Chapter 6 – The Housekeeper’s Secret

The silence in the room was heavier than the damp air.

Adrian stared at the silver watch at his feet. His hands, usually so steady, trembled slightly.

“You’re lying,” Adrian said, though his voice lacked its usual certainty. “My father would never hurt Evie.”

“Your father is a ghost, kid,” Marcus spat. “He faked his death to escape the feds twenty years ago. He started a new family in Italy. Had a new son. Little Leo here. But a rival cartel wiped out his new wife. Your dad panicked. He sent the boy to Chicago, asking Evie to hide him until things cooled down.”

Marcus took a step closer to Evie’s unconscious body.

“But Evie betrayed him. She kept the boy. She hid him in the foster system to keep him away from the mob life. When your father found out, he hired us to get his son back. And to eliminate the housekeeper who crossed him.”

I looked at the little boy in the corner. Leo was watching me with wide, terrified eyes.

I ignored the gun in Adrian’s hand and stepped into the room.

“Leo?” I whispered, keeping my voice soft, like I did at the clinic. “Do you remember me? From the doctor’s office?”

Leo’s bottom lip quivered. He nodded slowly.

“I’m going to come over and sit with you, okay? We’re going to go home soon.”

Marcus moved to intercept me, reaching into his coat.

Bang.

Adrian shot the wooden floorboard exactly one inch from Marcus’s left foot.

“Take one more step toward the girl or my brother,” Adrian warned, his eyes lethal, “and the next bullet goes through your knee.”

Marcus froze, raising his hands slowly.

I reached Leo. The boy threw his arms around my neck, burying his face in my coat. He was freezing.

“We have to get Evie,” I told Adrian.

Adrian kept his gun trained on Marcus while he moved to Evie. He pulled a knife from his belt and cut the thick ropes binding her wrists.

Evie slumped sideways, but Adrian caught her gently.

“Evie,” he whispered, touching her forehead. “I’ve got you.”

Evie’s eyes fluttered open. The right side of her face was still slack from the stroke, but her left eye locked onto Adrian. She struggled to breathe.

“A-Adrian…” she slurred, forcing the words out with agonizing effort. “He… lied.”

Marcus let out a sharp laugh. “She’s brain-damaged. Don’t listen to her.”

“Shut up,” Adrian snapped. “Evie, what is it?”

Evie weakly lifted her left hand. She pointed a trembling finger at the silver watch on the floor.

“Not… your… father’s,” she gasped. “Look… at… the… back.”

Adrian frowned. He kept the gun on Marcus, crouched down, and picked up the watch. He turned it over.

There was an engraving on the back. But it wasn’t his father’s initials.

It read: To Marcus. For services rendered. — Vivian Ashford.

Adrian slowly stood up. The betrayal in his eyes morphed into pure, terrifying rage.

Marcus panicked and lunged for the doorway.

But a heavy set of footsteps echoed on the stairs.

Marco and three of Adrian’s men filled the doorway, guns drawn.

“Got him, Boss,” Marco said, throwing Marcus roughly against the brick wall.

Adrian didn’t look at Marcus. He looked at the watch, then at me holding his terrified little brother.

“Take Evie and Leo to the car,” Adrian commanded coldly. “I’m going to the airport. I have a wedding to officially cancel.”

TITLE: The Airport Confrontation

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