Chapter 3 - The Secret Behind the Fire
By Christmas morning, Adrian Vale had stopped pretending the past was buried.
He hadn't slept.
Neither had I.
Nolan's investigators worked through the night, searching old property records, hospital files, police reports, and everything connected to Rose Mercer.
The name appeared only a handful of times.
A nursing license.
A rented apartment.
A position at St. Catherine's Children's Home.
Then nothing.
After January 1999, Rose Mercer seemed to vanish.
No employment records.
No forwarding address.
No death certificate.
Adrian stood beside his office window, watching snow fall over the garden.
"People don't simply disappear," he said.
I looked at the photograph of Lucy.
"Sometimes they do when they're hiding."
He turned toward me.
"Or when someone makes them disappear."
***
At ten that morning, Nolan entered with an envelope.
"We found the thrift store's donation records."
Adrian immediately approached.
"Who donated the coat?"
"That's the problem."
Nolan placed several documents on the desk.
"The store received a box of clothing from a storage facility that had been clearing abandoned units."
"Which facility?"
"Lakefront Storage."
"Who owned the unit?"
Nolan hesitated.
"Rose Mercer."
My breath caught.
Adrian stared at him.
"She's alive?"
"We don't know. The unit had been paid for through an automatic account for years. Payments stopped six months ago."
"Where was the account registered?"
"An address in Wisconsin."
Adrian reached for his jacket.
"Get the cars."
Nolan stepped in front of him.
"Boss, we need to be careful. Someone attacked the club last night."
"Then they can try again."
"Adrian."
It was the first time I'd heard Nolan use his first name.
"We don't know whether this is a trap."
Adrian stopped.
His expression was hard.
"Twenty-eight years, Nolan."
"I know."
"Twenty-eight years I thought she was dead."
Nolan said nothing.
Adrian turned toward me.
"You're coming."
I blinked.
"Why?"
"Because you found the locket. And because Rose Mercer may be more willing to speak to you than to me."
I thought about my apartment.
My overdue rent.
My job.
Then I looked at Lucy's photograph.
"All right."
***
We drove north through snow-covered highways.
Two black SUVs followed our car.
Nolan sat in front.
Adrian sat beside me in the back.
For almost an hour, nobody spoke.
Finally, I asked, "Why did your father want you to leave Chicago?"
Adrian looked out the window.
"He was involved with men he regretted trusting."
"Criminals?"
"Yes."
"Was Bellano one of them?"
Adrian nodded.
"My father helped build a business network. Some of it was legitimate. Some wasn't."
"What happened?"
"He wanted out."
"And Bellano didn't?"
"Men like Bellano don't believe anyone gets to walk away."
I studied him.
"Is that why you became involved?"
Adrian's expression darkened.
"After the fire, I wanted answers. Bellano's people controlled the answers."
"So you joined them?"
"For a while."
He looked down.
"Then I built something they couldn't control."
I thought about the newspapers.
The rumors.
The fear surrounding his name.
"Did it help?"
He gave a bitter smile.
"No."
***
The address led us to a small house near a frozen lake.
It was nothing like Adrian's mansion.
White siding.
A narrow porch.
A blue front door.
A bird feeder hanging beside the window.
The driveway was empty.
Nolan approached first.
He knocked.
No answer.
Adrian stepped forward.
"Rose Mercer?"
Silence.
He knocked again.
"Mrs. Mercer, my name is Adrian Vale."
A curtain moved.
Then the door opened a few inches.
An elderly woman stood behind the chain.
She had silver hair, tired eyes, and a face marked by years of worry.
When she saw Adrian, her hand flew to her mouth.
"Oh, God."
Adrian froze.
"Rose?"
She stared at him.
"You look just like your father."
His voice trembled.
"Where is my sister?"
Rose began crying.
"Please," she whispered. "You shouldn't have come."
"Is Lucy alive?"
Rose looked past him at the SUVs.
"How many men did you bring?"
"Enough."
"Then you've made a terrible mistake."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Tell me where she is."
Rose shook her head.
"If Vincent Bellano knows you're here, he'll find her."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Bellano already knows something."
Rose closed her eyes.
Then she removed the chain.
"Come inside."
***
Her living room smelled of cinnamon and old books.
Christmas cards lined the mantel.
A small tree stood beside the window.
Rose offered us tea, but nobody accepted.
