Chapter 3: Five Minutes to Midnight
For three seconds, Evelyn couldn't understand what she was looking at.
She stared at the photograph.
At the baby.
At the faded yellow blanket wrapped around the tiny body.
Then at Celeste.
Young.
Beautiful.
Smiling.
Holding Evelyn as though the child in her arms belonged to her.
A strange pressure built behind Evelyn's eyes.
“No.”
The word came out quietly.
Lorenzo looked at her.
“Evelyn.”
“No.”
She took a step backward.
“That isn't possible.”
“You recognize the blanket.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“My mother made it.”
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
“Are you sure?”
“I slept under it every night until I was six.”
Her voice began to shake.
“It had a little blue flower sewn into the corner. My mother did it by hand because she couldn't afford another blanket.”
She pointed at the photograph.
“That one has the same flower.”
Nobody spoke.
Evelyn stared harder.
Memory came in fragments.
Her mother's bedroom.
The smell of lavender soap.
Rain against the window.
A warm hand brushing her hair.
A lullaby she hadn't heard since childhood.
Then another memory.
A locked door.
A man's voice.
Her mother crying.
And a woman laughing.
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“There's something I remember.”
Lorenzo stepped closer.
“What?”
“My mother used to tell me never to open the basement door.”
“Why?”
“She said there were rats.”
Lorenzo waited.
“I believed her.”
Evelyn opened her eyes.
“But there weren't rats.”
“How do you know?”
“Because one night I heard people talking down there.”
Her voice dropped.
“Men.”
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
“What did they say?”
“I don't remember.”
“Try.”
Evelyn pressed her fingers against her temple.
“They were arguing.”
“About what?”
“Money.”
Lorenzo waited.
“And a child.”
His eyes sharpened.
“What child?”
“I don't know.”
“Evelyn.”
“I was twelve.”
“I know.”
“I was terrified.”
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
Her voice cracked.
“You don't know what it's like to wake up in the middle of the night and hear your mother crying downstairs while strangers talk about whether someone should live.”
Lorenzo went silent.
Evelyn looked at the photograph again.
“Maybe I don't remember because I wasn't supposed to.”
The security chief shifted uneasily.
“Boss.”
Lorenzo looked at him.
“What?”
“We need to move.”
“Why?”
“Because the building isn't secure.”
Lorenzo glanced toward the hallway.
“How many men do we have?”
“Seven.”
“How many were inside when this started?”
“Fourteen.”
“Where are the others?”
“We don't know.”
Lorenzo's face became cold.
“Then we have a bigger problem.”
A sound echoed through the corridor.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Someone was coming.
Lorenzo immediately pushed Evelyn behind him.
His men raised their weapons.
The footsteps stopped.
Nothing.
Then a woman's voice floated through the darkness.
“Lorenzo?”
Celeste.
Evelyn's body went rigid.
Lorenzo didn't lower his weapon.
“Stay where you are.”
“I’m scared.”
“You should be.”
A pause.
“Lorenzo, please.”
He looked at Evelyn.
Then toward the corridor.
“Come out alone.”
Celeste appeared slowly.
Her emerald gown was torn at the shoulder.
A thin line of blood ran down her cheek.
Her blonde hair had come loose.
She looked terrified.
For the first time that night, she looked human.
“Lorenzo.”
He stared at her.
“Where did you get that photograph?”
Celeste's eyes moved to Evelyn.
Her face changed.
Fear.
Not surprise.
Fear.
Evelyn saw it.
“You know me.”
Celeste swallowed.
“What?”
“You know who I am.”
Celeste looked at Lorenzo.
He stepped toward her.
“Answer her.”
Celeste's lips trembled.
“I've seen her before.”
“Where?”
“Years ago.”
“Where?”
“I don't remember.”
Lorenzo's voice became colder.
“Try again.”
Celeste looked at Evelyn.
“I was there.”
Evelyn felt her stomach twist.
“Where?”
Celeste didn't answer.
“Where were you?”
“At the hospital.”
Everything went silent.
Evelyn's breath caught.
“What hospital?”
Celeste's eyes filled with tears.
