Chapter 2 - The Man Behind the Monster
For the next thirty days, Norah Bennett learned the rules of the Gallow estate.
There were many.
Too many.
She was not allowed into the West Wing.
She was not allowed to ask why armed men came and went at all hours.
She was not allowed to leave the property after midnight unless Gabriel approved it.
And most importantly:
She was not allowed to be curious.
Unfortunately for Gabriel Gallow, curiosity had always been one of Norah’s worst habits.
Especially when it involved her patient.
Rosa Gallow was declining.
Every day, dementia stole another piece of the woman she had been.
Some days, Rosa remembered Norah’s name.
Some days, she called her by the name of a childhood friend.
Some days, she believed she was back in the house where she raised Gabriel.
But no matter what reality Rosa lived in, one thing remained constant.
She trusted Norah.
And Gabriel noticed.
He noticed everything.
Norah first realized this one night when she entered Rosa’s room after finishing her rounds.
Gabriel was sitting beside his mother’s bed.
Not working.
Not making calls.
Not drinking.
Just sitting.
Watching her sleep.
Norah stopped at the doorway.
She had seen Gabriel threaten men twice his size.
She had seen guards straighten their backs when he walked past.
But she had never seen this version of him.
A tired son.
A frightened son.
“You know,” Norah said quietly, “most people sit with their loved ones without pretending they’re guarding a prisoner.”
Gabriel looked up.
“You always talk like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re not afraid of consequences.”
Norah walked inside.
“I’m a nurse.”
“That explains nothing.”
“It explains everything.”
She adjusted Rosa’s blanket.
“People die around nurses all the time. We learn quickly that fear doesn’t help anyone.”
Gabriel stared at her.
“You think I’m afraid?”
“I think you’re exhausted.”
His expression changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
“You don’t know me.”
“No.”
Norah checked Rosa’s monitor.
“But I know people.”
Gabriel leaned back.
“And what does that tell you?”
“That you haven’t slept properly in years.”
A humorless smile crossed his face.
“You diagnose everyone?”
“Only people who make it obvious.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Rosa moved.
Both of them immediately turned.
The reaction was automatic.
Norah noticed.
Gabriel noticed her noticing.
“She’s everything to you.”
The words came softly.
Gabriel looked at his mother.
“She was the only person who ever believed I could become something better.”
Norah said nothing.
Because for the first time, Gabriel wasn’t the man everyone feared.
He was simply a son who was losing his mother.
---
Three nights later, everything changed.
At 2:15 in the morning, Norah woke to screaming.
Not normal confusion.
Fear.
Real fear.
She rushed into Rosa’s room.
The older woman was fighting against the blankets.
“They’re coming!”
Her eyes were wide.
“Antonio! Hide him!”
Norah moved quickly.
“Rosa, look at me. You’re safe.”
But Rosa didn’t see her.
She saw another time.
Another place.
Another danger.
“They killed him!”
Her breathing became frantic.
“They killed my husband!”
Norah reached for her hand.
“Rosa, listen to my voice.”
But Rosa grabbed the IV line.
Norah moved quickly.
“Rosa, no.”
The door suddenly opened.
Gabriel rushed inside.
His jacket was gone.
A weapon was visible beneath his shirt.
His eyes immediately went to his mother.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
Norah kept her voice calm.
“She’s having an episode.”
Gabriel stepped forward.
“Ma.”
Rosa froze.
Then slowly looked at him.
And her expression changed.
“Gabriel?”
Relief crossed his face.
“Yes.”
Then came the sentence that destroyed him.
“You killed him.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Norah watched Gabriel’s face change.
Not anger.
Not denial.
Pain.
“What did you say?”
Rosa stared at him.
“You took your father from me.”
Gabriel looked like someone had physically hit him.
His hands dropped.
His confidence disappeared.
Norah immediately understood.
This wasn’t about dementia.
Not completely.
There was history here.
“Gabriel.”
He didn’t move.
“Get out.”
Her voice was firm.
He looked at her.
“What?”
“Leave the room.”
Nobody ordered Gabriel Gallow.
But somehow, he listened.
He walked out.
Twenty minutes later, Rosa finally calmed down.
Norah adjusted the blankets and stepped into the hallway.
Gabriel was standing against the wall.
Alone.
His face was unreadable.
But his eyes weren’t.
“You believe her?”
Norah looked at him.
“No.”
His shoulders relaxed slightly.
“But I believe she believes it.”
That hurt more.
Gabriel looked away.
“You don’t understand.”
“No.”
Norah stepped closer.
“But I know one thing.”
He looked back.
“Your mother needed you tonight.”
A long silence.
Then Gabriel whispered:
“She used to sing to me when I was afraid.”
Norah said nothing.
“She would sit beside my bed after nightmares.”
His voice became quieter.
“She was the only person who saw a child before she saw a monster.”
Norah looked at him carefully.
“Then stop punishing yourself for becoming someone she never wanted you to be.”
Gabriel stared at her.
Nobody spoke to him like that.
Nobody dared.
May you like
But Norah did.
---
