Chapter 6 - THE KIDNAPPING THAT WASN’T A KIDNAPPING
Laya refused to move.
Not because she wasn't afraid.
Because she was.
She was terrified.
But fear had never been useful in an operating room.
It had never stopped bleeding.
It had never repaired a perforated bowel.
And it certainly wasn't going to save Elias.
“Light,” she ordered.
Dominic snapped on a flashlight.
Laya examined the wound.
“Bullet went through the shoulder.”
Elias gritted his teeth.
“Good news.”
“You're not allowed to joke while I'm working.”
“Then I'll stop talking.”
She cleaned the wound and wrapped it.
“Where's the bullet?”
Dominic looked.
“Through the wall.”
“Fine.”
Laya stood.
“Your brother needs antibiotics and observation.”
Gabriel nodded.
Then he looked at the photograph.
“You said the target was Laya.”
Dominic's expression changed.
“Why?”
Gabriel handed him the photograph.
Dominic read the message.
He looked at Laya.
“Because they don't want her dead.”
“Then what do they want?”
Gabriel answered.
“The ledger.”
Laya stared at him.
“I don't have a ledger.”
“You may.”
“I would know.”
“Not necessarily.”
He stepped closer.
“Your mother could have hidden it in something you carried your entire life.”
Laya shook her head.
“No.”
“Think.”
She tried.
Her mother's apartment.
Boxes.
Old clothes.
A wooden jewelry case.
A blue suitcase.
A stuffed rabbit.
A silver locket.
She suddenly stopped.
“The locket.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“What locket?”
“My mother gave it to me when I was sixteen.”
“Where is it?”
“At my apartment.”
Dominic swore.
“Someone could already be there.”
Gabriel turned.
“We're going.”
Laya grabbed his arm.
“You are not driving anywhere.”
“I'll be fine.”
“You just had surgery.”
“And you just became the most valuable person in Chicago.”
She stared at him.
“I hate when you say things like that.”
“I know.”
They left the safe room.
The mansion was strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
No guards.
No gunfire.
No alarms.
Laya followed Gabriel through the east wing.
“You said the attackers were gone.”
“They were.”
“Why?”
“Because they got what they came for.”
“They didn't get me.”
Gabriel stopped.
“Exactly.”
A cold realization moved through her.
“What if the whole attack was designed to force us out?”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Then we shouldn't go home.”
“Exactly.”
For a moment, they simply stared at each other.
Then Gabriel smiled.
“What?”
“You just saved us.”
“I've been saving you all night.”
“I noticed.”
The words should have irritated her.
Instead, something unfamiliar moved through her chest.
She pushed it away.
“This doesn't change anything.”
“I know.”
“You're still a criminal.”
“I know.”
“You still kidnapped me.”
“I know.”
“You still owe me a door.”
“I'll buy you ten.”
“One.”
“One.”
They reached the garage.
Dominic opened the SUV.
Laya stopped.
“No.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“What?”
“Too obvious.”
She pointed toward a small black sedan.
“That's better.”
Dominic shook his head.
“Boss, no.”
“She's right.”
He walked toward the sedan.
Dominic followed.
“I'm coming.”
“No.”
“I'm coming.”
Gabriel stared at him.
Then nodded.
They drove toward Chicago using back roads.
Laya sat beside Gabriel in the back seat.
His face was pale.
She checked his pulse.
“You're running a fever.”
“I'm aware.”
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because you checked my pulse without me asking.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Don't make this weird.”
“Too late.”
She looked out the window.
The city appeared through rain-streaked glass.
For a few minutes, neither spoke.
Then Gabriel said, “You should know something.”
“What?”
“If we find the ledger, I will destroy it.”
She turned.
“Why?”
“Because people will kill for it.”
“Then why not give it to the police?”
“Because half the police are named in it.”
“Federal agents?”
“Some of them too.”
She frowned.
“Then what are we supposed to do?”
“Survive.”
“That isn't a plan.”
“It has worked for me.”
She studied him.
“Your entire life is built around surviving.”
“Yes.”
“Doesn't that get exhausting?”
His expression changed.
“Yes.”
It was the first honest answer she had heard from him that had nothing to do with power.
They reached Logan Square.
Laya's building looked dark.
Too dark.
She grabbed Gabriel's arm.
“Stop.”
Dominic braked.
“Why?”
“My neighbor always leaves the porch light on.”
Gabriel looked.
The building was black.
Every window.
Every floor.
“Someone cut the power,” Dominic said.
They stayed inside the car.
Gabriel called a number.
No answer.
Laya whispered, “We can't go in.”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Gabriel looked at her.
“You have another place?”
“No.”
He thought.
Then he reached into his pocket and handed her a key.
“To what?”
“My old apartment.”
“You have an old apartment?”
“Everyone needs somewhere to disappear.”
