Chapter 14 - Norah Disappears Before Sunrise
Norah read the letter at least twenty times.
Each reading made it worse.
Vittorio wasn’t the only one.
Of course he wasn’t.
An organization built over decades did not become harmless because one man was arrested.
Dominic was changing his life.
She believed that.
But could he change everyone around him?
Could he erase every enemy?
Every grudge?
Every man who remembered the Russo name?
The answer frightened her because she already knew it.
No.
Norah folded the letter and hid it inside her dresser.
For two days she said nothing.
Dominic noticed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re quiet.”
“I’m tired.”
“You’re lying.”
“I learned from the best.”
He frowned.
Norah smiled enough to end the conversation.
That night she watched Lily sleep.
The child’s dark curls spread across the pillow.
Norah loved her.
That made the decision nearly impossible.
At four in the morning, Norah packed one bag.
Clothes.
Medical records.
Cash.
The remaining ultrasound picture.
She left her phone on the dresser.
Again.
A terrible habit.
Thomas had given her the address of a small cottage he once owned in Vermont.
No one connected to Dominic knew about it.
Or so Norah believed.
She left a note.
Dominic,
I believe you want a different life. I believe you love Lily. And I believe you care about this baby.
But I don’t know if wanting change is enough to keep her safe. Someone left me a warning. Maybe it was empty. Maybe it wasn’t. I can’t risk finding out.
Please don’t follow me.
I’m sorry.
Norah
She walked out through the service entrance during shift change.
The estate no longer had the oppressive security it once did.
That was exactly why leaving was easy.
By six thirty, she was on a northbound train.
At seven, Dominic knocked on her bedroom door.
No answer.
He opened it.
Empty.
His eyes found the phone immediately.
Then the note.
Dominic read it once.
Then again.
He did not yell.
He did not break anything.
That terrified Mateo when he arrived.
“When?”
“Probably before dawn.”
“Do you want me to trace—”
“No.”
Mateo stopped.
Dominic looked at the note.
“She asked me not to follow.”
“You’re going to respect that?”
Dominic stared at him.
“No.”
“Good.”
Dominic showed Mateo the sentence.
Someone left me a warning.
“Find it.”
They searched the room.
The letter was hidden well.
But not well enough.
Dominic read it.
His expression changed.
“This came into my house.”
Mateo nodded.
“After we removed most of the staff.”
“Which means?”
“Smaller suspect pool.”
Dominic looked toward the doorway.
“Thomas.”
Mateo frowned.
“You think he did it?”
“I think he knows places Norah would run.”
They found Thomas in the garden.
Dominic held out the letter.
“Did you write this?”
Thomas read it.
“No.”
“Do you know where she is?”
Thomas’s face revealed too much.
Dominic stepped closer.
“Where?”
“I promised her I wouldn’t help you control her.”
“I’m not trying to control her.”
“You’re trying to find her against her wishes.”
“Because someone threatened her.”
Thomas looked at the letter again.
His expression changed.
“You didn’t know about this?”
“No.”
“She didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
“Damn it.”
“Where is she?”
Thomas hesitated.
Dominic’s voice softened.
“Thomas, I am not asking as her employer.”
Thomas looked at him.
“I’m asking as the father of that child.”
Silence.
Then Thomas gave him the Vermont address.
“But if she tells you to leave,” he said, “you leave.”
Dominic nodded.
“I will.”
For once, he meant it completely.
The cottage sat beside a lake surrounded by pine trees.
Norah arrived shortly after noon.
The place smelled dusty.
She opened windows.
Changed sheets.
Then sat on the edge of the bed and cried.
Leaving Lily hurt.
Leaving Dominic hurt in a different way.
A way she had refused to name.
She loved him.
The truth was inconvenient.
Terrifying.
But real.
She loved the man he was trying to become.
She did not know whether that was enough.
By evening, rain covered the lake.
Norah made tea.
At eight fifteen, headlights appeared through the trees.
Her stomach dropped.
A black SUV stopped outside.
Dominic stepped out alone.
Norah opened the door before he knocked.
“I told you not to follow me.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you here?”
He remained on the porch.
“Because the letter came from someone who had access to the estate.”
“I assumed that.”
“We identified them.”
Norah froze.
“Who?”
“Beth.”
“The housekeeper?”
“Yes.”
Norah’s heart sank.
Beth had worked at the estate for nine months.
“Why?”
“Her brother worked for Vittorio.”
“Is she dangerous?”
“No. Angry.”
“So the threat was real.”
“The threat was intended to frighten you. She admitted that.”
Norah looked away.
“It worked.”
“Yes.”
Rain darkened Dominic’s coat.
Norah stepped aside.
“Come in.”
He entered.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Then Dominic said, “You left.”
Norah looked at him.
“You sound surprised.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought things were getting better.”
“They were.”
“Then why?”
“Because better isn’t safe.”
“No.”
Dominic accepted it.
“That’s true.”
Norah stared.
“You’re not going to argue?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re right.”
She had prepared herself for a battle.
His agreement unsettled her more.
Dominic removed the wet coat.
“I came to tell you three things.”
Norah waited.
“First, Beth is gone. She turned herself in to investigators after we confronted her.”
Norah nodded.
“Second, you can stay here as long as you want.”
She blinked.
“You’re not making me return?”
“No.”
“And third?”
Dominic looked at her stomach.
“I want to be part of our daughter’s life.”
Norah’s throat tightened.
“But I’m not going to force you to live in mine.”
Silence filled the cottage.
Norah whispered, “You would let me leave?”
Dominic’s face showed the cost of the words.
“If staying with me makes you afraid every day, yes.”
That was the moment Norah realized Dominic had changed more than she understood.
The old Dominic would have secured the perimeter.
Made decisions.
Controlled outcomes.
This Dominic had driven through the rain to give her a choice.
And somehow that frightened her less than anything he had ever done.
But before she could answer, pain tightened suddenly across her abdomen.
Norah gasped.
Dominic moved instantly.
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
Another sharp tightening.
She gripped the table.
Dominic’s face went pale.
“Norah?”
She looked down.
Fear flooded her expression.
“Something’s wrong.”
May you like
And in that instant, every question about whether Dominic should stay became irrelevant.
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