“The night you were born.”
Evelyn stared at her.
“That isn't possible.”
“You don't remember.”
“I was a baby.”
“Yes.”
“Then how do you know?”
Celeste closed her eyes.
“Because your mother asked me to protect you.”
Evelyn almost laughed.
A sharp, broken sound.
“Protect me?”
Celeste nodded.
“From whom?”
Celeste looked at Lorenzo.
“From his father.”
Lorenzo's face hardened.
“My father?”
“He wanted the baby dead.”
Evelyn felt the floor disappear beneath her.
“Why?”
Celeste's mouth opened.
Before she could answer, a gunshot exploded from somewhere behind her.
Celeste jerked.
Lorenzo lunged forward.
His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her aside.
Another bullet struck the wall.
“DOWN!”
Everyone dropped.
Evelyn hit the floor.
The photograph flew from Lorenzo's hand.
Someone fired from the upper balcony.
Three shots.
Then silence.
Lorenzo's men returned fire.
A figure ran.
Lorenzo shouted:
“Don't kill him!”
Two men raced toward the stairs.
Evelyn looked at Celeste.
She was on the floor, breathing hard.
No bullet wound.
The blood on her cheek came from broken glass.
Evelyn crawled toward her.
“You said my mother asked you to protect me.”
Celeste stared at her.
“Yes.”
“Then why did you leave me?”
Celeste looked away.
“I didn't.”
“What?”
“I never left you.”
Evelyn's chest tightened.
“Then who raised me?”
Celeste didn't answer.
Lorenzo crouched beside them.
“Celeste.”
She looked at him.
“You have ten seconds.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Your father took her.”
Evelyn froze.
“What?”
“Your father?”
Lorenzo's voice became dangerously quiet.
“My father was dead before I met Evelyn.”
“No.”
Celeste shook her head.
“Not Daniel.”
She looked at Evelyn.
“Your father.”
Evelyn couldn't breathe.
“You mean Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“He took me?”
“He saved you.”
The words made no sense.
Celeste grabbed Evelyn's hand.
“I gave you to him because I thought it was the only way to keep you alive.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother was dying.”
Evelyn's eyes widened.
“My mother?”
Celeste nodded.
“She knew they were coming.”
“Who?”
“The people who wanted you.”
“Why would anyone want a baby?”
Celeste's voice dropped.
“Because of your blood.”
Lorenzo stared at her.
“What are you talking about?”
Celeste shook her head.
“You don't know.”
“Then tell me.”
“I can't.”
“You've already said too much.”
“I know.”
“Then finish it.”
Celeste looked at Evelyn.
“Your mother wasn't ordinary.”
Evelyn almost laughed.
“My mother worked two jobs.”
“She was hiding.”
“From whom?”
Celeste whispered:
“The Morettis.”
Lorenzo's eyes became ice.
“My family?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew what they had done.”
“What did they do?”
Celeste's gaze dropped.
“The river.”
Lorenzo froze.
“What river?”
“The Chicago River.”
Evelyn looked between them.
“What happened at the river?”
Celeste didn't answer.
Lorenzo grabbed her arm.
“What happened?”
“Your father ordered a boat destroyed.”
“Why?”
“Because it was carrying evidence.”
“What evidence?”
“Names.”
Lorenzo's jaw clenched.
“The ledger.”
Celeste nodded.
“The original ledger.”
Silence.
Lorenzo released her.
Evelyn stood.
“What does any of this have to do with me?”
Celeste looked at her.
“Everything.”
A man's voice suddenly echoed from the upper level.
“Boss!”
Lorenzo turned.
One of his men appeared on the balcony.
“We found someone.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Bring him down.”
The man hesitated.
“He says he knows Evelyn.”
Evelyn's blood went cold.
“Who?”
The guard looked toward the stairs.
“He gave us a name.”
“What name?”
The guard swallowed.
“Daniel Carter.”
Evelyn stopped breathing.
The room seemed to tilt.
“No.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
She shook her head.
“My father is dead.”
The guard said:
“He says he isn't.”
A minute later, two men dragged a wounded stranger into the dining room.
