Chapter 1 - THE LITTLE GIRL'S QUESTION
“Mommy, why does that car keep following us?”
Five-year-old Lily Carter asked the question just as a tall stranger stepped out of a black SUV.
Amelia's blood turned cold.
She looked toward the sedan parked twenty feet away. Its headlights were off, but its engine was running. Through the windshield, she could make out two silhouettes.
The car had been outside their apartment that afternoon.
She was certain of it now.
“Lily, sweetheart, come closer.”
Lily pressed against her mother's leg.
The stranger approached slowly, his black wool coat moving in the icy wind. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and probably in his late thirties. Two other men emerged from the SUV but remained near it.
“Ma'am,” he said, his voice deep and controlled, “is that vehicle bothering you?”
Amelia tightened her grip on the children's duffel bags.
“We're fine.”
The stranger looked at Nolan's trembling shoulders, Caleb's pale cheeks, and Lily's cracked lips.
“No,” he said quietly. “You're not.”
Nolan immediately stepped in front of his mother.
“We don't need anything.”
The stranger stopped.
Then, surprisingly, he crouched to Nolan's height.
“Fair enough.”
Nolan blinked.
“Who are you?”
“Gabriel Moretti.”
Amelia recognized the name.
Everyone in Chicago did.
Gabriel Moretti controlled shipping terminals, construction companies, luxury properties, and a criminal organization people discussed only behind closed doors.
At thirty-nine, he was one of the most feared Mafia bosses in the Midwest.
And he was standing in front of her three freezing children.
Lily tugged at Amelia's coat.
“Mommy?”
“Yes, baby?”
The little girl looked directly at Gabriel.
Then asked the question that changed everything.
“Mister, are you one of the bad men Daddy sent?”
Gabriel's expression changed.
Not dramatically.
But Amelia saw it.
His eyes sharpened.
He slowly looked toward the parked sedan.
“Who's your daddy, sweetheart?”
Amelia immediately pulled Lily closer.
“Please don't question my daughter.”
Gabriel nodded.
“You're right. I'm sorry.”
He stood.
Then he spoke quietly to one of his men.
“Get the license plate. Don't approach them.”
The sedan's headlights suddenly flashed.
Its engine roared.
And it sped away.
Amelia's heart hammered.
Gabriel watched it disappear.
Then he turned toward her.
“Ma'am, you and your children need somewhere warm.”
“We can manage.”
Lily's knees suddenly buckled.
Amelia caught her before she fell.
“Lily!”
The little girl's face had gone frighteningly pale.
Gabriel immediately removed his coat.
“She's dangerously cold. There's a heated vehicle behind me, and I can call an ambulance.”
Amelia hesitated for only a second.
Then she nodded.
“Please.”
Within minutes, the children were warming inside the SUV while Gabriel's driver contacted emergency medical services.
Amelia held Lily against her chest.
“Stay with Mommy.”
Lily opened her eyes.
“I'm okay.”
But Gabriel wasn't watching Lily.
He was staring at the faded silver bracelet around Amelia's wrist.
A tiny engraved rose hung from its clasp.
His face went completely white.
“Where did you get that?”
Amelia frowned.
“My mother gave it to me.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“What was her name?”
“Eleanor Carter.”
His breath caught.
May you like
Then he whispered:
“That bracelet belonged to my sister. And my sister died seventeen years ago.”
