Chapter 4 - The House That Had Never Heard a Child
Dominic moved Norah and Lily to his Brookline estate before breakfast.
He did not ask again.
Norah did not argue again.
The cut brake lines had ended their debate.
The Reyes residence stood behind stone walls and iron gates on twelve wooded acres. The original house had been built by a railroad investor in 1908 and expanded by three generations of Dominic’s family until it contained more rooms than some apartment buildings.
Lily pressed her face against the SUV window.
“Is that a castle?”
“No,” Norah said.
“Yes,” Dominic said.
Norah looked at him.
“It has twenty-three rooms,” he explained. “Calling it a house would be inaccurate.”
“It is not a castle unless there is a dragon.”
“There was an uncle who lived in the east wing.”
“That does not count.”
“You never met him.”
Lily giggled.
The sound followed them into the entrance hall.
The house seemed startled by it.
Everything inside was polished, controlled, and quiet. A marble staircase curved beneath a chandelier. Portraits of severe Reyes ancestors watched from dark frames. The air smelled faintly of cedar and expensive flowers.
Lily walked beneath the largest portrait and stared up at a bearded man in a black coat.
“Is he dead?”
“Yes,” Dominic said.
“Why does he look mad?”
“He was probably waiting for the artist to finish.”
“Did he have snacks?”
“I do not know.”
“That is why he was mad.”
Norah saw Marco turn away to hide another smile.
Dominic introduced the house staff.
Mrs. Keating, the housekeeper, had served the Reyes family for twenty-eight years. She appeared capable of organizing military campaigns and formal dinners with equal efficiency.
Thomas, the chef, immediately asked Lily what she wanted for breakfast.
“Blueberry pancakes shaped like dinosaurs.”
Thomas looked at Dominic.
Dominic said, “Make them anatomically recognizable.”
Norah stared at him.
Lily clapped.
The house changed within an hour.
A pink coat appeared over the back of an eighteenth-century chair. Crayons spread across a library table. One of Dominic’s security monitors acquired a sticker shaped like a smiling moon.
Dominic tolerated each violation with unexpected seriousness.
Norah watched him from across the breakfast room.
He had removed his jacket and rolled his sleeves to his forearms. Lily sat beside him, explaining why one pancake was clearly a stegosaurus despite its resemblance to Massachusetts.
Dominic listened as though she were presenting a corporate acquisition.
“You have to eat the tail first,” Lily instructed.
“Why?”
“So it can’t run away.”
“That seems strategically sound.”
Norah looked down at her coffee before either of them saw her smile.
After breakfast, Dominic led Norah into his study.
Marco was already waiting beside a digital map of Boston. Red markers showed Mercy Hospital, Norah’s apartment, Dominic’s office, the Reyes residence, and several unidentified properties.
“The photograph of Lily was sent through an encrypted number,” Marco said. “The device was activated for eleven minutes and discarded near South Station.”
“Can you identify who bought it?” Norah asked.
“Cash purchase from a convenience store. The camera angle places the photographer across from Mercy beside a delivery zone.”
“Hospital cameras?”
“Dr. Finch claims the exterior camera covering that area was offline.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“Claims?”
“The maintenance report was filed two hours after Lily spoke to you.”
Norah folded her arms.
“Finch altered the record.”
“Possibly,” Marco said.
“Definitely,” Dominic replied.
He touched the map.
“Victor owns no direct interest in Mercy, but three companies connected to him supply medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.”
Norah looked at him.
“The missing medication delivery.”
Dominic nodded.
“That may be connected.”
“Why target Lily now?” Norah asked. “The threat five years ago was about keeping her hidden. She was hidden.”
“She identified me publicly,” Dominic said. “If the wrong person heard, Victor’s control of the trust is in immediate danger.”
“Your mother said legal proof would trigger the change.”
“The DNA test is legal proof.”
Norah’s stomach tightened.
“Who knows the result?”
“The physician, the laboratory director, Marco, you, and me.”
“And the courier?”
“Protected.”
“People can be bought.”
Dominic met her eyes.
“I know.”
There was a darkness in his tone that reminded her why Boston feared him.
Norah placed both hands on the desk.
“No one gets hurt because of us.”
“That is not a promise I can make.”
“It is a condition.”
“For what?”
“For Lily staying here.”
Dominic leaned back.
“You believe I enjoy violence.”
“I believe you use it when you consider it efficient.”
He said nothing.
“That silence is not helping,” she added.
“I am deciding how honestly to answer.”
“Try completely.”
Dominic looked toward the closed study door.
“When my father died, three men attempted to divide what he left. One tried to kill me. One tried to buy Marco. One approached my mother in church.”
“What happened to them?”
“One disappeared. One moved to Argentina. One now runs a landscaping company in New Hampshire.”
Norah waited.
“That is not a complete answer.”
“It is the answer I am willing to give while my four-year-old daughter is drawing in the next room.”
“She is four and three quarters.”
