Chapter 4 - GRACE’S WARNING
I knew Grace’s handwriting.
I had kept every letter she ever wrote me.
The slant of the G.
The strange way she crossed her T’s.
The small curve in the R.
There was no doubt.
DON’T TRUST RAYMOND.
My uncle had eaten at my table for thirty years.
He had held Lily the day I brought her home.
He had stood beside me at Grace’s funeral.
He had helped me hunt the men I believed responsible for her death.
And Grace had hidden a warning about him inside Emma’s necklace.
My adviser looked at the note.
“How long has Emma had that?”
Karen answered quietly.
“Since she was a baby.”
I turned to her.
“You knew?”
“No.”
“Anna?”
“Maybe.”
I stared at Raymond’s picture.
Pieces shifted.
Someone close to me had threatened Grace.
Someone knew there were twins.
Someone had access to the hospital.
Someone knew my Sunday routine.
Someone knew my security system.
Raymond fit every piece.
I called him.
He answered on the second ring.
“Marcus.”
His voice sounded warm.
Calm.
Normal.
“You sound tense.”
“Where are you?”
“At home.”
“Stay there.”
Silence.
Then he laughed softly.
“Did you find the note?”
My entire body went still.
The room seemed to shrink.
“You knew about it.”
“I knew Grace liked insurance.”
My men reached for their weapons.
I walked away from Lily.
“What did you do?”
“Not over the phone.”
“Where is Emma?”
“You’ll get your answers at midnight.”
“Raymond.”
“Yes?”
“If you hurt her—”
“You sound like your father.”
That stopped me.
Raymond continued.
“He always thought rage made him strong.”
“It made him predictable.”
The line went dead.
I looked at the clock.
9:06 p.m.
We had less than three hours.
I wanted to storm the warehouse.
But Raymond knew how I thought.
He had taught me half of what I knew.
If he asked me to bring Lily, there would be another trap.
So I decided to give him exactly what he expected.
Almost.
At 11:31 p.m., a black SUV pulled toward the old Union Station warehouse.
I sat in the back.
Lily was beside me.
At least, that was what anyone watching from a distance would believe.
The child beside me was a police training mannequin under a coat.
Lily was three miles away in a secure safe house.
Karen sat with her.
My men surrounded the warehouse from underground access points Raymond didn’t know I controlled.
Or so I hoped.
The warehouse doors opened.
I walked inside carrying the fake Lily.
A spotlight snapped on.
Emma sat tied to a chair in the center of the room.
Tape covered her mouth.
Her eyes widened when she saw me.
“Emma.”
She began struggling.
Then a slow clap echoed from the shadows.
Raymond stepped forward.
Gray suit.
No tie.
Hands relaxed.
Exactly the way he looked at family dinners.
“You came.”
“You took my daughter.”
He smiled.
“Which one?”
My jaw tightened.
Raymond looked at the bundle in my arms.
“Put Lily down.”
I set the mannequin on a crate.
His eyes narrowed.
“You always were stubborn.”
“Let Emma go.”
“Not yet.”
Another man emerged.
Victor Vescari.
Older than the surveillance photograph.
But alive.
Very alive.
He looked at Emma.
Then at me.
“Grace had beautiful daughters.”
I wanted to kill him where he stood.
“Why?”
Victor smiled.
“Because your father murdered my two sons.”
“My father is dead.”
“Yes.”
“So is your family.”
His smile faded.
“Not all of it.”
He pointed at Emma.
I looked at the child.
Then back at him.
“What are you talking about?”
“Grace wasn’t only your wife.”
“She was my granddaughter.”
The revelation landed like a punch.
Victor walked closer.
“Grace’s mother was my daughter.”
“She ran away from this life.”
“She changed her name.”
“She raised Grace far from Chicago.”
“But blood has a way of coming home.”
I looked at Raymond.
“You threatened Grace.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Raymond’s face hardened.
“Because she discovered what Victor and I were building.”
“What?”
“An alliance.”
Victor laughed.
“Your father destroyed my sons.”
“Raymond hated your father for leaving him nothing.”
“They made each other useful.”
I looked at Raymond.
“You sold out your own brother?”
“He sold me out first.”
“He gave you everything.”
“The name.”
“The business.”
“The future.”
“And he left me standing behind him.”
Raymond’s voice sharpened.
“So I decided I’d take it from his son.”
Emma made a muffled sound.
I stepped toward her.
A red laser appeared on my chest.
Raymond smiled.
“Don’t.”
I stopped.
“What happened to Grace?”
His expression changed.
That was when I knew.
Whatever he was about to say would destroy the last seven years of my life.
“You still think the car crash killed her.”
My hands went numb.
Raymond looked directly into my eyes.
“Grace survived the crash.”
For the first time that night, I forgot Emma.
Forgot Victor.
Forgot the guns.
“What?”
“She survived.”
My voice barely existed.
May you like
Raymond’s smile was almost gentle.
“And she begged me to let her call you.”