He was older.
Mid-fifties.
Gray threaded through dark hair.
Blood soaked his shirt.
One eye was swollen.
But the moment Evelyn saw him, something inside her broke open.
She knew that face.
Not from photographs.
Not from memories.
From somewhere deeper.
A place childhood had buried.
Her lips parted.
“Dad?”
The man looked up.
His eyes filled with tears.
“Evie.”
Evelyn stumbled backward.
“No.”
He smiled through the blood.
“You got tall.”
She couldn't move.
Lorenzo looked at the man.
“You're Daniel Carter.”
“Yes.”
“You've been alive.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“Twenty-three years.”
Evelyn's knees nearly gave out.
“You were gone twenty-three years.”
“I had to disappear.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“I know.”
“You let me grow up believing you abandoned me.”
“I know.”
“You let Mom die without you.”
Daniel's face collapsed.
“I know.”
Evelyn slapped him.
The crack echoed through the ruined dining room.
Nobody moved.
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I deserved that.”
“You deserved worse.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because if I came back, they would have killed you.”
“Who?”
Daniel looked at Lorenzo.
“The same people who tried to kill him tonight.”
Lorenzo stepped closer.
“Who ordered the attack?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Your brother.”
Silence.
Lorenzo's expression didn't change.
“My brother is dead.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“He died eleven years ago.”
“That is what they wanted you to believe.”
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
“Where is he?”
Daniel's voice dropped.
“Five minutes from midnight.”
“What does that mean?”
Daniel looked toward the windows.
Outside, Chicago glittered beneath the night sky.
“The man who owns the north exit isn't trying to kill you.”
Lorenzo stared at him.
“Then what does he want?”
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“Her.”
Evelyn's stomach dropped.
“Why?”
Daniel's eyes filled with fear.
“Because she's the only person alive who can open the ledger.”
Lorenzo frowned.
“She doesn't know anything about a ledger.”
“She doesn't need to.”
“What does that mean?”
Daniel hesitated.
Then said:
“The ledger wasn't a book.”
Lorenzo went completely still.
“What was it?”
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“A child.”
Nobody spoke.
Evelyn stared at him.
“I don't understand.”
Daniel reached into his jacket.
His fingers trembled.
He pulled out a small metal pendant.
It was old.
Blackened.
Marked with a tiny silver symbol.
A circle crossed by three lines.
Evelyn recognized it instantly.
Her mother had worn one exactly like it.
She had thought it was jewelry.
Daniel held it toward her.
“Your mother gave you this the night she died.”
Evelyn touched it.
“I've never seen it before.”
“You have.”
“No.”
“It was sewn into the lining of your blanket.”
Evelyn looked at the photograph.
The baby.
The blanket.
The blue flower.
Her hands began to shake.
Daniel continued.
“Your mother didn't make that blanket just to keep you warm.”
“Then why?”
“To hide this.”
He pressed the pendant into her palm.
A tiny mechanism clicked.
The pendant opened.
Inside was a miniature key.
Lorenzo stared at it.
“What does it open?”
Daniel looked at him.
“A vault.”
“Where?”
“Under the Obsidian.”
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
“What?”
Daniel nodded.
“The original ledger has been beneath this building for twenty-three years.”
Evelyn looked around.
The restaurant.
The black marble.
The walls.
The rooms where Chicago's most powerful men had been conducting business for decades.
“All this time?”
Daniel nodded.
“Your father built the vault.”
“My father?”
“No.”
Daniel looked at Lorenzo.
“His father.”
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
“And why would my father hide the ledger here?”
“Because nobody would ever look for it in a place where everyone came to hide their secrets.”
Lorenzo stared at him.
“Who knows about it?”
Daniel's answer was barely audible.
“Celeste.”
Everyone turned.
Celeste closed her eyes.
Lorenzo looked at her.
“You knew.”
She didn't answer.
“You knew there was a vault beneath my restaurant.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew Evelyn could open it.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my brother was alive.”
Celeste's silence was enough.
Lorenzo stepped toward her.
“You betrayed me.”
Celeste looked at him.
