CHAPTER 3 DADDY WITHOUT A FACE
The man disappeared into the crowd before Adrian noticed him.
One second, he was there.
The next, he was gone.
Adrian's instincts reacted before his mind caught up.
His fingers tightened around Lily's tiny hand.
His eyes moved across the park.
Joggers.
Parents.
Tourists.
A street musician packing away his guitar.
A woman pushing a stroller.
A man in a gray hoodie walking toward Fifth Avenue.
Nothing.
No obvious threat.
No weapon.
No familiar face.
And that was precisely what frightened Adrian.
Professional men didn't always look dangerous.
The most dangerous ones rarely did.
“Vincent.”
The word came quietly through his earpiece.
“I'm here.”
“Run a sweep.”
“Already doing it.”
Adrian kept his face calm.
Lily was still holding his hand.
She didn't notice the change in him.
Or perhaps she did.
Children noticed more than adults believed.
“You're looking for something,” she said.
Adrian looked down.
“What makes you say that?”
“You stopped smiling.”
He almost laughed.
Almost.
Instead, he crouched slightly.
“I'm just thinking.”
“About me?”
“Yes.”
“Good things?”
“The best things.”
Lily considered this.
Then she smiled.
“Okay.”
Sarah watched Adrian carefully.
She had noticed the change too.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
Sarah's eyes narrowed.
“Adrian.”
He looked at her.
“Someone was watching us.”
Her face immediately changed.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
That answer frightened her more than certainty would have.
Adrian looked around again.
“That's why we leave now.”
Lily's smile disappeared.
“Already?”
Adrian looked down at her.
“There's a place I'd like to show you.”
“What place?”
“A bakery.”
Her eyes widened.
“What kind?”
“Strawberry pancakes.”
Lily stared at him.
“That's not a bakery.”
Adrian blinked.
“What?”
“Bakery means cake.”
Sarah covered her mouth.
Adrian looked at her.
“She's right.”
“I know.”
For the first time since arriving, Sarah almost smiled.
Lily squeezed Adrian's hand.
“Can we go?”
Adrian looked at Sarah.
She nodded.
“Five minutes.”
Adrian stood.
“Stay close.”
They began walking.
Adrian kept Lily between himself and Sarah.
Every few seconds, he checked reflections in storefront windows.
No one followed.
At least no one obvious.
But the feeling remained.
Someone had seen them.
Someone had recognized Lily.
And Adrian knew exactly what that meant.
His daughter was no longer a secret.
Three blocks away, the man in the gray hoodie entered a black sedan.
He removed his baseball cap.
Underneath was a shaved head.
A scar ran from his left ear to his jaw.
He placed his phone on the dashboard.
The screen showed a photograph.
Adrian crouching in front of Lily.
Lily holding his hand.
Sarah standing beside them.
The man stared at the image.
Then he smiled.
The phone rang.
He answered.
“Tell me.”
A cold voice came through the speaker.
“You're certain?”
“Completely.”
“That's Moretti?”
“I've watched him for six weeks.”
“And the girl?”
“His.”
Silence.
Then:
“Send me the photograph.”
“Already sent.”
Another pause.
“Good.”
The man started the engine.
“Does Moretti know?”
“No.”
“Then don't let him.”
The line went dead.
The driver smiled.
“Too late.”
The bakery smelled like cinnamon and butter.
Lily stood at the glass display, staring at rows of pastries.
Adrian watched her.
For three years, he had known what she liked because men had written it down.
Now he was learning what she liked because he could see it on her face.
There was a difference.
A profound one.
“Which one?” he asked.
She pointed.
“That one.”
“The biggest one?”
She nodded.
“Good choice.”
Sarah laughed softly.
“You're going to spoil her.”
Adrian looked at Lily.
“I'm allowed.”
Sarah's smile disappeared.
The words had slipped out naturally.
But they carried weight.
Adrian saw it.
So did she.
Lily didn't.
She was too busy watching the pastry being placed into a small paper bag.
When they sat down, Lily opened it immediately.
She took one bite.
Her eyes widened.
“Good?”
She nodded vigorously.
Adrian smiled.
Then Lily pushed the pastry toward him.
“Try.”
Adrian looked at it.
“You want me to have some?”
She nodded.
He took a small bite.
Lily watched him closely.
“Well?”
“Best pastry I've ever had.”
She smiled.
“Me too.”
Sarah watched them.
Something inside her tightened.
Because this was what she had been afraid of.
