Chapter 13 - The Truth Elise Died Protecting
Malcolm Kincaid disappeared.
Not metaphorically.
He vanished.
His New York townhouse was empty.
His Baltimore office abandoned.
His private jet remained in a hangar, untouched.
Three passports linked to aliases were flagged.
None had been used.
Federal agents raided five properties.
Nothing.
Evelyn Hart hated nothing.
"People don't disappear," she said.
Roman looked at her.
"You've never met people with enough money."
"I work for the federal government."
"Exactly."
Naomi almost laughed.
Evelyn didn't.
The babies continued improving.
That became Naomi's anchor.
Leo accepted bottles almost completely.
Miles accepted them when sufficiently offended by hunger.
Jude remained more difficult.
Dr. Shah said that wasn't unusual.
"Smallest baby. Most stressful transition."
Roman looked worried.
"Is he okay?"
"He's gaining weight."
"How much?"
"Roman."
"How much?"
Dr. Shah handed him the chart.
"Read."
Roman studied it like a military map.
Naomi smiled.
"You're becoming annoying."
"I've always been annoying."
"Different category."
He looked almost proud.
Naomi's relationship with the babies shifted.
She stopped nursing regularly as donor milk and formula became established.
That mattered.
Emotionally.
She wanted her help to be temporary.
Not because she cared less.
Because she cared enough to understand boundaries.
One evening, Naomi fed Jude from a bottle.
He resisted.
She whispered, "You don't have to like change."
Roman watched.
Jude finally accepted.
Naomi smiled.
"But you can survive it."
Roman knew she wasn't only talking to the baby.
"So can you," he said.
Naomi looked up.
"Working on it."
Roman sat beside her.
"So am I."
The next morning, Evelyn brought news.
Grant's daughter, Emily, had been found alive in Quebec.
Kincaid's men had held her in a rented house.
Canadian authorities recovered her after a financial trail from Elise's drive identified a shell company.
Grant cried when told.
He agreed to testify fully.
Celeste Grant surrendered the same afternoon.
Without Kincaid's protection, she negotiated quickly.
Her testimony completed the story.
Elise discovered the trust scheme.
Grant had helped Kincaid position himself indirectly through corporate guardianship.
Celeste handled legal paperwork.
Marcus controlled security.
Gabriel represented a separate faction tied to Dominic Vale's old organization.
Each group believed it could manipulate Roman.
Elise threatened all of them.
She wasn't supposed to die that night.
Kincaid wanted her captured.
Gabriel wanted to prevent the kidnapping.
His driver rammed Elise's vehicle too hard in the rain.
The car crossed the barrier.
Elise died instantly.
The tragedy wasn't a single conspiracy.
It was three groups colliding around one woman who had tried to save her husband and children.
Roman read the report alone.
Naomi found him in Elise's bedroom.
He sat on the floor.
The pages lay around him.
She didn't ask whether he was okay.
Obviously not.
Naomi sat beside him.
Roman whispered, "She called me."
Naomi waited.
"Four seconds."
He closed his eyes.
"What if she was trying to tell me?"
"Maybe."
"I didn't call back."
"Why?"
"I was in a meeting."
The guilt in his voice was unbearable.
"I saw her name. I thought I'd call in five minutes."
Naomi's chest hurt.
Five minutes.
Ordinary cruelty.
The assumption of another five minutes.
Roman covered his face.
"I never called."
Naomi remained quiet.
He cried.
Eventually he said, "What's the last thing you said to Micah?"
Naomi looked down.
"Sleep well, bug."
Roman lowered his hands.
"I put him in the bassinet."
She smiled through tears.
"He had one sock off."
Roman listened.
"I was too tired to find it."
Naomi's voice broke.
"For months I hated myself because his last night he had one cold foot."
Roman's eyes filled.
"You know that's not why."
"I know."
"Does knowing help?"
"No."
Roman nodded.
"Then don't tell me five minutes didn't matter."
Naomi understood.
"I won't."
They sat together until the room grew dark.
Later, Naomi found Elise's unfinished cup of tea.
Roman finally allowed staff to remove it.
Not because he was ready.
Because he understood keeping the cup wouldn't preserve the woman.
The next day, he boxed some of Elise's clothes.
Not all.
One drawer.
Then stopped.
Naomi didn't push.
Grief wasn't a staircase.
It was weather.
Some days moved.
Others flooded.
The federal case expanded.
Gabriel confessed partially but insisted he had acted for "the Vale legacy."
Marcus pled guilty to conspiracy.
Grant entered witness protection preparation.
Celeste provided Kincaid's financial contacts.
Still no Kincaid.
Then Evelyn discovered something unexpected.
Elise had created one more file.
Not on the flash drive.
In a bank safe deposit box.
Roman and Naomi visited together.
Inside were documents, photographs, and three sealed envelopes.
Each labeled with a son's name.
JUDE.
LEO.
MILES.
Roman touched them.
His hands shook.
"They're for the boys."
Naomi nodded.
"Don't open them."
"I wasn't going to."
He placed them carefully back.
Then Naomi saw another envelope.
ROMAN.
He laughed softly.
"Apparently Elise prepared for everything."
Roman opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Elise standing outside a modest blue house.
Behind it, trees.
A small porch.
Nothing luxurious.
On the back she had written:
For the normal breakfast.
Roman stared.
"What's that?"
Naomi asked.
He smiled through tears.
"A house in Maine."
"You own it?"
"Elise bought it."
"When?"
"Apparently six months ago."
Naomi looked at the photograph.
"She planned to leave."
"No."
Roman shook his head.
"She planned for us to."
Inside the envelope was a deed.
Both names.
Roman and Elise Vale.
A note.
No gates. No guards. No Crown Street. Just us.
Roman's eyes filled.
Naomi looked away.
There was one more item.
A small key.
Roman held it.
"She thought we'd make it."
Naomi answered softly.
"Maybe part of you still can."
Roman looked at her.
The moment stretched.
Warm.
Dangerous in a different way now.
Roman said, "Come with me someday."
Naomi froze.
"To Maine."
"Roman."
"Not now."
He looked down at the photograph.
"Someday."
Naomi didn't answer.
Before she could, Evelyn's phone rang.
She stepped outside.
Returned thirty seconds later.
Her face was pale.
"We found Kincaid."
Roman stood.
"Where?"
Evelyn looked at Naomi.
"Baltimore."
Naomi's heart stopped.
"Where in Baltimore?"
Evelyn hesitated.
"St. Agnes Community Center."
Roman stared.
Naomi felt cold.
Again.
Elise's place.
Micah's place.
The beginning.
"What is he doing there?"
Evelyn's voice became grim.
"He's holding twenty-three people inside."
Roman's face hardened.
"Hostages?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Evelyn looked directly at him.
"He wants Roman."
Roman didn't hesitate.
"No."
Naomi looked surprised.
He continued.
"He wants old Roman."
Evelyn nodded.
Roman turned toward Naomi.
"And he's not getting him."
For once, the statement wasn't cowardice.
It was discipline.
But then Evelyn added one more detail.
"Kincaid says he will release one hostage every ten minutes if Roman appears."
Naomi exhaled.
"That sounds good."
Evelyn shook her head.
"He didn't say release alive."
Roman's face changed.
May you like
And Naomi realized Malcolm Kincaid had finally found the one place where Roman's new commitment to restraint might become impossible to keep.
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