They drove again.
Twenty minutes later, they stopped outside a modest brick building.
Gabriel opened the door himself.
The apartment was nothing like his mansion.
Small.
Quiet.
Almost ordinary.
Laya stared.
“You lived here?”
“Before my father died.”
She walked inside.
There were books.
A worn couch.
A piano.
Photographs.
No marble.
No guards.
No luxury.
This was the first place she had seen that looked like Gabriel belonged to himself.
He noticed her staring.
“This is the only place I ever felt normal.”
She turned.
“Why did you leave?”
“My father died.”
“Did you kill him?”
Gabriel looked at her.
“No.”
“Did Elias?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Gabriel sat down slowly.
“I don't know.”
Laya sat opposite him.
“You think Pendleton knows.”
“Yes.”
“Then why hasn't he told you?”
“Because he wants something.”
“The ledger.”
Gabriel nodded.
Laya reached into her bag.
She had forgotten about the black phone.
It was still there.
The screen lit up.
A message appeared.
LOOK UNDER THE PIANO.
Laya stared.
Gabriel stood.
They moved toward the piano.
Underneath was a small envelope.
Inside was a key.
And a note in handwriting Laya recognized instantly.
Her mother's.
Laya unfolded it.
If you are reading this, they found you.
Do not trust the man who saved you.
Do not trust the man who wants you dead.
Trust the one who has nothing left to lose.
Laya looked at Gabriel.
“What does it mean?”
He didn't answer.
Because the piano began playing by itself.
One note.
Then another.
Then a hidden compartment opened beneath the keyboard.
Inside was a black leather ledger.
And a photograph of Laya's mother standing beside a teenage Gabriel.
On the back of the photograph were five words.
HE WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE.
Helena took one step forward.
Laya could not move.
For twenty-two years, she had imagined this moment a thousand different ways.
In none of them did her mother look afraid.
But Helena did.
“Laya.”
Her voice broke.
Laya walked toward her.
Then stopped.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I know.”
“You watched me grow up from a distance.”
“Yes.”
“You let me mourn you.”
Helena began to cry.
“I thought it was the only way.”
Laya's anger finally broke through.
“You don't get to decide that for me.”
“I know.”
Gabriel stood back.
He understood that this moment belonged to them.
Laya looked at her mother.
“Why did you hide Lena?”
“I didn't.”
“Then who did?”
“Your grandfather.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed twins were a weakness.”
Helena looked at Gabriel.
“He believed one child could be controlled.”
“And the other?”
“Used as leverage.”
Laya swallowed.
“Where was Lena?”
“In a private facility.”
“Which one?”
“Outside New York.”
Laya looked at the photographs.
“What did they do to her?”
“Nothing you would see.”
“That isn't an answer.”
Helena sighed.
“They changed her identity.”
“Why?”
“To make her disappear.”
Gabriel's voice was quiet.
“And Pendleton?”
“He helped.”
Laya turned.
“My chief helped steal my sister?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Money.”
Helena opened her coat.
Inside was a small metal case.
She handed it to Laya.
“This contains the original records.”
Laya opened it.
Birth certificates.
Hospital logs.
Photographs.
A blood sample.
And one sealed envelope.
She opened it.
Inside was a list of names.
At the bottom:
ARTHUR PENDLETON — PRIMARY FACILITATOR.
Laya's hands shook.
“He's been lying to me my entire career.”
“Yes.”
“Why did he let me become a doctor?”
“Because he needed you inside Mercy.”
“For what?”
Helena looked at Gabriel.
“The archive.”
“What archive?”
“The one beneath the original operating theater.”
Gabriel went still.
“My father built it.”
“Yes.”
“What is inside?”
“The truth.”
Laya almost laughed.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Helena looked at her.
“This time, I mean it.”
A siren sounded outside.
Dominic entered.
“Police.”
Gabriel's expression changed.
“Whose?”
“All of them.”
Laya looked at Helena.
“Pendleton.”
“Yes.”
“He knows we're here.”
“Yes.”
“Then we leave.”
Helena shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because the archive is the only place where we can stop him.”
Gabriel stared at her.
“You want to go back into the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“With police surrounding it?”
“Yes.”
“That's suicide.”
Helena looked at Laya.
“Not if she opens the door.”
Laya frowned.
“Why me?”
“Because the archive was designed to open for your blood.”
Silence.
Gabriel stepped closer.
“You knew.”
Helena looked at him.
“I knew your grandfather feared what Laya would become.”
“What did he fear?”
“That she would expose him.”
Laya closed the case.
“Then let's expose him.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“You understand what you're asking?”
“Yes.”
“Once we do this, there is no going back.”
Laya met his eyes.
“I've already lost the life I thought I had.”
May you like
She took her mother's hand.
“I'm not losing the truth too.”