Not danger.
Not Volkov.
This.
The ordinary moments.
The easy laughter.
The way Lily's hand automatically found Adrian's.
The way Adrian looked at her as if the entire world had suddenly become smaller.
Sarah had spent six years protecting Lily from Adrian's world.
But perhaps she had also been protecting Adrian from discovering what he had lost.
“Mommy?”
Sarah looked up.
“Yes?”
“Why didn't Daddy come before?”
The question landed without warning.
Adrian froze.
Sarah's eyes moved to him.
Lily continued eating.
“Other kids' daddies come to school.”
Sarah took a slow breath.
“Your daddy had reasons.”
“What reasons?”
Sarah looked at Adrian.
He didn't rescue her.
He didn't hide.
He simply waited.
Finally, Sarah answered.
“He was trying to keep you safe.”
Lily looked at Adrian.
“From bad people?”
“Yes.”
“Are you a bad person?”
Adrian felt the question cut deeper than any bullet.
“No.”
Lily studied him.
“Mommy says bad people can look nice.”
Adrian glanced at Sarah.
She gave him an apologetic look.
“She isn't wrong,” he said.
Lily tilted her head.
“Have you done bad things?”
Silence.
Adrian could have lied.
He had lied to people far more dangerous than a six-year-old.
But he couldn't lie to her.
“I've made mistakes.”
“What kind?”
“The kind I wish I could take back.”
Lily thought about that.
Then she asked:
“Did you hurt people?”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
Sarah's expression changed.
“Adrian—”
“I won't lie to her.”
He looked at Lily.
“I hurt people who tried to hurt other people.”
Lily frowned.
“That's confusing.”
“It is.”
“Are you still doing it?”
Adrian hesitated.
“Yes.”
Lily looked down at her pastry.
“Then maybe you should stop.”
Sarah stared at him.
Adrian almost smiled.
“If it were that easy, I would.”
Lily took another bite.
“Then try harder.”
For the first time in years, Adrian laughed.
A real laugh.
Short.
Quiet.
But real.
Sarah watched him.
She couldn't remember the last time she had heard it.
Then Lily looked at Adrian.
“You laugh like me.”
His smile disappeared.
“What?”
“When you laugh.”
She giggled.
“You make the same face.”
Adrian looked at Sarah.
Sarah lowered her eyes.
Because there was no denying it.
The resemblance was there.
Not in the obvious features.
In the small things.
The tilt of the head.
The narrowed eyes when concentrating.
The little crease between the eyebrows.
The way Lily bit the inside of her cheek when nervous.
Adrian saw himself in her.
And for the first time, he understood what it meant to lose three years.
That evening, Lily fell asleep in the back seat.
Her head rested against the window.
Mr. Buttons was tucked beneath her chin.
Adrian sat beside her.
He hadn't spoken for several minutes.
Sarah drove.
The city lights moved across the windows.
“You're staring.”
Adrian didn't look away.
“I know.”
“You're going to wake her.”
“I know.”
Sarah smiled faintly.
“You really don't know how to do this, do you?”
“No.”
“Fatherhood?”
“No.”
Sarah glanced at him through the mirror.
“You'll learn.”
Adrian looked down at Lily.
“I want to.”
Sarah was silent.
Then:
“She needs you to.”
Adrian looked at her.
Sarah's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“I've spent six years telling myself that keeping you away was the right decision.”
Adrian said nothing.
“I thought I could protect her.”
“You did.”
“I protected her from your world.”
Sarah swallowed.
“But I couldn't protect her from the question.”
“What question?”
“Why doesn't my daddy want me?”
Adrian's expression broke.
“She asked that?”
“Not directly.”
Sarah looked at him through the mirror.
“Children don't always ask the question they mean.”
Adrian stared at Lily.
“I wanted her.”
Sarah's eyes softened.
“Then why did you leave?”
“Because I thought I'd get her killed.”
“And now?”
Adrian looked out the window.
“Now I think keeping her away might get her hurt in a different way.”
Sarah didn't answer.
Because she knew he was right.
At 11:42 p.m., Vincent entered Adrian's private office.
Adrian was standing over a table covered with photographs.
Maps.
Names.
Surveillance reports.
A laptop displayed images from security cameras around Washington Square Park.
“Talk.”
Vincent placed a folder on the table.
“We found him.”
Adrian looked up.
“Who?”
“The man who photographed you and Lily.”
Adrian opened the folder.
A photograph.
