CHAPTER 4 — The Ledger Written in Blood
The pistol never fired.
Before Eleanor could squeeze the trigger...
A deafening crack echoed through the wine cellar.
A bullet shattered the light fixture above her head.
Glass exploded across the floor.
Gabriel stood in the doorway, a smoking handgun steady in his hand.
His gray eyes never left Eleanor.
"Drop it."
For the first time in twelve years...
The loyal housekeeper looked afraid.
The pistol slipped from her fingers.
Metal clattered against the stone floor.
Two guards rushed forward, forcing her to her knees.
Claire still clutched the old leather ledger against her chest.
Her hands were shaking so violently she almost dropped it.
Gabriel took the book slowly.
Every page carried names.
Bank transfers.
Shipping routes.
Secret meetings.
Then...
He reached the page marked in red.
Payment Received: $3,000,000.
Recipient: Eleanor Briggs.
Reason: Delivery of Child to the Moretti Organization.
His breathing stopped.
"What child?"
Nobody answered.
Gabriel looked down at Eleanor.
"What child?"
She smiled.
Not because she was brave.
Because she had finally accepted she wasn't leaving alive.
"You really never knew."
Gabriel grabbed her by the collar.
"My daughter?"
"No."
Eleanor laughed softly.
"Someone much more valuable."
Claire's heart pounded.
Gabriel's grip tightened.
Eleanor whispered,
"Your wife's sister."
Silence.
Claire stared at her.
"My... mother?"
Eleanor nodded.
"Margaret Donnelly was supposed to disappear thirty years ago."
Gabriel slowly released her.
His entire world had begun collapsing.
"You lied to Isabella."
"I lied to everyone."
"You sold a child."
"I followed orders."
Gabriel's voice became frighteningly calm.
"Whose orders?"
Eleanor looked directly at Claire.
"You've already met her."
Claire frowned.
"I don't understand."
Eleanor smiled.
"You call her Vivian."
Claire's blood turned to ice.
Vivian Chase.
The woman who had sent her here.
The woman who had somehow known Claire would succeed.
The woman who had insisted she accept the job.
It had never been about Lily.
Claire had been brought into the penthouse...
On purpose.
Upstairs...
Lily suddenly screamed.
Not from fear.
From memory.
"They're taking Mommy!"
Claire sprinted toward the bedroom.
By the time she reached Lily...
The little girl was sitting upright in bed.
Eyes wide open.
Looking directly at Gabriel.
"Daddy..."
Gabriel froze.
It was the first time she'd called him that since the shooting.
Then Lily whispered something that shattered the room.
May you like
"The lady with the diamonds..."
"...opened the door."
