Chapter 4 - The Man Who Sold a Mother’s Grief
Thomas Vale sat inside a private office at one of Roman’s downtown buildings.
No weapons.
No shouting.
No threats.
He looked ordinary.
That somehow made me hate him more.
Roman sat beside me.
Mateo stood near the door.
Vale stared at me.
“You look different.”
“You remember me?”
“Yes.”
“You told me my daughter died?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“Dr. Malcolm Pierce.”
Roman spoke.
“Where is he?”
“Dead. Eighteen months ago.”
I leaned forward.
“Why was Lily taken?”
Vale looked at Roman.
“Because she wasn't supposed to survive.”
Roman’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“Explain.”
Vale rubbed his hands together.
“The accident wasn't random.”
I stopped breathing.
“The truck?”
“Was meant for Roman.”
Roman showed no reaction.
“You missed.”
“We didn't know Ava was coming from the opposite direction.”
I stared at him.
“You caused my crash?”
Vale lowered his eyes.
“I helped cover it up.”
Roman stood.
“Sit down,” I said.
He looked at me.
“Roman. I need him talking.”
After a moment, Roman sat.
Vale continued.
“When Ava arrived pregnant, everything became complicated. She needed an emergency delivery. The baby survived.”
“So you took her.”
“Pierce did.”
“Why?”
“Insurance.”
I frowned.
“What?”
Vale looked at Roman.
“If Ava remembered the man who pulled her from the wreck, investigators could connect Roman to the crash. Pierce needed both of you confused.”
Roman understood first.
“So he changed the records.”
“Yes.”
“And Elena?”
Vale went silent.
Roman leaned forward.
“Tell her.”
“Elena Marquez worked for Pierce.”
I stared at him.
“She wasn't Lily’s mother.”
“No.”
Roman’s face hardened.
“She approached me six weeks after the crash.”
Vale nodded.
“She was supposed to stay close to you.”
“Why?”
“To monitor what you remembered.”
Roman laughed once without humor.
“So I married the woman sent to spy on me.”
“Yes.”
“What made Lily stop talking?”
Vale looked ashamed.
“Elena realized Lily was beginning to repeat things.”
“What things?” I asked.
“Names. Conversations. Pierce. Hospital. Ava.”
Roman’s fingers tightened.
“She was eleven months old.”
“Children repeat sounds.”
“What did Elena do?”
“She left.”
Roman stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because she discovered Pierce planned to remove Lily permanently.”
My voice became small.
“Remove?”
Vale looked at me.
“She ran instead.”
“So Elena saved her?”
“In the end, yes.”
Roman looked stunned.
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
Mateo’s phone buzzed.
He checked it.
Then looked at Roman.
“We may.”
Roman stood.
“What?”
“We traced payments from an account Vale gave us. Elena has been living under another name.”
“Where?”
Mateo looked at me.
“Corpus Christi.”
I stood.
“Then we're going.”
Roman looked at me.
“You stay with Lily.”
“No.”
“Ava.”
“You got two years with my daughter.”
His expression tightened.
“I know.”
“I got nothing.”
He said nothing.
“So don't ask me to sit quietly while everyone else decides what happens next.”
Roman studied me for several seconds.
Then nodded.
“Fine.”
Vale spoke behind us.
“There’s something else.”
We turned.
He looked at Roman.
“Pierce didn't choose Ava by accident.”
“What does that mean?”
Vale swallowed.
“The baby was valuable.”
Roman's expression changed.
“Why?”
Vale looked directly at me.
“Because of who Ava's father was.”
I stared at him.
“My father died when I was nine.”
“No.”
Vale shook his head.
“The man who raised you died when you were nine.”
Roman went still.
“Who was her biological father?”
Vale answered.
“Mateo Reyes.”
Roman’s face lost all color.
I looked between them.
“Who is Mateo Reyes?”
Roman whispered:
May you like
“The man who built the Garza organization before me.”
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