The gray hoodie.
The shaved head.
The scar.
“Name?”
“Marcus Bell.”
“Background?”
“Former private security contractor.”
Adrian turned another page.
“Current employer?”
Vincent's face hardened.
“We don't have one.”
Adrian looked up.
“What do we have?”
“He's been moving through three shell companies over the last eight months.”
“Connected to Volkov?”
“Indirectly.”
“Meaning?”
“Two payments came from a company that belongs to one of Volkov's lawyers.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“How long?”
“We traced the first payment.”
“When?”
“Six weeks ago.”
Adrian stopped.
Six weeks.
The exact length of time Marcus Bell had been watching them.
“Why didn't we find him?”
Vincent's expression was grim.
“Because he wasn't watching you.”
Adrian stared at him.
“He was watching Sarah.”
Silence.
Adrian slowly closed the folder.
“Why?”
“We don't know.”
“Find out.”
“Already trying.”
Adrian walked toward the window.
“Anything else?”
Vincent hesitated.
“Yes.”
Adrian turned.
“We found something in the old files.”
“What?”
“A name.”
“Whose?”
Vincent placed another document on the table.
Adrian picked it up.
The name at the top made his expression change.
Daniel Cross.
Adrian stared.
He hadn't heard that name in nine years.
“What does he have to do with Lily?”
Vincent shook his head.
“We don't know.”
“Then why show me?”
“Because Cross was involved with your father.”
Adrian looked up sharply.
“My father died nine years ago.”
“I know.”
“What does Cross have to do with him?”
Vincent lowered his voice.
“He was the last man your father met before he died.”
Adrian's fingers tightened around the paper.
“That wasn't in the official report.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because the report was altered.”
Adrian stared at him.
“By whom?”
Vincent didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Adrian knew exactly what that meant.
Someone inside his organization had buried the truth.
Someone had been controlling information around his family for years.
Someone had known about Daniel Cross.
Someone had known about Lily.
Maybe even before Lily was born.
Adrian looked back at the document.
“When was Cross last seen?”
Vincent's face became grim.
“Three weeks ago.”
“Where?”
“Red Hook.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Red Hook.”
“The same area connected to the port contract.”
A cold silence filled the room.
Adrian looked toward the photograph of Lily lying on the table.
His daughter.
Six years old.
A secret he had protected for three years.
A secret someone else might have known about long before him.
He suddenly understood something.
The shooting on Mulberry Street might not have been about the port.
Volkov might not have been targeting him because of business.
Maybe the port was only a distraction.
Maybe the bullet had been meant to force Adrian into the open.
And if that was true—
Then taking Lily to the park had been exactly what they wanted.
Adrian's phone rang.
Unknown number.
Vincent immediately reached for his weapon.
Adrian raised a hand.
“Don't.”
He answered.
“Moretti.”
Silence.
Then a man's voice.
Calm.
Almost pleasant.
“You finally met her.”
Adrian's blood went cold.
“Who is this?”
“You've spent three years hiding behind walls, men, cameras, and false names.”
Adrian stood perfectly still.
“How do you know about my daughter?”
A quiet laugh.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
“Then give me the right one.”
The voice changed.
It became colder.
“You should be asking how long we've known.”
Adrian's eyes moved to Vincent.
Vincent was already signaling his team.
“Tell me your name.”
“You'll know soon enough.”
“Where are you?”
“Closer than you think.”
Adrian's fingers tightened around the phone.
“If you go near my daughter—”
“We already did.”
Adrian's breathing stopped.
The voice continued.
“She doesn't know it yet.”
Adrian's face went white.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
A pause.
“Not yet.”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“Who are you?”
Another pause.
Then:
“Someone who knew your father.”
The call ended.
Adrian lowered the phone slowly.
Vincent looked at him.
“What did he say?”
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked toward the table.
He picked up the photograph of Lily.
For three years, he had believed the danger began with him.
Now he wasn't so sure.
Because if the caller had known his father—
If Daniel Cross was still alive—
If someone had been watching Sarah for six weeks—
Then Lily's existence might not have been a secret Adrian accidentally exposed.
It might have been a secret someone had been waiting six years to use.
Across the city, Lily slept peacefully.
Sarah tucked the blanket around her.
She kissed her daughter's forehead.
Then she walked toward the kitchen.
Adrian stood alone in the living room.
He looked at the walls.
Family photographs.
School pictures.
Lily at three.
Lily at four.
Lily at five.
