Chapter 13 - THE DAUGHTER HE NEVER KNEW EXISTED
Jack Moretti had faced armed enemies without blinking.
But the sight of a little girl on an old recording nearly brought him to his knees.
“She was born while Isabella was in hiding,” he whispered.
Rocco examined the medical documents.
“There's a sealed birth certificate.”
Jack looked up.
“Name?”
“Grace Moretti.”
A silence followed.
Then Jack closed his eyes.
“Grace.”
I watched him struggle to control his breathing.
He'd lost his wife.
He'd buried his brother.
He'd believed his father dead.
And now he was learning that somewhere in the world, he had a daughter.
“How old would she be?” I asked.
“Four,” Rocco replied.
Jack opened his eyes.
“Find her.”
Rocco nodded.
But I noticed another document on the screen.
A relocation record.
Grace had been placed in a private foster arrangement under an assumed name.
The address was in northern Illinois.
Then a more recent record appeared.
TRANSFER AUTHORIZED BY SAMUEL PRICE.
Date: yesterday.
My heart dropped.
“He has her.”
Jack's expression changed.
Not into rage.
Into something colder.
Decision.
“Rocco, get everyone you trust.”
Rocco left immediately.
I stepped beside Jack.
“We'll find her.”
He looked at me.
“You've already risked too much.”
“So have you.”
“Lily—”
“Noah is still missing. Isabella is my sister. Your daughter is out there. And Price thinks we're all pieces he can move around.”
I swallowed.
“He's wrong.”
Jack looked at me for a long moment.
Then gently touched my cheek.
“You're the strongest person I've met in years.”
I shook my head.
“I'm scared all the time.”
“Strength isn't the absence of fear.”
His eyes held mine.
“It's what you do while you're afraid.”
My throat tightened.
For years, Ethan had taught me to shrink.
To hide my scars.
To apologize for taking up space.
Now Jack stood before me, not asking me to disappear, but trusting me to stand beside him.
The moment ended when Rocco returned.
“We've confirmed Price's location.”
“Where?”
“The old federal courthouse. He's holding Isabella, Noah, Grace, and Thomas Bennett.”
My body went cold.
“All of them?”
Rocco nodded.
“And we intercepted a message. Price plans to move them before dawn.”
Jack reached for his coat.
“Then we're going now.”
Before we left, I took the silver bird pendant and slipped it around my neck.
It had belonged to my father.
It had hidden a lifetime of lies.
Tonight, it would help end them.
Twenty minutes later, we approached the abandoned courthouse.
Then my phone rang.
The screen showed my father's number.
I answered.
“Dad?”
His voice shook.
“Lily, listen to me. Whatever happens, do not come inside.”
“Dad, Noah is there!”
“I know.”
“Then why—”
He interrupted me.
“Because Price isn't the one in charge.”
My breath stopped.
“Who is?”
For a moment, I heard only his breathing.
Then he whispered.
“Anthony Moretti is waiting for Jack.”
A gunshot sounded.
May you like
The call went dead.
And every light in the courthouse went out.
