CHAPTER 2 THE GIRL WHO KNEW HIS FACE
The first thing Adrian Moretti did after leaving the hospital was buy a teddy bear.
Not a gun.
Not ammunition.
Not a new security system.
A teddy bear.
He stood inside a small children's store on the Upper West Side at ten thirty in the morning, wearing a black coat over the hospital shirt he'd refused to change.
His shoulder was still wrapped.
His body still hurt.
His heart monitor had been removed only six hours earlier.
And yet the most terrifying thing he'd done in years was standing in front of a shelf of stuffed animals wondering which one his daughter would like.
A young saleswoman approached him.
"Can I help you?"
Adrian looked at her.
Then at the bears.
"No."
She smiled awkwardly.
"Okay."
He stared at a brown bear wearing a blue sweater.
Then another with a red bow.
Then one holding a tiny heart.
He picked up the smallest one.
It had slightly crooked ears.
He remembered Vincent's report.
She carries Mr. Buttons when she's frightened.
Adrian put the bear back.
"Do you have something older-looking?"
The woman blinked.
"Older?"
"Something a child would keep for years."
She pointed toward the back.
"Those are handmade."
Adrian followed her.
He found a faded-looking bear with soft brown fur and a tiny stitched blue button on its chest.
He touched it.
Something inside him tightened.
"This one."
The woman smiled.
"Good choice."
Adrian paid cash.
He carried the bear out of the store.
Then he stopped on the sidewalk.
For three full minutes, he couldn't move.
Because suddenly he understood something.
He had spent three years imagining what it would feel like to meet his daughter.
He had imagined her face.
Her voice.
Her reaction.
He had imagined her running into his arms.
He had imagined her asking why he had been gone.
But he had never imagined the possibility that she might not want him.
That thought hurt more than the bullet.
Sarah was waiting in the private apartment across town.
She stood near the window.
She looked tired.
She had been awake most of the night.
When Adrian entered, she turned.
"You're out."
"Yes."
"How bad?"
"Bad enough."
Sarah crossed her arms.
"You shouldn't be walking around."
"I'm fine."
"You were shot."
"I've been shot before."
"This time your heart almost stopped."
Adrian looked at her.
Sarah knew him too well to accept the lie.
"You heard."
"I have ears."
"Vincent told me."
Adrian set the teddy bear on the table.
Sarah stared at it.
Then looked at him.
"You bought that?"
"Yes."
"For Lily?"
Adrian nodded.
Sarah's expression softened.
"She'll love it."
Adrian swallowed.
"That's what I'm hoping."
Sarah studied him.
"You're really going to do it."
He knew what she meant.
"I'm going to meet her."
"Today?"
"Tonight."
Sarah looked away.
"Adrian..."
"I know."
"No, you don't."
She turned back.
"You think you're ready because you got shot."
"I didn't say that."
"You think nearly dying suddenly gives you permission to walk into your daughter's life."
Adrian said nothing.
Sarah's voice softened.
"It doesn't."
His jaw tightened.
"Then what does?"
"Consistency."
A pause.
"Time."
Another.
"Truth."
Adrian looked at her.
"I can give her all three."
Sarah shook her head.
"Can you?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Then:
"I don't know."
That honesty surprised her.
Adrian Moretti rarely admitted uncertainty.
Sarah stepped closer.
"That's the first thing you've said that makes me believe you might actually be ready."
He nodded.
"What does she know?"
"Not much."
"Does she know my name?"
"No."
"Does she know what I look like?"
Sarah hesitated.
"She thinks she does."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
Sarah reached into her bag.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
Adrian stared at it.
"What's that?"
"One of her drawings."
He unfolded it.
A family stood beneath a yellow sun.
A woman.
A little girl.
And a tall man.
The man's face wasn't blank.
It had features.
Dark hair.
Dark eyes.
A strong jaw.
And a small scar near his eyebrow.
Adrian stopped breathing.
"She drew me."
Sarah nodded.
"How?"
"I don't know."
He stared at the picture.
The scar was real.
A thin line Adrian had carried since he was nineteen.
His daughter had never seen it.
Or had she?
"Where did she get this?"
"She says she dreamed it."
Adrian looked up.
"She dreamed me?"
Sarah nodded.
"She says you've been visiting her."
His blood ran cold.
"When?"
"At night."
"That's impossible."
"I know."
"What does she say?"
Sarah hesitated.
"She says you stand at the end of her hallway."
Adrian's fingers tightened around the paper.
"Does she know it's me?"
Sarah shook her head.
"Not exactly."
"What does she call him?"
