Chapter 2 - A Lie That Felt Like Protection
Norah spun around.
The hallway was empty.
Her apartment suddenly felt smaller than ever.
She reached for the lamp switch.
Click.
Warm yellow light flooded the room.
Nothing.
No intruder.
No broken window.
No open closet.
Yet every instinct inside her screamed that someone had been there.
She immediately grabbed her phone.
Her first impulse was calling the police.
Her thumb hovered over the screen.
Then she stopped.
What would she say?
Someone placed an old photograph on my table?
Someone wrote a threatening message?
There was no proof.
No witness.
No security camera inside the apartment.
She hated feeling helpless.
So instead she called the only person whose number she had memorized besides her mother’s.
Dominic Russo.
It rang twice.
“Hayes.”
His voice sounded low and tired.
She almost hung up.
Almost.
“Mr. Russo…”
He immediately recognized something.
“What happened?”
She swallowed.
“My apartment was entered.”
Silence.
Not confused silence.
Dangerous silence.
“Are you inside?”
“Yes.”
“Leave.”
“What?”
“Walk outside immediately.”
“I think whoever entered is gone.”
“Norah.”
His voice became firmer.
“Leave now.”
She obeyed.
Within three minutes she stood beneath the streetlight across from her building wearing slippers, holding nothing except her phone and trembling with embarrassment.
A black sedan arrived less than seven minutes later.
Dominic stepped out himself.
No driver.
No bodyguard.
Just him.
Dark overcoat.
Unbuttoned collar.
Rain mist collecting in his hair.
He crossed the street quickly.
“You’re alright?”
She nodded.
He gently touched her shoulder before realizing what he was doing and pulling his hand back.
“Show me.”
Inside the apartment Dominic examined every room without speaking.
He noticed things she never would.
The window latch slightly scratched.
A tiny muddy footprint near the kitchen tile.
A cabinet opened exactly one inch.
He crouched beside the photograph.
His jaw tightened.
“You know who did this?”
She whispered.
“Caleb.”
“You’re sure?”
“No.”
Dominic stood.
“That means yes.”
Within minutes two discreet men entered wearing plain clothes.
They weren’t introduced.
They didn’t need introductions.
Russo men.
They searched every corner.
One discovered something taped beneath Norah’s dining chair.
A tiny listening device.
Norah stared in disbelief.
Dominic looked at the device without surprise.
“He wanted information.”
“About what?”
Dominic met her eyes.
“Maybe you.”
She laughed nervously.
“I’m just your secretary.”
“No.”
His answer came instantly.
“You’re the woman who sees every contract, every route, every acquisition, every meeting schedule.”
She suddenly understood.
Working beside Dominic meant she carried secrets worth killing for.
Caleb hadn’t appeared by coincidence.
He had walked into that boardroom with purpose.
The next morning Dominic refused to let Norah return home.
Instead she arrived at Russo Tower where an entire guest suite had been quietly prepared on the executive floor.
“This is unnecessary,” she argued.
Dominic continued signing documents.
“So is getting murdered over filing paperwork.”
“I’m not getting murdered.”
He looked up.
“You’re optimistic.”
She crossed her arms.
“You always answer everything like that?”
“Yes.”
She tried not to smile.
Failed.
The day continued.
For the first time Norah noticed something different about Dominic.
He watched doors before entering rooms.
He always positioned himself closest to danger.
He never allowed anyone behind Norah during meetings.
Protective wasn’t the right word.
Calculated was.
During lunch Caleb unexpectedly appeared again.
This time in the lobby.
He approached Norah while she waited for coffee.
“You’ve upgraded.”
She ignored him.
“I’m talking to you.”
“I know.”
“Still pretending nothing happened?”
She finally faced him.
“What do you want?”
Caleb’s smile disappeared.
“I need something.”
“No.”
“You don’t even know what it is.”
“I know you.”
He leaned closer.
“You really think Russo cares about you?”
Norah stepped backward.
Caleb whispered.
“He’s using you.”
Before she could answer another voice interrupted.
“She’s busy.”
Dominic stood beside them holding two coffees.
He handed one to Norah without looking away from Caleb.
Caleb chuckled.
“Interesting.”
Dominic’s voice remained perfectly level.
“Leave my building.”
Caleb slowly walked backward toward the revolving doors.
“Enjoy playing boyfriend, Russo.”
Dominic answered without hesitation.
“I’m enjoying watching you lose.”
Caleb disappeared.
Norah looked at Dominic.
“You heard everything?”
“I hear enough.”
She held the coffee quietly.
Then remembered yesterday’s words.
Tell him you’re taken.
She looked away.
“About yesterday…”
Dominic interrupted.
“You needed protection.”
“That was a lie.”
“Yes.”
His expression softened almost invisibly.
“But it was useful.”
That evening Norah entered the guest suite.
A bouquet of white lilies rested beside the window.
No card.
Only one envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
Not Caleb.
Her father.
Standing beside a much younger Dominic Russo.
Both smiling outside an old warehouse.
Written underneath in faded ink were six words.
Ask Dominic what happened in Detroit.
Norah stared at the photograph until her hands began shaking again.
May you like
Because her father had been dead for fifteen years.
And Dominic had never once mentioned knowing him.
