Chapter 5 - The Night Evelyn Disappeared Twice
Ruth moved fast.
“Basement.”
Evelyn grabbed her hospital bag.
Another knock hit the door.
Harder.
“Mrs. Moretti!”
Ruth opened a cabinet and removed a handgun.
Evelyn stared.
“You have a gun?”
“I’m sixty-one, not helpless.”
The back window shattered.
“Basement. Now.”
Evelyn moved toward the stairs.
Then pain tore through her abdomen.
She gasped.
Ruth turned.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“That wasn’t nothing.”
“Move.”
They reached the basement.
Ruth pulled aside a shelving unit.
Behind it was an old storm exit.
“You knew about this?”
“My sister married a man who believed tornadoes and the federal government were equally likely to attack.”
Under different circumstances, Evelyn might have laughed.
They crawled into the snow behind the house.
Another contraction came.
Stronger.
Evelyn stopped.
“No.”
Ruth stared.
“How far apart?”
“I don’t know.”
“You need to know.”
“This is not convenient!”
“Babies are famous for that.”
They reached an old pickup truck hidden inside a detached garage.
Ruth drove without headlights for the first half mile.
Behind them, the house glowed as intruders searched every room.
Evelyn timed the next contraction.
Nine minutes.
Then eight.
“Oh God.”
Ruth looked over.
“We’re going to a hospital.”
“No Moretti network.”
“You are in labor.”
“I’m thirty-five weeks.”
“Which makes the hospital more important, not less.”
Evelyn gripped the dashboard.
Another contraction.
Seven minutes.
Ruth accelerated.
Back in Chicago, Adrian received Celeste’s call.
“Ruth’s emergency beacon activated.”
He stood instantly.
“Where?”
“Wisconsin.”
His face changed.
“You knew where Evelyn was?”
“No. Ruth kept it compartmentalized.”
“Location.”
Celeste gave it.
Marcus entered.
Adrian grabbed his coat.
“No army.”
Marcus nodded.
“Small team.”
“No Moretti vehicles.”
“Agreed.”
“No network communication.”
Marcus stared.
“You’re learning.”
Adrian gave him a look that would once have silenced him.
Marcus almost smiled.
Within minutes, Adrian was airborne in a private medical helicopter registered through an unrelated hospital contractor.
He hated every second.
Not knowing.
Not controlling.
Not commanding Evelyn to stay somewhere.
He finally understood how much of his love had been built around preventing uncertainty.
Marriage did not work that way.
Neither did fatherhood.
Forty minutes later, Celeste called again.
“Ruth’s house was breached.”
Adrian’s face went white.
“Evelyn?”
“Gone.”
He closed his eyes.
“Again.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
The helicopter landed outside Madison.
No Evelyn.
No Ruth.
Blood inside the house.
Not Evelyn’s.
One attacker unconscious in the kitchen.
Another had fled.
Adrian stared at the empty basement.
Marcus found tire tracks.
“They escaped.”
Adrian breathed.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A nurse spoke.
“Mr. Moretti?”
His heart stopped.
“Yes.”
“Your wife asked us to call you.”
Everything inside him went silent.
“Where?”
“St. Anne’s Medical Center.”
“Is she okay?”
The nurse hesitated.
“Your wife is in premature labor.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“And my daughter?”
“Doctors are working to delay delivery.”
“I’m coming.”
The nurse lowered her voice.
“Mr. Moretti?”
“Yes?”
“Your wife said you may come.”
He froze.
Not demanded.
Not expected.
May.
“Thank you.”
He hung up.
Marcus watched him.
“What?”
“She said I can come.”
Marcus nodded.
“That matters.”
“Yes.”
It mattered more than Adrian could explain.
At the hospital, Adrian entered Evelyn’s room alone.
No guards.
No coat.
No weapon.
No empire.
She lay in bed connected to monitors.
Her face was pale.
Their daughter’s heartbeat filled the room.
Adrian stopped near the door.
Evelyn looked at him.
“You look terrible.”
His eyes filled.
“You disappeared twice in three days.”
“I’ve been busy.”
He almost laughed.
Then he saw how frightened she was.
“Can I come closer?”
Evelyn nodded.
He approached.
Did not touch her.
“The baby?”
“Stable.”
“Good.”
“Doctors think they can stop labor.”
He closed his eyes.
“Good.”
Silence.
Then Evelyn whispered:
“I know about Celeste.”
“I know.”
“And Marcus.”
His eyes opened.
“How?”
“Celeste left me a drive.”
Adrian sighed.
“Of course she did.”
“She likes contingency plans.”
“So does everyone around me apparently.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Because nobody trusts you with uncertainty.”
That hurt.
He nodded.
“I know.”
A contraction tightened.
Evelyn gasped.
Adrian instinctively reached for her hand.
Then stopped halfway.
She noticed.
After a second, she took it.
His fingers closed around hers.
Not tightly.
“Breathe,” he whispered.
“I know how to breathe.”
“I know.”
“You’re irritating.”
“I know.”
The contraction passed.
She did not release his hand.
Adrian stared at their joined fingers.
“I’m sorry.”
“For Celeste?”
“For making you believe Celeste was possible.”
Evelyn looked at him.
That was different.
He continued.
“I’m sorry you looked at photographs of me with another woman and had enough evidence from my own behavior to believe I betrayed you.”
Her eyes filled.
“I’m sorry I made you doubt your instincts.”
A tear slipped down her cheek.
“And I’m sorry I called control protection.”
She squeezed his hand.
Not forgiveness.
But not rejection.
Then Marcus entered.
His expression destroyed the moment.
“Adrian.”
“What?”
“We found Dominic.”
“Where?”
Marcus looked toward Evelyn.
“In the hospital.”
Adrian stood.
“What?”
“He arrived twenty minutes ago using fake identification.”
Evelyn’s face drained.
“Why?”
Marcus looked at the fetal monitor.
Then at Adrian.
“He isn’t here for you.”
A fire alarm suddenly erupted.
Hospital doors automatically released.
Nurses shouted in the corridor.
The lights flickered.
Adrian looked toward the hallway.
Then at Evelyn.
May you like
Dominic had not found them by accident.
He had come for the baby.
