Chapter 3 - THE NAME SHE NEVER TOLD HIM
Norah stood motionless inside the employee locker room.
Who you really are.
The words shouldn't have frightened her.
But they did.
Because Norah Bennett wasn't the name printed on her birth certificate.
Five years earlier, she'd legally changed her last name after her father disappeared under circumstances the police called an unfortunate accident.
His original name was Thomas Whitmore.
He had been a financial investigator.
And the last company he'd been auditing before his disappearance belonged to the Russo family.
Norah folded Elliot's note and slipped it into her shoe.
Then she opened her locker.
Her purse was missing.
In its place sat a small white envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
It showed Norah standing outside her mother's apartment that morning.
On the back, someone had written:
Your father should have stayed quiet.
A cold sensation crawled up her spine.
The locker room door opened.
Frank, the floor manager, stepped inside.
“Norah? Someone's waiting for you at the service exit.”
“Who?”
“He didn't say.”
Norah looked at the photograph.
Then at the hallway.
“Tell him I'm changing.”
Frank frowned.
“You okay?”
“Fine.”
But she wasn't.
She waited until his footsteps disappeared, then slipped through the laundry corridor and headed toward the hotel's front entrance.
Halfway there, her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
Do not use the front doors.
Another message appeared.
Two men are waiting. Gray coats. One has a scar beneath his left eye.
Norah stopped.
She looked toward the lobby.
Through the glass partition, she could see two men.
Gray coats.
One with a visible scar.
Her phone rang.
She answered.
“Who is this?”
A familiar deep voice replied.
“It's Elliot.”
“How did you get my number?”
“Your employee file was left open at the manager's station.”
“Elliot, what's happening?”
Silence.
Then:
“My brother has a private security team. They're not employed by my father.”
Norah swallowed.
“Why are they following me?”
“I think it has something to do with your father.”
Her knees almost gave way.
“What do you know about my father?”
Elliot hesitated.
“I found his photograph in Enzo's locked office.”
Norah pressed a hand against the wall.
“And?”
May you like
Elliot's next words made her forget how to breathe.
“Norah, the photograph was taken three months ago.”
