Chapter 4 - THE BOY NAMED CALEB
The kitchen felt completely devoid of oxygen.
Adrian looked from the photograph to the young maid standing in front of him.
“Nora.”
“Yes, sir?”
“What is your brother’s name?”
Nora blinked, confused by the sudden shift in his tone.
“Caleb. You know that, sir. I mentioned him earlier.”
Adrian held up the photograph.
“How old is he?”
“He’s sixteen.”
Adrian stared at the baby in the picture.
Fifteen years ago, his older brother Julian was murdered. Julian's fiancée, a civilian woman named Sarah, was supposed to be in the car. They thought she died in the blast too.
“Your mother,” Adrian said, his voice tightening. “Her name is Sarah?”
Nora stepped back.
“How do you know my mother’s name?”
Adrian looked at his mother.
Teresa was crying silently. Her left hand tapped the wheelchair armrest once.
Yes.
“My brother didn't die alone,” Adrian whispered, the pieces violently clicking together in his mind. “Sarah was pregnant.”
Nora shook her head.
“I don't understand. My father died before Caleb was born. He was a mechanic.”
“Your mother lied to you,” Adrian said. “She lied to protect you and your brother from this life.”
Nora gripped the edge of the kitchen counter.
Her brother, the sweet sixteen-year-old boy who loved baseball and struggled to speak, wasn't just a mechanic's son.
He was a Falcone.
He was the true heir to the Chicago syndicate.
“That’s impossible,” Nora gasped.
Teresa reached out and caught Nora’s hand. She squeezed it gently.
Adrian paced across the kitchen floor.
“The Rossis didn't just want my money,” Adrian said, his mind racing. “They found out about Caleb. Marcus was paying Peter to search the estate for proof of the boy’s existence.”
He turned back to Nora.
“Where is Caleb right now?”
Nora’s face went pale.
“He’s at his special education program. At the community center.”
Adrian grabbed his radio.
“All units. Lock down the estate. Bring my armored car to the front. Now.”
He looked at Nora.
“We have to get him. If the Rossis know who he is, they won't stop at my mother.”
Nora didn't argue. She didn't ask questions.
She untied her maid’s apron and threw it onto the floor.
“I'm coming with you.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“He is my brother,” Nora said fiercely. “You are not leaving me here.”
Adrian looked at the fire in her eyes. He respected it instantly.
“Let’s go.”
They ran out the front doors and climbed into the back of the heavily armored black SUV.
Two lead cars with armed guards pulled out ahead of them.
The convoy tore through the streets of Chicago.
Nora pulled out her cell phone. Her hands were shaking violently.
She dialed her mother's number.
It went straight to voicemail.
She dialed Caleb’s special tablet line, the one that converted text to speech for him.
It rang three times.
Then, someone answered.
But it wasn't Caleb’s synthesized voice.
It was the cold, raspy voice of a man.
“He has your eyes, Sarah,” the man said through the phone.
Nora stopped breathing.
“Who is this? Where is my brother?”
The man chuckled.
“This isn't Sarah. You must be the older sister. The maid.”
Adrian snatched the phone from Nora’s hand.
“If you touch one hair on his head, I will burn your entire family alive,” Adrian roared.
“Adrian Falcone,” the voice said smoothly. “I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s safe. For now. But your brother Julian took something from my family fifteen years ago. A ledger. I want it back.”
“I don't have any ledgers.”
“Your mother does. Ask her. Bring the ledger to the old steel mill on 4th Street in exactly one hour. Come alone. Or the boy dies.”
The line went dead.
Adrian stared at the phone.
He looked at Nora. She was sobbing, her face buried in her hands.
“I won't let them hurt him,” Adrian said softly.
“We don't even have what they want!” Nora cried. “What ledger?”
Adrian thought back to the kitchen.
Teresa had pointed at the pantry door. She had shown them the scratches.
But she hadn't just been pointing at the door.
She had been pointing at what was hidden inside the stairs.
“Turn the cars around,” Adrian ordered his driver.
“Sir?”
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“We have to go back to the estate.”
TITLE: THE LEDGER IN THE STAIRS
