Chapter 14 - The Last Shadow
The final threat did not come with gunfire.
It came in an envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Alfred and Mina leaving their obstetrician's office.
On the back:
Your father owed us. Now you do.
Alfred's old instincts returned immediately.
Mina saw it in his face.
The coldness.
The calculation.
The desire to solve danger personally.
She took his hand.
“No.”
“I haven't said anything.”
“You didn't need to.”
The sender was connected to an old debt Alfred's father had created twenty years earlier.
Once, Alfred would have handled it privately.
Instead, he called Lev.
Then his attorney.
Then law enforcement.
The investigation traced the threat to two former associates trying to extort money.
They were arrested within days.
No secret meeting.
No revenge.
No blood.
When Lev called with the news, Alfred simply said, “Thank you.”
He put down the phone.
Mina watched him.
“That felt strange, didn't it?”
“Extremely.”
“You'll survive.”
He smiled.
Then Mina's expression changed.
She looked down.
A puddle spread across the kitchen floor.
Alfred stared at it.
Then at her.
Then back at it.
“Mina?”
“My water broke.”
For perhaps the first time in his life, Alfred Costello panicked completely.
“The bag.”
“By the stairs.”
“Car.”
“Outside.”
“Doctor.”
“Already called.”
He ran toward the stairs.
“Alfred.”
He turned.
“You forgot me.”
He stared at her.
Mina burst out laughing.
He hurried back.
“Right. You.”
May you like
She took his hand.
“Let's go meet your daughter.”