Sarah looked at him.
"Her shadow."
The apartment was silent when Adrian arrived that evening.
He had changed clothes.
Black sweater.
Dark jeans.
No weapon visible.
No bodyguards in the room.
Vincent had argued.
Adrian had refused.
There were men outside.
Three floors away.
Two on the roof.
Four in the neighboring building.
But inside the apartment, Adrian wanted to be alone.
For once, he didn't want to look like a boss.
He wanted to look like a father.
Sarah stood beside the bedroom door.
"She's asleep."
Adrian stopped.
"Already?"
"She fell asleep thirty minutes ago."
"Should I wake her?"
Sarah shook her head.
"No."
Adrian looked at the closed door.
His heart began beating faster.
Not because of danger.
Because of her.
"What if she wakes up?"
"Then you tell her the truth."
"What truth?"
Sarah looked at him.
"That you're her father."
The words struck him harder than any bullet.
Adrian nodded.
He reached for the door.
Then stopped.
"What if she hates me?"
Sarah answered quietly.
"Then you let her."
He looked at her.
"You don't fight it."
"No."
"You don't pressure her."
"No."
"You don't disappear."
Sarah's eyes softened.
"Especially not that."
Adrian opened the door.
Lily slept beneath a pale pink blanket.
Her small hand rested around a stuffed rabbit.
Her hair was spread across the pillow.
Adrian stood in the doorway.
He had seen her photographs.
Hundreds of them.
But photographs were not this.
This was real.
Her breathing.
The tiny movement of her fingers.
The way her lips moved slightly when she dreamed.
He stepped closer.
One foot.
Then another.
He stopped beside the bed.
His daughter.
Three years old.
Three years of life he had watched through other people's eyes.
Three years of birthdays.
Three Christmas mornings.
Three years of first words.
And he had missed all of them.
His throat tightened.
He reached toward her.
Then stopped.
He couldn't touch her.
Not yet.
He sat in the chair beside the bed.
For several minutes, he simply watched her sleep.
Then Lily's eyes opened.
Adrian froze.
She stared at him.
Neither moved.
Her eyes were dark.
Exactly like his.
She blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then whispered:
"You're him."
Adrian couldn't speak.
Lily sat up.
She looked at him.
Then at the door.
Then back.
"The shadow."
Adrian swallowed.
"Yes."
She tilted her head.
"You're real."
He almost smiled.
"Yes."
She looked at his shoulder.
"You're hurt."
"Yes."
"Did the bad people shoot you?"
Adrian's chest tightened.
"Yes."
Lily frowned.
"Did you fight them?"
"A little."
She looked at him seriously.
"Did you win?"
Adrian smiled.
"I survived."
She seemed satisfied with that answer.
Then she asked the question he had feared for three years.
"Are you my daddy?"
Adrian's eyes filled.
He nodded.
"Yes."
Lily stared at him.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
No screaming.
No crying.
No running into his arms.
She simply looked at him.
Then she asked:
"Why didn't you come before?"
Adrian had prepared for everything.
That question wasn't one of them.
He looked down.
"Because I thought staying away would keep you safe."
Lily frowned.
"Safe from what?"
"People who wanted to hurt me."
"Did they want to hurt me?"
Adrian hesitated.
"They could have."
Lily looked at him.
"But you still didn't come."
The words were quiet.
Not angry.
Somehow that made them worse.
Adrian nodded.
"You're right."
Lily looked surprised.
"You're not mad?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you're telling the truth."
She considered that.
Then pointed at his chest.
"Does your heart hurt?"
Adrian froze.
"Who told you that?"
"The doctor."
Adrian's blood ran cold.
"What doctor?"
"The lady."
"What lady?"
Lily shrugged.
"The one who comes when Mommy cries."
Adrian stood.
"What does she look like?"
Lily thought.
"Blonde."
Sarah was brunette.
"Blue eyes."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Did she come here?"
Lily nodded.
"Yesterday."
"Where?"
"She talked to Mommy."
Adrian opened the bedroom door.
Sarah stood outside.
Her face had gone pale.
"What?"
Adrian lowered his voice.
"Who is the blonde woman?"
Sarah stared at him.
"I don't know."
"You said no one came yesterday."
"No one did."
"Lily says someone did."
Sarah looked toward the child.
Then back at Adrian.
"Maybe she dreamed it."
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
Something about Lily's description bothered him.
A doctor.
Blonde.
Blue eyes.
The hospital.
He pulled out his phone.
"Vincent."
The answer came immediately.
"Boss."
"I need hospital visitor logs."
"Which hospital?"