She sat in an armchair, twisting a handkerchief between her fingers.
Adrian remained standing.
"Start with the fire."
Rose looked at him.
"Your father knew Bellano was going to kill him."
The room went silent.
"He discovered money missing from accounts. Payments to corrupt officials. Evidence that Bellano had ordered violence against people who refused to cooperate."
Adrian stared at her.
"My father was going to testify?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"He wanted to protect you."
Rose wiped her eyes.
"On Christmas Eve, your mother called me. She said they needed help getting Lucy out."
"Why Lucy?"
"Because Bellano had threatened her."
Adrian gripped the back of a chair.
Rose continued.
"I came through the service entrance. Your parents were packing documents. Lucy was frightened."
"What happened?"
"Your father told me to take her to St. Catherine's. He said he'd meet us there."
Rose's voice broke.
"We left before the fire started."
Adrian stared at her.
"Lucy was with you?"
Rose nodded.
"She was alive."
He closed his eyes.
For a moment, I thought he might collapse.
Then he whispered, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I tried."
Adrian opened his eyes.
"What?"
"I went to the police. Detective Samuel Bellano told me you were under protection and that contacting you would endanger Lucy."
"Samuel Bellano was Vincent's father."
"I didn't know that then."
Rose began trembling.
"He showed me photographs of the burned house. He said if I tried to find you, Lucy would be next."
Adrian turned away.
His shoulders were rigid.
"Where did you take her?"
"St. Catherine's."
"How long did she stay?"
"Three months."
"Then?"
Rose looked down.
"I arranged for her to live with a family outside Chicago."
"What family?"
Rose hesitated.
Adrian stepped toward her.
"Rose."
She raised her eyes.
"Lucy was terrified. She had nightmares every night. She kept asking when her brother was coming."
Adrian covered his mouth.
"She thought you had died too."
He slowly lowered his hand.
"Who told her that?"
"Samuel Bellano."
Silence filled the room.
Rose continued.
"Eventually, she stopped asking. The family changed her name. They moved away."
"What name?"
Rose hesitated.
Then she whispered:
"Elizabeth Harper."
***
Adrian sat down.
For the first time since I'd met him, he looked his age.
Maybe older.
"Where is Elizabeth Harper now?"
Rose shook her head.
"I don't know."
"You must have something."
"I kept letters for years. Then they stopped coming."
"Why?"
"She was eighteen. She wanted a normal life."
Adrian stared at the floor.
"Did she know I was alive?"
Rose didn't answer.
He looked up.
"Rose."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Yes."
The word seemed to strike him harder than any bullet.
"Then why didn't she come?"
Rose swallowed.
"Because someone convinced her you were responsible for the fire."
Adrian went completely still.
I felt cold.
"Who?" I asked.
Rose looked toward the window.
"Samuel Bellano."
Adrian stood.
His expression had changed from grief to something darker.
"He told my sister I killed our parents?"
Rose nodded.
"He told her you'd joined the men who set the fire."
Adrian stared at the Christmas tree.
Then he whispered:
"She thinks I'm the monster who destroyed our family."
***
Before we left, Rose gave Adrian a small wooden box.
Inside were letters, photographs, and a faded red ribbon.
"Lucy left these behind," she said.
Adrian opened the first letter.
The handwriting belonged to a child.
Dear Adrian,
I miss you. Rose says I have to be brave. I don't know where you are. I still sing our song every morning because maybe you can hear me.
Love,
Lucy.
Adrian read it twice.
Then a third time.
His hands shook.
I turned away to give him privacy.
But before he could close the box, Nolan's phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Then looked at Adrian.
"Boss, we found Elizabeth Harper."
Adrian stood.
"Where?"
Nolan swallowed.
"Chicago."
Adrian stared at him.
"She's been living in Chicago?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
Nolan looked at the screen.
"Almost twelve years."
Adrian slowly sat down again.
For twelve years, his sister had been living in the same city.
Breathing the same winter air.
Walking streets he knew.
Perhaps passing buildings he owned.
And neither of them had known.
"Where does she work?" Adrian asked.
Nolan hesitated.
"At a children's hospital."
Adrian closed his eyes.
Then Nolan added something that made all of us turn.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Elizabeth Harper has a daughter."
Adrian looked up.
May you like
Nolan's voice softened.
"Her daughter's name is Lark."
