CHAPTER 5 THE WOMAN WHO CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD
The lights went out.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
Then the tunnel exploded with gunfire.
Vincent shoved Lily behind a concrete support.
"Stay down!"
Sarah dropped beside her daughter.
Adrian raised his weapon.
His heart hammered against his ribs.
Not because of the bullets.
Because of the voice.
Your father is alive.
Impossible.
His father had been dead for seven years.
Adrian had watched the coffin lowered into the ground.
He had attended the funeral.
He had stood beside the grave while rain soaked through his black suit.
He had personally confirmed the body.
Or so he had believed.
Another bullet struck the metal door.
Gabriel fired twice toward the muzzle flashes.
"Move!"
Adrian grabbed Sarah's arm.
"Take Lily."
"Where?"
"North tunnel."
Vincent shook his head.
"That's a dead end."
"Not anymore."
Gabriel pointed toward a maintenance hatch.
"There's a service corridor behind it."
Adrian stared.
"You knew?"
"I spent nineteen years underground."
Gabriel kicked the hatch open.
"Then move."
They disappeared into the darkness.
Lily held Adrian's hand.
She was trembling.
He could feel it.
He squeezed gently.
"I'm here."
"Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"Are the bad people coming?"
"Yes."
"Will they hurt us?"
Adrian looked at her.
He wanted to lie.
He couldn't.
"I won't let them."
She stared into his eyes.
"Promise?"
"Pinky promise."
Her tiny finger wrapped around his.
For one second, the chaos disappeared.
Then a gunshot echoed behind them.
Gabriel shouted:
"They're coming!"
They ran.
The service corridor was narrow.
Old pipes ran along the ceiling.
Water dripped onto the floor.
Adrian carried Lily when her legs became tired.
She wrapped both arms around his neck.
He could feel her heartbeat against his chest.
It reminded him of his own.
Fast.
Uncertain.
Alive.
Sarah followed close behind.
Vincent brought up the rear.
Gabriel moved ahead.
Suddenly he stopped.
Everyone froze.
"What?" Adrian whispered.
Gabriel pointed toward the wall.
A red light blinked.
Adrian frowned.
"What is that?"
"Motion sensor."
"Then we're being watched."
Gabriel nodded.
"Yes."
Vincent pulled out his phone.
"No signal."
"Of course not," Gabriel said.
He looked at Adrian.
"They cut communications before the shooting started."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"This was planned."
"Every second."
"Then they knew we'd come."
Gabriel looked at Lily.
"That's what they wanted."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Why?"
"Because you're the only person they couldn't lure."
"And now?"
"They don't need to lure you."
Gabriel looked at Lily.
"They only needed to give you something to chase."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"You."
Gabriel nodded.
"The dead brother."
They reached an old elevator shaft.
Gabriel opened the maintenance panel.
"We can get out through the upper platform."
Vincent looked down.
"That's thirty feet."
"Twenty-eight."
"That's not better."
Gabriel ignored him.
Adrian looked at Lily.
"I'll carry her."
Gabriel nodded.
He lowered a rope.
Adrian tied Lily securely against his chest.
"Hold on."
She buried her face against him.
He climbed.
Halfway up, pain shot through his shoulder.
His grip weakened.
The world tilted.
For a second, his vision blurred.
Then Lily whispered:
"Daddy?"
"I'm okay."
"You stopped breathing."
Adrian froze.
She was right.
He forced himself to inhale.
Slowly.
Deeply.
His heart stumbled.
Thump.
Then again.
Thump.
He closed his eyes.
Not now.
He couldn't collapse.
Not now.
Not with her in his arms.
He climbed.
One rung.
Two.
Three.
At the top, Vincent pulled them up.
Adrian collapsed onto the platform.
Lily climbed into his lap.
"You okay?"
Adrian smiled.
"Better now."
She touched his cheek.
"You're shaking."
He looked at his hand.
She was right.
He was shaking.
Not from fear.
From the heart condition.
Gabriel saw it.
"We need to move."
Adrian stood.
"How long until we get out?"
"Five minutes."
"Then we have five minutes."
They emerged behind an abandoned church.
Snow fell across the street.
Adrian looked around.
No cars.
No people.
No movement.
Too quiet.
Vincent checked the road.
"Clear."
Gabriel shook his head.
