Chapter 1 - The Man Who Refused to Look Away
"Take your hand off her."
Emmett Castellano didn't raise his voice.
He didn't need to.
Cade Branick slowly turned toward the man standing beside Adeline's reception desk.
"Who the hell are you?"
Emmett glanced at the fist gripping Adeline's green vest.
"The man who just bought this building. And you're trespassing."
Cade laughed.
"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
"Yes. A man who thinks putting his hands on a frightened woman makes him powerful."
Adeline could barely breathe.
Cade's grip had tightened around her collar, pressing the fabric against her throat.
Emmett noticed.
His expression changed.
"Last warning."
Cade sneered.
"Or what?"
Emmett looked toward the security desk.
"Denny. Call the police."
Denny Kirkwood froze.
Cade's smile disappeared.
"Don't be ridiculous. This is a private disagreement."
"Then you can explain it privately to your attorney."
Emmett stepped closer.
Cade finally released Adeline.
She stumbled backward, catching herself against the desk.
Her chest heaved as she tried to breathe.
Emmett immediately turned toward her.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
But when she tried to answer, only a strained gasp came out.
His face hardened.
"Call an ambulance too."
Cade stepped backward.
"You're making a mistake, Castellano."
Emmett looked at him.
"Funny. That's exactly what men like you always say when someone finally stops them."
Two security officers approached from the elevators.
Cade glanced toward the revolving door.
Emmett noticed.
"Stay right there."
Cade suddenly lunged toward Adeline's desk.
Not toward her.
Toward the drawer beneath the telephone.
Adeline's heart stopped.
The memory card.
He knew.
One of Emmett's men intercepted Cade before he reached the counter.
The struggle lasted only seconds.
Cade was restrained, shouting threats about lawyers and consequences.
Emmett ignored him.
He knelt beside Adeline.
"Miss Vance, look at me."
She lifted her eyes.
His voice softened.
"You're safe right now. Help is coming."
For three years, Adeline had imagined someone confronting Sterling Dunore's men.
She had never imagined a stranger would do it without demanding anything in return.
Then Emmett noticed something.
A thin silver chain had slipped from beneath her blouse.
Attached was a tiny oval pendant.
His expression changed.
"Where did you get that?"
Adeline instinctively covered it.
"It belonged to my father."
Emmett stared at the pendant.
A small letter was engraved on its surface.
C.
His breathing changed.
"What was your father's name?"
Adeline hesitated.
She had hidden that name for three years.
But something about Emmett's expression made lying impossible.
"Samuel Caruso."
Emmett went completely still.
The name seemed to strike him harder than any weapon.
He looked toward his wristwatch.
The hands remained frozen at 9:40.
May you like
Then he whispered something Adeline would never forget.
"Your father was the man who saved my mother thirty years ago."
