Chapter 2 - The Boy Who Wouldn’t Let Go
Adrian didn’t take Leo to a hospital.
He took us to a private medical suite inside a mansion overlooking Lake Michigan.
Doctors were waiting before we arrived.
A woman in navy scrubs approached.
“Mr. Moretti.”
“Check everything.”
She looked at Leo.
“Can you put him down?”
Adrian tried.
Leo refused to release me.
The doctor looked between us.
“Who is she?”
Adrian answered flatly.
“The woman who found him.”
“I’m also the woman who needs to go home.”
Leo buried his face against my shoulder.
The doctor smiled faintly.
“Maybe after the examination.”
Leo’s leg wasn’t broken.
Badly sprained.
Cuts on his knees.
Bruised ribs.
Mild hypothermia.
Nothing life-threatening.
Adrian stood beside the examination table listening to every word.
“Was he drugged?”
The doctor hesitated.
“There are traces of a sedative.”
Adrian’s eyes changed.
“What kind?”
“We’re running tests.”
Leo whispered, “Juice.”
Everyone turned.
Adrian moved closer.
“What juice?”
“At the party.”
“What party?”
Leo’s lower lip trembled.
“The wedding.”
Adrian closed his eyes briefly.
I looked at him.
“You lost your son at a wedding?”
His stare snapped toward me.
“My sister’s engagement party.”
“How does a six-year-old disappear from a guarded party?”
Nobody answered.
That answer told me enough.
Someone inside Adrian’s circle had taken him.
Leo suddenly pointed at me.
“She saved me.”
Adrian’s expression softened.
“I know.”
“No.”
Leo shook his head.
“She saved me before.”
I frowned.
“Before what?”
Leo looked terrified again.
A knock interrupted us.
One of Adrian’s men entered.
“Boss. We found something.”
Adrian stepped into the hallway.
I could still hear them.
“A phone in the alley.”
“Whose?”
“Anthony Bell.”
Silence.
“Where is Anthony?”
“Missing.”
Adrian returned.
I was standing.
“I’m leaving.”
“No.”
“That wasn’t a request.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“You’re in my house.”
“And somehow I still have rent due.”
I reached for my coat.
Leo whispered, “Please don’t go.”
That stopped me.
Adrian noticed.
“He trusts you.”
“He doesn’t know me.”
“Apparently that makes two of us.”
I faced him.
“Then let me leave.”
“I can’t.”
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“Someone took my son from a house containing seventy guests, fourteen employees, and twelve security personnel.”
“And?”
“You found him less than four miles away.”
“That makes me lucky.”
“It makes you a witness.”
“To what?”
“That’s what concerns me.”
I stepped closer.
“Mr. Moretti, I served pancakes until two in the morning. I heard a child crying. That’s the entire conspiracy.”
Leo suddenly spoke.
“The lady.”
We turned.
“What lady?” Adrian asked.
Leo stared at the blanket.
“The lady said Daddy wouldn’t come.”
Adrian crouched.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did she look like?”
“Pretty.”
I almost smiled.
Not helpful.
Adrian continued.
“Hair?”
“Yellow.”
“Blonde?”
Leo nodded.
“She gave me juice.”
“And then?”
“I got sleepy.”
His voice cracked.
“When I woke up, I was in a car.”
Adrian went motionless.
“Who was driving?”
“A man.”
“Did you see him?”
Leo nodded.
“Uncle Anthony.”
The room became silent.
Adrian stood.
“Take Willa upstairs.”
I frowned.
“Take Willa where?”
“Guest room.”
“No.”
Adrian walked toward the door.
I caught his arm.
Every guard in the hallway reacted instantly.
Adrian raised one hand.
They stopped.
I released him.
“You don't get to imprison me.”
He lowered his voice.
“Anthony Bell has worked for me for eleven years. If he betrayed me, he knows every address connected to my family.”
“So?”
“So if he saw you with Leo, you are no longer a random waitress.”
That landed harder than I wanted it to.
Adrian continued.
“You’re the woman who brought my son back.”
“And that makes me a target?”
“It might.”
I stared at him.
“Wonderful.”
“I will compensate you.”
I laughed.
His eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“You really think money fixes everything.”
“No.”
He glanced toward Leo.
“If it did, tonight wouldn’t have happened.”
That answer surprised me.
Before I could respond, a guard rushed around the corner.
“Boss!”
Adrian turned.
“We have a vehicle at the east gate.”
“Whose?”
“No plates.”
Then the mansion lights went out.
Leo screamed.
I moved toward him.
Glass shattered downstairs.
Adrian grabbed my wrist.
“Get behind me.”
Somewhere below us, men started shouting.
Then Leo whispered into the darkness.
“She found me.”
I looked down.
“What?”
“The yellow-haired lady.”
His small hand pointed toward the window.
May you like
“She found me again.”
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