"St. Vincent's."
"How far back?"
"Seven days."
A pause.
"Anything specific?"
"Every woman matching blonde hair, blue eyes, medical credentials."
Vincent's voice changed.
"Adrian."
"What?"
"We found something."
Adrian's blood chilled.
"What?"
"The woman who treated you after the shooting."
"Dr. Elena Maren."
"Yes."
"What about her?"
"She disappeared."
Adrian went still.
"How long?"
"Six hours ago."
"From where?"
"The hospital."
"Was she alone?"
"No."
"Who was with her?"
Vincent hesitated.
"Nobody knows."
Adrian looked at Lily.
She was watching him.
Then she lifted her stuffed rabbit.
"She gave me this."
Adrian stared.
A tiny blue ribbon was tied around its neck.
He recognized the symbol stitched into it.
A black wolf.
Volkov's mark.
His expression changed instantly.
"Sarah."
She looked at him.
"Get Lily."
"What?"
"Now."
Sarah rushed toward the bed.
Adrian pulled the curtain aside.
The city spread beyond the windows.
Beautiful.
Bright.
Unaware.
His phone rang again.
Vincent.
Adrian answered.
"What?"
"We checked the footage."
"And?"
"The woman entered the apartment building yesterday at 6:14 p.m."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"How did she get past security?"
"She didn't."
"What?"
Vincent's voice became grim.
"She came in with Sarah's credentials."
Adrian looked at Sarah.
She was holding Lily.
Her face was white.
"I didn't give anyone my credentials."
Adrian believed her.
That was the problem.
"Vincent."
"Yeah?"
"Pull every camera from the last forty-eight hours."
"Already doing it."
"And find that woman."
"Boss..."
"What?"
"There's more."
Adrian waited.
"We found a second person."
"Who?"
"Male."
"Description?"
"Black coat. Baseball cap."
"Face?"
"Covered."
"Where?"
Vincent's voice dropped.
"Outside Lily's daycare."
Adrian's hand tightened around the phone.
"When?"
"Three days ago."
"The day I was shot."
Adrian looked at his daughter.
Lily was no longer looking at him.
She was staring at the window.
At something outside.
Adrian followed her gaze.
Across the street stood a black sedan.
Engine running.
Windows tinted.
It had been there when he arrived.
He had assumed it belonged to security.
It didn't.
Lily whispered:
"That's the car."
Adrian's blood went cold.
"What car?"
"The shadow man's car."
He looked at Sarah.
"Lock the doors."
She did.
Adrian moved toward the window.
The black sedan remained motionless.
Then its rear window lowered.
A man looked up.
Even from four floors away, Adrian could feel the weight of his stare.
The man raised one hand.
Not a weapon.
A phone.
Adrian's own phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
"You finally met your daughter."
Adrian's heart stopped for one terrifying second.
"Who are you?"
A quiet laugh.
"Ask Dr. Maren."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"What did you do to her?"
"Nothing."
"Where is she?"
"Safe."
"Why?"
"Because she knows what happens when your heart stops."
Adrian went completely still.
The voice continued.
"And she knows exactly how much time you have left."
The call ended.
Adrian stared at the phone.
Behind him, Lily spoke.
"What's wrong, Daddy?"
He turned.
She was holding the blue-ribboned rabbit.
Adrian looked at her.
Then at the black sedan.
Then at his injured shoulder.
And finally at the hospital bracelet still wrapped around his wrist.
For three years, he had believed the greatest danger to his daughter was the mafia.
He had been wrong.
Someone knew about his heart.
Someone knew about Lily.
Someone had access to his hospital records.
And someone had deliberately placed a Volkov symbol in his daughter's hands.
Adrian walked toward Lily.
He knelt in front of her.
She looked at him.
"Are you scared?"
He forced a smile.
"A little."
She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck.
"You don't have to be."
Adrian closed his eyes.
He held her carefully.
For the first time in three years, he was holding his daughter.
And for the first time in his life, Adrian Moretti understood something far more terrifying than death.
He finally had something to lose.
Outside, the black sedan pulled away.
Inside it, a man made a phone call.
"He's with her."
A pause.
"Yes."
Another pause.
"No."
The man smiled.
"He didn't recognize me."
He looked down at an old photograph.
A younger Adrian stood beside a woman.
And behind them was a third person.
Someone Adrian had believed was dead.
The man whispered:
"Phase Two begins tonight."
He folded the photograph.
Then looked toward the rearview mirror.
May you like
A small scar crossed his eyebrow.
Exactly like the scar in Lily's drawing.