Lily's first lost tooth.
A birthday cake.
A Christmas morning.
Three years of memories he had seen only through photographs.
He touched one frame.
Lily was holding Mr. Buttons.
She was missing one front tooth.
Adrian smiled.
Then he noticed something.
Behind the photograph was a small piece of paper.
He pulled it free.
A child's handwriting.
Crayon.
Messy.
Uneven.
Adrian unfolded it.
A drawing.
The same faceless man.
But now there were four figures.
Lily.
Sarah.
The faceless father.
And another man standing behind them.
This fourth man had a face.
Lily had drawn him with black eyes.
A long scar.
And a red mark across his neck.
Adrian stared.
“Sarah.”
She came into the room.
“What?”
Adrian held up the drawing.
“Who is this?”
Sarah looked at it.
Her face drained of color.
“I don't know.”
Adrian's voice became sharper.
“Lily drew this?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“I've never seen it.”
Adrian turned the paper over.
On the back was a date.
Six months earlier.
And beneath it, one sentence written in a child's handwriting:
HE SAID DADDY WAS HIDING FROM HIM.
Sarah's hand flew to her mouth.
Adrian felt the room tilt.
Six months.
Someone had spoken to Lily.
Someone had mentioned her father.
Someone had already gotten close enough to plant a fear inside a six-year-old child's mind.
And Adrian had been looking in the wrong direction.
He looked at Sarah.
“Where was Lily six months ago?”
Sarah's eyes widened.
“At the old daycare.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“The one on Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“Who worked there?”
Sarah swallowed.
“I don't remember everyone.”
Adrian's voice became ice.
“You're going to remember.”
At 2:17 a.m., Vincent stood inside the old daycare.
The building had been closed for months.
Dust covered the windows.
Small chairs remained stacked against the walls.
A faded alphabet poster hung crookedly near the entrance.
Adrian walked slowly through the hallway.
Every step echoed.
“Why did Sarah move Lily from here?”
Vincent checked his phone.
“After the teacher complained about Lily having nightmares.”
“What kind?”
“Same dream.”
Adrian stopped.
“What dream?”
Vincent looked at him.
“She said a man was standing outside her bedroom.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“Did she describe him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Vincent hesitated.
“She said he had a scar on his neck.”
Adrian looked at the drawing again.
The red mark.
The black eyes.
The faceless father.
Everything suddenly connected.
The man in the drawing wasn't imaginary.
Lily had seen someone.
Adrian turned toward the classroom.
“Find her teacher.”
“Already found her.”
“Where?”
Vincent's expression became grim.
“She disappeared six months ago.”
Adrian's blood ran cold.
“Disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“Anyone looking for her?”
“Police filed it as voluntary.”
Adrian stared at the empty classroom.
A small yellow crayon lay on the floor.
He picked it up.
For three years, he had been afraid of what his enemies might do if they discovered Lily.
Now he understood the truth.
They had discovered her long ago.
They had simply been waiting.
Waiting for Adrian to finally step into her life.
Waiting for him to reveal where his heart was.
And yesterday, in Washington Square Park, he had done exactly that.
His phone vibrated.
A message.
One photograph.
Adrian opened it.
His face went completely still.
It was Lily.
Sleeping.
Taken through the bedroom window.
The timestamp was three minutes old.
Below the photograph was a single sentence:
NOW YOU KNOW WHY HER FATHER HAD NO FACE.
Adrian's eyes turned cold.
Vincent saw the screen.
“Boss…”
Adrian slowly put the phone away.
“Get everyone to the house.”
“Already moving.”
“No.”
Adrian looked toward the dark hallway.
“Everyone except the men protecting Sarah.”
Vincent frowned.
“Why?”
“Because whoever sent this wants us to panic.”
He turned.
“And I'm not giving him that.”
Adrian's voice was quiet.
Controlled.
Deadly.
“Find the man with the scar.”
Vincent nodded.
“And when you find him?”
Adrian looked at the photograph of his sleeping daughter one more time.
“Bring him to me alive.”
A pause.
“I want to know who taught my daughter to be afraid of her father.”
Outside, thunder rolled across Manhattan.
And somewhere in the darkness, a man with a scar across his neck was watching a photograph of Lily.
Beside him sat an old photograph of Adrian's father.
On the back, written in faded ink, were six words:
THE BLOODLINE WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO END.
The man smiled.
May you like
Because Adrian Moretti had finally stepped out of the shadows.
And now the real war could begin.
