Chapter 3 - THE HUSBAND WHO KNEW WHERE WE WERE
By midnight, Amelia and her children were inside a warm hotel suite overlooking the Chicago River.
Lily slept beneath a thick blanket.
Caleb had eaten two bowls of soup.
Nolan sat near the window, refusing to remove his shoes.
Gabriel stood beside the door.
“You're safe here for tonight.”
Amelia folded her arms.
“That's what everyone keeps saying.”
He looked at her.
“And nobody's made you believe it?”
She didn't answer.
Gabriel nodded.
“Then I won't ask you to believe me yet.”
He left her with contact information for a domestic violence advocate, a lawyer, and hotel security.
Before leaving, he crouched beside Nolan.
“You did a good job looking after your brother and sister.”
Nolan's face hardened.
“I didn't do enough.”
Gabriel studied him.
“That's not true.”
The boy looked away.
“Dad said if we left, he'd make Mom sorry.”
Gabriel's expression changed.
“Did he threaten you too?”
Nolan nodded slightly.
Amelia felt her chest tighten.
She hadn't known Troy had said that to him.
Gabriel didn't push.
Instead, he told Nolan, “You're eleven. Keeping everyone safe isn't supposed to be your job.”
For the first time that night, Nolan looked like a child again.
After Gabriel left, Amelia locked the door.
She showered Lily, helped Caleb into pajamas, and finally convinced Nolan to sleep.
Then she sat on the edge of the bed and checked her phone.
Forty-three missed calls.
Twenty-seven messages.
All from Troy.
The newest read:
You stole my children.
Amelia stared at it.
They were her children too.
She had spent years enduring Troy's temper because he convinced her she couldn't survive without him.
Now she was beginning to understand that he needed her to believe that.
Her phone rang again.
Unknown number.
She hesitated.
Then answered.
“Hello?”
A woman's voice whispered:
“Amelia Carter?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Rebecca Hayes. I used to work for your husband.”
Amelia sat upright.
“What do you want?”
“To warn you.”
Her heart hammered.
“About what?”
Rebecca's breathing sounded uneven.
“Troy isn't trying to bring you home because he misses you.”
Amelia closed her eyes.
“Then why?”
“Because you have something he needs.”
“I don't have anything.”
A pause.
Then Rebecca whispered:
“Yes, you do. Your mother's bracelet.”
Amelia looked down at her wrist.
The silver rose.
The faded clasp.
The tiny engraving.
“Why would Troy want this?”
Rebecca's voice cracked.
“Because his father spent seventeen years trying to find it.”
Amelia swallowed.
“What does it mean?”
Rebecca hesitated.
May you like
Then whispered:
“Your mother hid the evidence of Sofia Moretti's disappearance inside that bracelet.”
