Chapter 9 - THE CHILD ROSA HID
Father Brennan refused to explain until we returned to the church basement.
There, beneath decades of baptismal records, he unlocked an old steel cabinet.
Inside was a file bearing my name.
NORAH BENNETT.
I stared at him.
“Why does a priest have a file on me?”
“Because Rosa asked me to protect it.”
Gabriel stood behind me.
I opened the folder.
The first document was my birth certificate.
My mother was listed correctly:
Elaine Bennett.
Father:
Unknown.
The second document was a handwritten note.
Rosa’s handwriting.
NORAH MUST NEVER BE CONNECTED TO THE VENTURA FAMILY UNTIL CHARLES IS GONE.
My hands shook.
“What does this mean?”
Father Brennan looked toward Gabriel.
“Your mother Elaine worked for Rosa.”
“I know. That’s how Rosa watched me.”
“No.”
He paused.
“That’s what Rosa told you.”
My heart began pounding.
“Then tell me the truth.”
“Elaine helped Rosa escape.”
Gabriel moved closer.
Brennan continued.
“After the fire, Elaine hid Elias for several weeks. Years later, when you were born, Rosa returned the favor. She watched you because she considered your mother family.”
I exhaled.
For a terrifying second, I had thought Gabriel and I might somehow be related.
Gabriel seemed to have thought the same thing because his shoulders loosened.
Then Brennan added:
“But your father was connected to the Hayes organization.”
My stomach dropped again.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“You have a file!”
“Rosa removed that page.”
I stared at the missing section.
Why would she hide my father?
Gabriel took the folder.
Behind the last document was a tiny photograph.
My mother.
Young.
Standing with Paulie Moreno.
Vivian’s father.
My knees nearly gave out.
“No.”
Gabriel caught my arm.
I looked at Vivian, who had joined us minutes earlier.
Her face went white.
“Paulie had another daughter?”
“I don’t know.”
Brennan shook his head.
“The photograph proves nothing.”
But Vivian was already crying.
“My father used to talk about Elaine.”
I turned toward her.
“What did he say?”
“That she saved somebody he loved.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number again.
I answered.
Elias.
“You found Norah’s file.”
Gabriel grabbed the phone.
“How do you know?”
“I’ve been watching the people watching you.”
“Where is Rosa?”
“I found where they moved her.”
“Tell me.”
“Pier Nine. Old customs warehouse.”
Gabriel started toward the stairs.
Elias shouted through the phone:
“Don’t go yet!”
Gabriel stopped.
“Why?”
“Because that’s what they want.”
A second message arrived.
A photograph.
Rosa tied to a chair.
Alive.
Behind her stood a digital clock counting down.
And beside her, barely visible in the image, was another prisoner.
Marcus Dane.
The missing security chief.
But Marcus wasn’t threatening Rosa.
He was tied up too.
Gabriel stared at the picture.
“If Marcus isn’t the traitor…”
May you like
Elias finished the sentence.
“Then the traitor is standing much closer to you than you think.”
