Chapter 13 - The Babysitter's Real Secret
I had hated Mrs. Higgins for taking my baby to see Daniel without telling me.
Now I was standing outside a hospital room, learning that she'd risked her life to keep him alive.
Detective Mitchell met me in the hallway.
"Norah, before you see Daniel, there's something you need to understand."
I stopped.
"What?"
"Margaret Higgins originally accepted money from Gregory."
My stomach tightened.
"So she was working for him."
"At first."
I closed my eyes.
Mitchell continued.
"Gregory paid her to monitor you and Sam. But when she realized he intended to use your child as leverage, she contacted a police investigator."
I stared.
"Then why didn't she tell me?"
"Investigators were trying to protect an ongoing operation. However, Mrs. Higgins also made decisions without authorization, including taking Sam to meet Daniel."
My throat tightened.
"She should have told me."
"You're right. Your anger is understandable."
I looked through the small window in Daniel's hospital door.
He was sitting upright.
A bandage covered his forehead.
His right arm rested in a sling.
But he was alive.
My knees weakened.
Mitchell touched my shoulder.
"He's been asking for you."
I couldn't breathe.
"Can I go in?"
She nodded.
I opened the door.
Daniel turned.
For one second, neither of us moved.
Then his eyes filled with tears.
"Norah."
I covered my mouth.
He looked thinner.
Older.
There were shadows beneath his eyes that hadn't been there when we'd met.
But it was him.
The man who used to kiss my forehead before work.
The man who sang to our unborn baby.
The man I'd loved.
"Daniel," I whispered.
He tried to stand.
I hurried toward him.
"Don't. You're hurt."
He stopped.
Then began crying.
"I'm sorry."
I shook my head.
"Don't."
"Norah—"
"Don't apologize until I understand why you left."
He nodded.
Tears streamed down his face.
I sat beside the bed.
"Why didn't you come home?"
Daniel swallowed.
"Gregory told me he'd hurt you if I did."
My chest tightened.
"He had photographs of you. Your apartment. The grocery store where you worked before L'Osteria."
I stared.
"And you believed him?"
"Yes."
He looked ashamed.
"I believed that staying away would keep you safe."
I wiped my face.
"It didn't."
"I know."
"Daniel, I was pregnant. I was terrified. I thought you stopped loving me."
His face crumpled.
"I never stopped."
He reached toward me.
Then hesitated.
"Can I hold your hand?"
I stared at him.
After everything we'd been through, he was still asking permission.
Slowly, I placed my hand in his.
He began crying harder.
"I wanted to come home every single day."
I swallowed.
"Then why were you photographed holding Sam?"
"Mrs. Higgins arranged a brief meeting because I begged to know whether he was healthy. She thought I was safe that day."
I stared.
"And Gregory found out?"
Daniel nodded.
"He'd been tracking her. He arrived before I could leave."
My heart ached.
"Why didn't you tell me afterward?"
"Because Gregory threatened you again."
I closed my eyes.
For a long moment, I couldn't speak.
Then Daniel whispered, "I don't expect you to forgive me immediately."
I looked at him.
"Good."
He nodded.
"Because I know how much I hurt you."
I squeezed his hand.
"I'm glad you're alive."
His eyes filled.
"But that doesn't erase eight months."
"I know."
I swallowed.
"Sam deserves a father. But I need time to decide what that means for us."
Daniel nodded again.
"I'll earn your trust back. However long it takes."
The door opened.
Ethan stood there.
He looked at his brother.
Daniel looked back.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Ethan whispered, "Danny."
Daniel's face crumpled.
"Ethan."
His older brother approached the bed.
"I'm sorry."
Daniel looked down.
"I tried to warn you."
"I know."
"You wouldn't listen."
Ethan's voice broke.
"I know."
Then he embraced Daniel carefully.
Two grown men, both crying.
For a moment, I saw the little boys in the photograph.
The brothers who had once promised never to abandon each other.
Afterward, Ethan stepped back.
"There's something I need to tell you."
Daniel frowned.
"What?"
"I turned over the entire archive to investigators."
His younger brother stared.
"Everything?"
Ethan nodded.
"Even the records that implicate me."
Daniel's eyes widened.
"Why?"
Ethan looked toward me.
Then answered.
"Because I finally understand what you were trying to tell me."
A quiet smile crossed Daniel's face.
But before either man could say more, Detective Mitchell entered.
Her expression was serious.
"We've located Gregory Davis."
My heart pounded.
"Where?"
"At O'Hare. He was attempting to leave the country using fraudulent documents."
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"Did you arrest him?"
Mitchell nodded.
"He's in custody."
Relief washed over me.
Then she continued.
"Gregory has requested an attorney and indicated he may cooperate."
I stared.
"Cooperate about what?"
"About the financial scheme and the people who helped him."
The detective paused.
"And Norah, Gregory made one claim we need to verify."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"He says the three hundred dollars he withheld from you wasn't simply unpaid wages."
I stared.
"Then what was it?"
Mitchell looked directly into my eyes.
"He claims he was ordered to make sure you came to L'Osteria that night."
"Ordered by whom?"
She hesitated.
"Someone with access to Ethan's private schedule."
May you like
And suddenly, the question became terrifying.
Who had known exactly when I would collapse in front of Chicago's most feared mafia boss?