He nearly smiled.
Then the study door opened.
Lily walked in carrying Rabbit by one ear.
“His tummy makes noise.”
Norah frowned.
“What?”
Lily squeezed the stuffed animal.
A faint clicking sound came from inside.
Dominic was on his feet before Norah fully understood.
“Put it down, Lily.”
His tone was too sharp.
Lily froze.
Dominic immediately softened his voice.
“Sweetheart, place Rabbit on the floor and come to me.”
She obeyed.
Dominic lifted her into his arms and moved behind the desk.
Marco approached the toy cautiously.
He pressed along the rabbit’s stomach, found a seam beneath the faded fur, and drew a small knife.
Norah covered Lily’s eyes against Dominic’s chest.
Marco cut three stitches.
Inside the stuffing was a black plastic device no larger than a coin.
“A transmitter,” he said.
Dominic looked at Norah.
“How long has she had that toy?”
“Two years.”
“Has anyone repaired it?”
“No.”
“Was it ever lost?”
Norah thought.
“At the hospital.”
“When?”
“Last month. Lily left it in the staff daycare room. It was returned the next morning.”
Marco removed the device with gloved fingers.
“It has a new battery. Recent installation.”
Norah felt sick.
Someone had placed a tracker inside her daughter’s favorite toy.
Lily pushed against Dominic’s chest.
“Why did he cut Rabbit?”
Norah took her.
“Rabbit had something inside that could hurt his tummy.”
“Can you fix him?”
“Yes.”
“Promise?”
Norah looked at the torn seam.
“I promise.”
Dominic crouched beside them.
“Mrs. Keating knows how to repair everything in this house.”
“Even rabbits?”
“Especially rabbits.”
Lily studied him, then touched his cheek.
“You got the sad face again.”
Dominic closed his hand gently around her fingers.
“I am sorry I scared you.”
“It’s okay.”
“No. It is not.”
She leaned forward and whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“Mommy says grown-ups should say sorry without explaining why it’s not their fault.”
Dominic looked at Norah.
“She says that often?”
“More often since meeting you.”
Marco carried the transmitter into the secure communications room.
Within thirty minutes, he determined it sent location data through a hospital network.
The signal had first activated twenty-six days earlier.
Someone at Mercy had placed it inside Rabbit.
Norah sat in the family room repairing the toy while Lily colored beside her.
Dominic stood by the window speaking to Marco.
“No one at the hospital is questioned yet,” he said. “If Finch is involved, I want him comfortable.”
“We should restrict Norah from returning,” Marco replied.
Norah looked up.
“You should try saying that where I cannot hear you.”
Dominic ended the call.
“You are not returning to Mercy.”
“I work there.”
“Someone used the hospital network to track Lily.”
“And that makes the hospital dangerous for babies too.”
“It is not your responsibility to save an institution.”
“No. It is my responsibility to care for the patients inside it.”
“Your responsibility is to Lily.”
“My life did not stop mattering because you became frightened.”
Dominic crossed the room.
“This is not fear.”
“It is exactly fear.”
His voice dropped.
“You nearly drove a car with severed brake lines.”
“And I am terrified. But fear does not get to make every decision.”
Dominic looked toward Lily.
She was humming while coloring one of the stone lions from the front gate bright purple.
Finally, he said, “You return with security.”
“No men in suits following me through the neonatal wing.”
“Plain clothes.”
“No weapons inside patient rooms.”
“Agreed.”
“No frightening the nurses.”
“I do not frighten nurses.”
Norah stared at him.
He corrected himself.
“Intentionally.”
That evening, Elena arrived.
Lily was building a house from wooden blocks on the floor.
Elena stopped in the doorway.
Her controlled expression collapsed at the sight of her granddaughter.
Lily looked up.
“You’re the rabbit lady.”
Elena pressed one hand to her mouth.
“Yes.”
“Rabbit got surgery.”
“I heard.”
“Mommy fixed him.”
Elena slowly knelt.
“Your mommy fixes many things.”
Lily handed her a block.
“You can make the roof.”
Dominic watched from across the room, every part of him rigid.
Norah could see that he wanted to order his mother out.
He did not.
Elena added a block to the small house.
Lily frowned.
“That’s crooked.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You can try again.”
Elena’s eyes filled.
Dominic turned away.
Later, after Lily was asleep, Marco called them into the security room.
The transmitter’s data history had revealed something unexpected.
It had not transmitted only to an outside device.
It had also connected twice to the Reyes estate’s private network.
Dominic stared at the screen.
“When?”
“Three months ago,” Marco said. “During Elena’s foundation dinner. And this afternoon, forty-seven minutes after Lily arrived.”
Elena’s face paled.
“That means whoever is tracking her has access to this house,” Norah said.
Marco nodded.
Dominic looked through the glass wall toward the corridor where members of his staff moved quietly beneath the security cameras.
May you like
“The threat is not outside the gates,” he said.
“It is already inside.”