"No."
"What?"
"They wouldn't leave the exit unguarded."
Adrian looked at him.
"Then where are they?"
A black SUV appeared at the end of the street.
Vincent raised his weapon.
Gabriel stepped forward.
"Wait."
The SUV stopped.
The rear door opened.
A woman stepped out.
Blonde hair.
Blue eyes.
White coat.
Adrian's breath stopped.
Elena Maren.
Alive.
She walked toward them.
"Adrian."
He stared.
"You."
Elena looked at Lily.
Then Sarah.
Then Gabriel.
Finally, Adrian.
"I'm sorry."
Adrian's voice was cold.
"You kidnapped my daughter."
"No."
"You lied about my heart."
"I was forced."
"You knew my father was alive."
Elena swallowed.
"Yes."
Adrian raised his weapon.
Vincent stepped between them.
"Boss."
Adrian didn't lower it.
"Why?"
Elena looked at him.
"Because if I told you the truth, they would kill Lily."
"Who?"
"The Black Circle."
Gabriel stepped forward.
"Not anymore."
Elena looked at him.
"You're still alive."
Gabriel smiled.
"Disappointed?"
Her expression changed.
"No."
Something about her voice made Adrian suspicious.
"How long have you known him?"
Elena looked away.
"Since I was sixteen."
Adrian froze.
"Sixteen?"
She nodded.
"He found me after they took me."
Sarah covered her mouth.
Adrian stared at her.
"Your entire life?"
"Yes."
"Did you know who I was?"
Elena hesitated.
"Not at first."
"And now?"
"I know everything."
Adrian lowered his weapon slightly.
"Then tell me."
Elena looked toward the church.
"We don't have time."
"Make time."
"They know where we are."
Gabriel looked at the street.
"She's right."
A distant engine sounded.
Elena opened the SUV door.
"Get inside."
Adrian didn't move.
"You expect me to trust you?"
"No."
She looked directly at him.
"I expect you to trust that I don't want your daughter dead."
Lily suddenly spoke.
"She's the lady from my dream."
Elena looked at her.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Hello, Lily."
Lily stared.
"How do you know my name?"
Elena couldn't answer.
Adrian noticed.
"You've met her before."
Elena nodded.
"Once."
"When?"
"At the hospital."
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"You came to see her."
"I needed to."
"Why?"
Elena looked at Lily.
"Because she has something that belongs to me."
Adrian's face changed.
"What?"
Elena touched the pendant around Lily's neck.
Adrian had never noticed it before.
A small silver circle.
Lily had apparently worn it for years.
Elena whispered:
"That."
Sarah stepped forward.
"Where did she get it?"
"You gave it to her."
Sarah looked confused.
"I don't remember."
"You were drugged."
Silence.
Elena continued.
"When you gave birth, someone tried to take the baby."
Adrian stared.
"Which baby?"
Elena looked at him.
"Lily."
Adrian's blood ran cold.
"They tried to take Lily too?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because they believed she carried the genetic key to the Moretti trust."
Adrian frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Elena looked at Gabriel.
"He hasn't told you."
Adrian turned.
"Told me what?"
Gabriel sighed.
"Your family created a private trust eighteen years ago."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Gabriel looked at Lily.
"The trust can only be opened by two bloodline signatures."
Adrian stared.
"Mine?"
Gabriel shook his head.
"Yours and Lily's."
Adrian looked at the pendant.
"How?"
"The pendant contains the first half of the key."
"And the second?"
Gabriel looked at Elena.
"She has it."
Adrian stared at the doctor.
"You?"
Elena nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because your mother gave it to me."
Adrian's mind raced.
His mother.
The Black Circle.
His father's supposed death.
The poisoned heart.
The missing daughter.
Everything suddenly connected.
Except one thing.
"My father."
Elena looked down.
"He isn't the mastermind."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Then who is?"
She hesitated.
"Your grandmother."
Adrian went completely still.
"My grandmother died before I was born."
"No."
Elena shook her head.
"She disappeared."
Gabriel nodded.
"Your entire family has been built on fake deaths."
Adrian stared at them.
"Why?"
Gabriel answered:
"Because the Moretti family wasn't built to control New York."
A pause.
"It was built to control something much bigger."
They drove north.
The SUV moved through the snow.
Lily slept against Adrian's chest.
