael Moretti's final hospital paperwork."
Vincent went completely still.
Evelyn watched the name land.
"Bellini," she repeated.
Marco nodded.
"Retired surgeon. Now chairman of Bellini Medical Group."
Evelyn looked around the luxurious hospital room.
A terrible thought formed.
"What hospital owns this building?"
Marco answered.
"Bellini."
Every instinct inside Evelyn screamed.
Vincent looked toward the door.
"We leave."
Dr. Warren entered at that exact moment.
"Absolutely not."
Vincent turned.
"This hospital is compromised."
"Ms. Hayes has fractures and a concussion."
"I have physicians at another facility."
"Moving her could be dangerous."
Evelyn interrupted.
"How dangerous?"
Dr. Warren hesitated.
"Moderately."
"Staying?"
Nobody answered.
She looked at Vincent.
"Get me out."
Within twenty minutes, the floor transformed.
Vincent's men moved with quiet efficiency.
A private ambulance arrived at the service entrance.
Evelyn was transferred to a medical stretcher.
Before leaving, she asked for her ultrasound.
Vincent handed it to her.
She placed it against her chest.
As they rolled her down the corridor, Vincent walked beside her.
Not ahead.
Beside.
The elevator opened.
A woman stood inside.
Black coat.
Silver hair.
Elegant.
Maybe sixty.
She smiled at Evelyn.
Vincent stopped.
His hand moved beneath his jacket.
The woman lifted both hands.
"No need for theatrics."
Vincent's voice dropped.
"Who are you?"
The woman looked at him.
"You've grown into your father."
"Wrong answer."
Then she looked at Evelyn.
And began to cry.
"Evelyn."
Evelyn felt every muscle tighten.
"Do I know you?"
The woman took one small step forward.
Vincent blocked her.
She reached into her coat slowly.
Three guards raised weapons.
She withdrew a photograph.
"Please."
Vincent took it first.
He examined it.
Then gave it to Evelyn.
The photograph showed Daniel Hayes.
Younger.
Standing beside Michael Moretti.
And the silver-haired woman.
She was holding a baby.
On the back:
Adrian. Seven weeks.
Evelyn looked up.
"You're Celeste."
The woman nodded.
"But you're dead."
"I was supposed to be."
Vincent's voice turned lethal.
"Explain."
Celeste looked toward the hallway.
"Not here."
"Then start walking."
They moved to a private conference room.
Vincent stationed guards outside.
Celeste sat opposite Evelyn.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Celeste said, "Michael discovered your father's books were being used to hide money."
Vincent's eyes narrowed.
"Whose money?"
"Samuel Bellini's."
The name again.
Celeste continued.
"Bellini wasn't simply a surgeon. He helped powerful men move money through medical foundations. Your father, Salvatore, eventually found out."
Vincent's face hardened.
"My father would have killed him."
"He planned to."
"Why didn't he?"
"Because Michael begged him not to."
Vincent stared.
"Why?"
"Because I was pregnant."
Silence.
"Bellini knew."
Celeste's voice trembled.
"He threatened the baby."
Evelyn instinctively touched her stomach.
Celeste looked at her.
"Michael tried to gather proof. Daniel helped him. Before they could expose Bellini, Michael was attacked."
Vincent's face emptied.
"Who ordered it?"
Celeste swallowed.
"Bellini."
Vincent looked away.
For seventeen years, he had apparently been hunting ghosts while the man responsible built hospitals.
"Why fake your death?"
"Because Adrian was already being watched."
"And Daniel helped."
"Yes."
Evelyn felt tears sting her eyes.
Her father had carried all of this alone.
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"To keep you outside it."
Celeste's expression broke.
"He loved you more than anything."
Evelyn looked down.
"Then why did Adrian come into my life?"
Celeste's face changed.
"I don't know."
"You are his mother."
"I haven't seen my son in three years."
"Why?"
"Because he found out who his father was."
Vincent looked at her sharply.
"When?"
"Three years ago."
"And?"
"He blamed me for hiding it."
"What did he want?"
"The Moretti name."
Vincent gave a humorless laugh.
"He can have it."
Celeste shook her head.
"You don't understand. He didn't want the name because he loved Michael."
"Then why?"
"Because Bellini found him first."
The room went silent.
Evelyn's heart sank.
"Adrian works for Bellini."
Celeste nodded.
"He has for years."
Evelyn felt as if someone had struck her again.
The proposal.
The questions.
The archive boxes.
The photographs.
Adrian had not chosen her.
He had targeted her.
"Was any of it real?"
Celeste looked at her with unbearable pity.
"I don't know."
Evelyn hated that answer.
Vincent stood.
"Where is Adrian now?"
Celeste looked toward the door.
"I came because I hoped you knew."
Vincent's phone rang.
Marco.
He answered.
"What?"
A pause.
Vincent's eyes moved to Evelyn.
"No."
Another pause.
"When?"
He ended the call.
Evelyn already knew.
"What happened?"
Vincent's expression was grim.
"Adrian entered the hospital twelve minutes ago."
Her breath caught.
"Why?"
"He used a physician credential to access this floor."
Celeste stood.
"He knows she's here."
Vincent walked toward the door.
Then the lights went out.
Complete darkness.
A second later, the emergency lights turned red.
Somebody screamed in the hallway.
Vincent opened the door.
One of his guards was down.
The elevator doors stood open.
Empty.
Then Evelyn heard a familiar voice behind her.
Very close.
"Evie."
She froze.
May you like
Only Adrian had ever called her that.
He was already inside the room.
