Chapter 4 - THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT
Adrian knew something was wrong the moment the hospital lights flickered.
It was 8:17 p.m.
Lily had fallen asleep in the chair beside his bed.
Sarah sat across the room reading.
Vincent stood near the door.
Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
The lights flickered again.
Once.
Twice.
Then the entire floor went dark.
Lily woke immediately.
"Mommy?"
Sarah stood.
"It's okay."
Adrian's hand went instinctively toward the bedside drawer where security had placed his emergency phone.
Vincent was already moving.
"Stay down."
Three seconds later, the emergency lights came on.
Red.
Dim.
Unnatural.
Then the fire alarm started.
A scream came from the hallway.
Vincent opened the door a fraction.
Gunfire erupted.
He slammed it shut.
"Down!"
Sarah grabbed Lily.
Adrian tried to stand.
His heart monitor screamed.
"Boss!"
"I'm not staying in this bed."
"You've got a cardiac condition."
"And my daughter is in this room."
Adrian pulled the IV from his arm.
Blood ran down his wrist.
Sarah stared at him.
"Adrian!"
He ignored her.
"Vincent, what's happening?"
"Multiple shooters."
"How many?"
"At least six."
Lily buried her face against Sarah.
Adrian's expression changed.
He had spent his entire adult life expecting someone to come for him.
He had never expected them to come for her.
A gunshot punched through the hallway door.
Everyone froze.
Then another.
Vincent drew his weapon.
"There's a service corridor behind the bathroom."
Adrian nodded.
"Take them."
"What about you?"
"I'm coming."
Vincent shook his head.
"No. You're the target."
Adrian looked at him.
"For once, Vincent, I'm not."
Another bullet struck the wall.
Lily screamed.
Adrian moved.
He crossed the room and lifted her into his arms.
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
For the first time in seven years, Adrian held his daughter.
And something inside him changed.
Not fear.
Not rage.
Something colder.
Determination.
"I'm here," he whispered.
Lily trembled.
"Don't let them take me."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Nobody is taking you."
Sarah grabbed the emergency bag.
Vincent kicked open the concealed panel leading into the service corridor.
They moved.
Fast.
The hospital had been designed for emergencies.
But whoever attacked them knew that.
The corridor lights were already out.
Vincent led.
Sarah followed.
Adrian carried Lily.
They reached the stairwell.
Then the door slammed shut above them.
Someone was coming.
Vincent raised his weapon.
"Back."
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Then a man's voice echoed through the stairwell.
"Adrian."
Adrian froze.
The voice was familiar.
Too familiar.
Vincent's face went pale.
"No."
Adrian looked at him.
"Who?"
Vincent whispered:
"One of ours."
The footsteps stopped.
A man appeared at the top of the stairs.
Hospital security uniform.
Weapon in hand.
He smiled.
"Evening, boss."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"You betrayed me."
The man shrugged.
"Volkov paid better."
Vincent raised his gun.
The traitor fired first.
Vincent returned fire.
The stairwell exploded with noise.
Sarah screamed.
Adrian covered Lily's head.
They ran downward.
One flight.
Two.
Three.
Lily buried her face against his shoulder.
"Daddy!"
Adrian stopped for half a second.
She had called him Daddy.
The word hit him harder than the bullet ever had.
Then another shot cracked overhead.
He ran.
They reached the underground parking garage.
Black SUVs waited.
Vincent limped behind them, blood soaking his sleeve.
"Go!"
Adrian shoved Sarah and Lily into the vehicle.
Then climbed in after them.
The driver accelerated.
Gunfire followed.
One bullet shattered the rear window.
Lily screamed.
Adrian wrapped himself around her.
"Look at me."
She looked up.
"You're safe."
"But they're shooting."
"I know."
"Are they going to kill you?"
Adrian stared into his daughter's terrified eyes.
He could have lied.
Instead, he said:
"They're going to try."
Lily's lower lip trembled.
"Don't die."
Adrian pulled her against his chest.
"I have something to live for now."
The SUV burst out of the garage.
Vincent looked at his phone.
His face went white.
"What?"
Adrian asked.
Vincent showed him the screen.
A photograph had just been sent.
It showed Lily sleeping beside Adrian in the hospital.
The photo had been taken less than ten minutes earlier.
Below it was a message.
WE KNOW WHERE SHE IS.
Then another message appeared.
NEXT TIME, WE WON'T MISS.
Adrian stared at the screen.
His heart monitor began screaming again.
Sarah looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
Adrian looked at Lily.
Then at Sarah.
And finally at Vincent.
"It means we're not going home."
Sarah's face tightened.
"Where are we going?"
Adrian looked out at the dark New York skyline.
"Somewhere nobody knows exists."
Vincent shook his head.
"Boss..."
Adrian interrupted him.
"And tomorrow, I want every person who has ever worked for me investigated."
He looked down at Lily.
"Because whoever gave Volkov access to my daughter..."
His expression became terrifyingly calm.
"...is someone who has been close enough to touch her."
The SUV disappeared into the night.
And three blocks away, a second car followed.
Inside it, a woman watched the SUV through binoculars.
She smiled.
Then she made a call.
"He's taking them to the safe house."
The voice on the other end asked:
"Are you sure?"
The woman looked at the photograph in her lap.
It was an old photograph.
Much older than Lily.
A photograph of Adrian and Sarah together.
On the back, someone had written:
HE NEVER KNEW THE CHILD WASN'T HIS.
The woman smiled.
"I've never been more certain."
May you like
Then she whispered:
"Now let's see what happens when Adrian Moretti learns who Lily's real father is."
