Chapter 13 - THE LAST BETRAYAL
The command vehicle's rear door slammed shut.
An engine roared.
Detective Raymond Cole had realized his cover was blown.
He accelerated toward the highway.
“Stop that vehicle!” an agent shouted.
Two patrol cars immediately followed.
Norah watched the taillights vanish into the darkness.
But her attention returned to the chapel.
Her father was coming down the steps.
Thomas Whitmore looked older than she remembered.
His shoulders were thinner.
His hair had turned gray.
Yet when he saw her, his face crumpled.
“Norah?”
She ran into his arms.
“Dad!”
He held her so tightly she could barely breathe.
“My little girl.”
For five years, she'd imagined this moment.
Sometimes she had dreamed of it.
Other times, she'd been furious at herself for hoping.
Now he was real.
Warm.
Alive.
Her mother emerged behind him.
Norah pulled her into the embrace.
“I thought I'd lost both of you.”
Rebecca sobbed.
“We're here, sweetheart.”
Nearby, Elliot sat beside Isabella on the chapel steps.
Dominic stood several feet away.
He was afraid to approach.
Finally, Isabella looked up at him.
“Dominic.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I thought you were dead.”
She watched him for a long moment.
“You believed Enzo's story.”
Dominic lowered his head.
“Yes.”
“And you never looked hard enough.”
“No.”
Isabella's expression was filled with grief.
“I lost fifteen years with my youngest son.”
Dominic began crying openly.
“I know.”
But Elliot spoke before his father could apologize again.
“Mom, we don't have to decide everything tonight.”
Isabella looked at him.
Then smiled.
“You're right, sweetheart.”
An agent approached.
“We have another development. Detective Cole has been detained.”
Norah exhaled shakily.
“And Enzo?”
The agent hesitated.
“He's missing.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“He won't run far.”
Everyone turned.
“Why?” Dominic asked.
Thomas reached inside his jacket and removed a sealed envelope he'd managed to keep hidden.
“Because Enzo isn't only afraid of prison.”
He handed the envelope to Elliot.
Inside was an old photograph.
It showed Enzo standing beside an elegant woman wearing a diamond necklace.
On the back was a handwritten name.
Victoria Hale.
Dominic's face changed.
“I know her.”
Thomas nodded.
“She's the person who financed his operation.”
Norah frowned.
“Who is she?”
Dominic stared at the photograph.
Then whispered:
“My former business partner.”
May you like
He swallowed.
“And the woman who told me Isabella had died.”
