Chapter 2 – The Blood on the Watch
“Take her to the penthouse,” Daniel ordered, his voice echoing with absolute authority. “Lock her in the study. She doesn’t leave until I have answers.”
Victoria screamed as Daniel’s men grabbed her by the arms, dragging her out of the ballroom. The wealthy guests pretended not to see, turning their heads and sipping their champagne in terrified silence.
Daniel turned back to me. “Emma, where is Noah right now?”
“He’s at our apartment,” I stammered, still reeling from the revelation. “He was studying for a history exam.”
“We need to get him,” Daniel said urgently, grabbing his phone. “If Victoria knew about him, her family knows about him. The Ashfords will use him as leverage.”
Before he could dial, his head of security, a massive man named Marcus, burst through the service doors. His face was grim, and his breath came in heavy pants.
“Boss,” Marcus said, stopping in front of Daniel.
“I told you to send a car to the Bennett apartment,” Daniel snapped. “Is the boy secure?”
Marcus didn’t answer immediately. He looked at me, a profound pity in his eyes. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a small, plastic evidence bag.
Inside was a cheap digital watch with a cracked screen. The nylon strap was soaked in fresh blood.
“Noah wasn’t at the apartment, boss,” Marcus said quietly. “The door was kicked in. We found this on the living room floor.”
A raw, agonizing scream tore from my throat. I lunged for the bag, but Daniel caught me, pulling me against his solid chest as my knees finally gave out.
“Noah!” I sobbed, burying my face in Daniel’s suit jacket. “They took him! He’s just a boy, he doesn’t know anything!”
Daniel’s arms tightened around me, surprisingly gentle for a man of his reputation. “I will get him back, Emma. I swear on my life, I will bring our son back.”
The word son hung in the air, heavy and loaded with sixteen years of stolen time.
Daniel lifted me effortlessly and carried me through the service elevators, bypassing the public lobby entirely. We rode in silence up to his secure penthouse on the top floor of the hotel.
When the doors opened, we walked straight into the study where Victoria was sitting on a leather sofa, guarded by two armed men.
Daniel didn’t yell. He didn’t threaten her. He simply walked over to the heavy mahogany desk, picked up a heavy brass paperweight, and smashed it through the glass coffee table directly in front of her.
Victoria shrieked, pulling her legs up as glass shattered everywhere.
“Your brother took my son, Victoria,” Daniel said softly, leaning over her. “Where is Julian?”
Victoria was trembling violently now. “I didn’t tell him to take the boy! Julian acted on his own!”
“Why?” Daniel demanded. “What is in the box that key opens?”
Victoria swallowed hard, looking at the tiny brass key still clutched in Daniel’s hand.
“Sixteen years ago, Claire didn’t just run,” Victoria whispered, her voice shaking. “She broke into my family’s private vault. She stole the Ashford syndicate’s ledgers. Every bribe, every murder, every corrupt judge on our payroll. She hid them in a lockbox at the central station and took the key with her.”
I stared at her, stunned. My quiet, gentle mother had stolen the most dangerous documents in Chicago?
“She told Julian she would mail the key to the FBI if he ever came near you or the baby,” Victoria confessed. “She held our entire family hostage from the shadows for sixteen years.”
My mother wasn’t a victim who abandoned us. She was a shield. She had sacrificed her presence in our lives to hold a gun to the heads of the most dangerous syndicate in the city, ensuring we grew up safe.
Suddenly, Daniel’s phone buzzed in his pocket.
He answered it on speakerphone, setting it on the desk.
“Carter,” Daniel said coldly.
“Daniel,” a smooth, arrogant voice answered. Julian Ashford. “I see you finally found the maid’s little secret.”
“If you touch a hair on his head, Julian, I will burn your empire to the ground,” Daniel promised.
“Oh, the boy is fine,” Julian laughed. “For now. But he’s currently sitting in a very heavy metal cage at the South Side docks. And the tide is coming in quickly.”
My heart stopped.
“Bring the key to Pier 41, Daniel,” Julian said smoothly. “Come alone with the girl. If I see a single one of your men, the cage goes into the water.”
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