“I tried to save you.”
“You tried to kill me.”
“I had no choice.”
“There is always a choice.”
“Not when they have your mother.”
Lorenzo stopped.
“What?”
Celeste's face went white.
“They have your mother.”
Lorenzo's eyes changed.
“My mother died.”
“No.”
Celeste whispered:
“She is alive.”
A phone began ringing.
Everyone froze.
The sound came from Evelyn's pocket.
She pulled out her phone.
Unknown number.
She answered.
No one spoke.
Then a man's voice came through.
Deep.
Calm.
Familiar.
“Hello, Evie.”
Evelyn's blood turned to ice.
“Who are you?”
A soft laugh.
“You really don't remember me?”
She looked at Daniel.
His face had gone white.
“Dad?”
He whispered:
“Hang up.”
The voice on the phone continued.
“Your father always told you never to trust strangers.”
Evelyn stared at Daniel.
The caller laughed.
“But he never told you about me.”
“Who are you?”
“I was there the night you were born.”
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
“I held you before your mother did.”
Lorenzo moved closer.
“Put it on speaker.”
Evelyn did.
The voice continued.
“Lorenzo Moretti.”
Lorenzo's expression became cold.
“You know who I am.”
“I know exactly who you are.”
“Then you know you're dead.”
Another laugh.
“No, Lorenzo.”
A pause.
“I'm the reason your brother isn't.”
Lorenzo froze.
Evelyn looked at him.
The voice continued.
“Midnight is coming.”
“What happens at midnight?”
“You open the vault.”
“And if I don't?”
“Then Chicago learns what your father did.”
Lorenzo's eyes hardened.
“And Evelyn?”
Silence.
Then:
“Evelyn doesn't get to midnight.”
The line went dead.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then every light in the Obsidian switched back on.
Bright.
Harsh.
Blinding.
The dining room was destroyed.
Broken glass covered the floor.
Blood stained the white tablecloth.
Bodies lay where people had been celebrating an engagement less than ten minutes earlier.
Lorenzo looked around.
Then at the clock.
11:55 PM.
Five minutes.
He turned to his men.
“Seal every entrance.”
Then he looked at Daniel.
“You're coming with us.”
Daniel nodded.
Lorenzo turned toward Celeste.
She stepped forward.
“Lorenzo.”
He raised his gun.
“Don't.”
She stopped.
His voice was ice.
“You're going to tell me everything.”
Celeste nodded.
“I will.”
“Later.”
He looked at Evelyn.
“Now we find the vault.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because my father said the vault is under this building.”
“Yes.”
“But if someone wants me to open it…”
She looked toward the floor.
“…then they know exactly where it is.”
Lorenzo followed her gaze.
And suddenly understood.
The attack hadn't been designed to kill him.
It had been designed to drive him underground.
Straight toward the vault.
Straight toward whatever was waiting inside.
He lowered his weapon.
“Change of plan.”
Daniel frowned.
“What?”
“We don't open the vault.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Then what do we do?”
Lorenzo stared at the clock.
11:56.
“We make them come to us.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You don't understand.”
“What?”
“The vault isn't the trap.”
Lorenzo looked at him.
Daniel's eyes moved to Evelyn.
“Evelyn is.”
A gunshot exploded from somewhere beneath the floor.
The marble cracked.
Evelyn screamed.
Lorenzo grabbed her and pulled her backward.
Another shot.
Then another.
But this time, the bullets weren't coming from outside.
They were coming from underneath them.
Lorenzo stared at the floor.
His expression changed.
“They're already in the vault.”
Daniel whispered:
“No.”
A third shot.
Then a man's voice echoed through the ventilation system.
Calm.
Amused.
Almost intimate.
“Five minutes, Evie.”
Evelyn stared at the floor.
The voice continued.
“Then I come upstairs.”
Lorenzo raised his gun.
The voice laughed.
“And when I do…”
A pause.
“…your father won't be the only dead man in this room.”
The clock moved.
11:57 PM.
May you like
Three minutes remained.
And somewhere beneath the Obsidian, a locked vault began to open from the inside.