Sarah sat beside her.
Vincent sat in front.
Gabriel drove.
Elena sat in the passenger seat.
Nobody spoke for nearly twenty minutes.
Then Adrian broke the silence.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere your father can't find us."
Adrian looked at her.
"He's alive."
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Close."
"How close?"
Elena looked at him.
"Closer than you think."
Adrian stared out the window.
The snow blurred.
His thoughts became darker.
If his father was alive...
If his mother had known...
If Gabriel had been forced into hiding...
If Elena was his missing daughter...
Then the last twenty years of his life had been a lie.
He looked down at Lily.
She stirred.
"Daddy?"
"I'm here."
"Don't go."
His throat tightened.
"I'm not going anywhere."
She smiled.
Then fell asleep again.
Adrian kissed her forehead.
Sarah watched him.
"I'm sorry."
He looked at her.
"For what?"
"For not telling you."
Adrian was silent.
"You should have."
"I know."
"But you were protecting her."
"Yes."
"And me."
Sarah nodded.
Adrian looked away.
"I don't know if I can forgive you yet."
"I understand."
"But..."
He looked at her.
"Thank you for keeping her alive."
Sarah's eyes filled.
At 3:47 a.m., the SUV arrived at the lake house.
Adrian recognized it immediately.
His father's old property.
The place he hadn't visited since he was eighteen.
The house stood alone beside a frozen lake.
No neighbors.
No cameras.
No visible guards.
Gabriel parked.
Adrian looked at him.
"How did you know this place was safe?"
"Because your father hasn't been here since the night he died."
Adrian stared.
"You keep saying that."
Gabriel smiled.
"Because it's true."
They entered.
Dust covered the furniture.
The fireplace was cold.
The air smelled like old wood.
Lily woke.
"Where are we?"
Adrian carried her.
"Our new home for a little while."
She looked around.
"It's big."
"You like it?"
She nodded.
Then pointed toward a hallway.
"What's that?"
Adrian followed her gaze.
A portrait hung at the end.
An old family photograph.
He approached.
His eyes widened.
It showed his grandfather.
His father.
His mother.
Gabriel.
Adrian.
And a woman standing behind them.
A woman with blonde hair.
Blue eyes.
A small scar above her eyebrow.
Adrian turned slowly.
Elena was standing behind him.
He looked at the photograph.
Then at her.
"That's you."
Elena nodded.
"Yes."
Adrian's voice dropped.
"How?"
"I told you."
"You were sixteen."
"No."
She shook her head.
"I was six."
Adrian stared.
"What?"
"The woman in the photograph isn't me."
She pointed to the woman.
"That's my mother."
Adrian's blood ran cold.
"Your mother?"
Elena nodded.
"Your father's first wife."
Silence.
Adrian couldn't breathe.
"That means..."
Elena looked at him.
"Yes."
She swallowed.
"You and I share the same father."
Adrian stared at her.
His missing sister.
Not daughter.
Sister.
The entire room seemed to tilt.
Elena continued.
"Your father had another family."
Adrian looked toward Lily.
Then Sarah.
Then Gabriel.
"Why did everyone lie?"
Gabriel answered quietly.
"Because the truth would destroy the Moretti family."
A floorboard creaked upstairs.
Everyone froze.
Vincent reached for his weapon.
Adrian pulled Lily behind him.
Another creak.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Footsteps descended the staircase.
One.
Two.
Three.
A man's silhouette appeared.
Older.
Gray hair.
Straight posture.
Cold eyes.
Adrian's blood froze.
The man stopped halfway down the stairs.
Then smiled.
"Hello, son."
Adrian's weapon rose.
His father's smile widened.
"I've waited a long time for you to come home."
Lily peeked around Adrian.
She looked at the man.
Then whispered:
"Daddy..."
Adrian glanced down.
Lily was staring at the stranger.
Her face had gone pale.
"That's him."
Adrian's heart stopped.
"Who?"
Lily pointed.
"The man from my drawing."
The old man smiled.
And for the first time, Adrian understood why his daughter had been drawing the same faceless man for three years.
She hadn't been imagining her father.
She had been remembering someone else.
Someone who had been watching her long before Adrian ever knew she existed.
His father looked directly at Lily.
May you like
Then said:
"Hello, granddaughter."
