The news reached Norah like a physical blow.
For several seconds, she could not speak.
Dominic turned toward Rafael.
“How?”
“We intercepted a message from Adrian Vale.”
“What did it say?”
Rafael hesitated.
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Tell me.”
“He sent Salazar a photograph of Norah leaving the clinic.”
Norah felt her stomach tighten.
“And?”
Rafael looked at her.
“He identified her as pregnant.”
Dominic glanced toward Lily, who was still playing in the garden.
“Take Lily inside,” he told Maria.
The older woman immediately approached.
“Come on, sweetheart. Let's make cookies.”
Lily protested briefly, then followed her into the house.
Norah watched until the door closed.
Then she turned toward Dominic.
“What does Salazar want?”
Rafael answered carefully.
“We don't know.”
Dominic looked toward the perimeter wall.
“He wants leverage.”
Norah's hand moved to her stomach.
“Against you?”
Dominic nodded.
She stared at him.
The truth was suddenly impossible to ignore.
Her baby was not merely a secret anymore.
The child had become a vulnerability that someone might exploit.
By evening, Dominic had arranged for Norah to move temporarily to a secure residence outside Chicago.
She sat on her bed while Maria helped her pack.
“I don't want to leave Lily,” Norah whispered.
Maria folded a sweater.
“It's temporary.”
“What if something happens while I'm gone?”
Maria looked at her.
“Then we'll call you.”
Norah shook her head.
“You don't understand.”
The older woman sat beside her.
“I think I do.”
Norah's eyes filled.
“I love that little girl.”
Maria smiled gently.
“I know.”
“She already lost her mother. I don't want her to think I'm abandoning her.”
“Then tell her the truth.”
Norah looked up.
“Which truth?”
“That you love her. That you're going somewhere safe for a little while. And that none of this is her fault.”
Norah nodded slowly.
Lily took the news badly.
“You're leaving?”
Norah knelt beside her.
“Just for a little while.”
“Why?”
“Because some grown-ups are having a disagreement, and your daddy wants everyone to be safe.”
Lily's lower lip trembled.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Norah immediately pulled her into a hug.
“No, sweetheart. Never.”
“Then why can't I come?”
Norah looked toward Dominic.
He was standing near the doorway.
His expression was strained.
Norah stroked Lily's curls.
“Because you have your toys and your room here. And Maria will take care of you.”
Lily began to cry.
“I want you.”
Norah held her tightly.
“I know, Bug.”
Dominic approached.
He crouched beside them.
“Lily, look at me.”
The little girl turned toward him.
“Norah isn't leaving because she doesn't love you.”
“Then why?”
Dominic took a breath.
“Because I made some mistakes, and I'm working on fixing them.”
Norah looked at him.
Lily sniffled.
“Can you fix them fast?”
Dominic's eyes softened.
“I'm going to try.”
Norah left the compound that evening.
Dominic accompanied her.
The drive took nearly two hours.
They arrived at a modest house in a quiet neighborhood.
There were no marble floors.
No chandeliers.
No armed guards standing beside the front door.
The living room contained a comfortable couch, a bookshelf, and a small fireplace.
Norah stood in the doorway.
“It's beautiful.”
Dominic carried her suitcase inside.
“I thought you might prefer something that feels like a home.”
She turned toward him.
“Did you choose it?”
He nodded.
Norah smiled faintly.
“You're getting better at this.”
“At what?”
“Listening.”
Dominic looked almost embarrassed.
He placed the suitcase beside the stairs.
“I'll be nearby.”
Norah's smile faded.
“Dominic.”
He stopped.
“I don't want you to stay because you think you have to.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you staying?”
He looked at her.
“Because I want to.”
Norah felt her heart shift.
She stepped closer.
“Are you afraid?”
Dominic considered the question.
“Yes.”
“Of Salazar?”
“Of losing you.”
The honesty startled her.
For a moment, she saw the man from the safe room again.
The man who had admitted that he was terrified of losing Lily.
Norah reached for his hand.
“You haven't lost me.”
Dominic looked down at their joined hands.
Then he gently kissed her forehead.
Nothing more.
But the tenderness of the gesture stayed with her long after he left the room.
Two days passed.
Norah began to relax.
She slept without hearing guards outside her door.
She made breakfast in a kitchen that did not contain security cameras.
She sat in the backyard and read a book about pregnancy.
Dominic called Lily every evening.
Sometimes Norah joined the conversation.
Sometimes she listened while father and daughter argued about whether stuffed rabbits needed pajamas.
For the first time in months, she began to imagine a future.
Then, on the third afternoon, an unfamiliar car stopped across the street.
Norah noticed it from the living room window.
A dark sedan.
Tinted windows.
The engine remained running.
She stepped away from the glass.
Her phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
Beautiful house, Norah.
Her blood turned cold.
Another message appeared.
Does Dominic know where you are?
Norah immediately called him.
He answered on the first ring.
“Norah?”
“Someone found me.”
His voice changed.
“Where are you?”
“At the house.”
“Lock the doors. Stay away from the windows.”
She heard him speaking to someone in the background.
Then he returned.
“I'm sending help.”
Norah moved toward the hallway.
A third message appeared.
Tell Russo we want to talk.
She stared at the screen.
Then the doorbell rang.
Norah froze.
A man's voice came from outside.
“Miss Hayes? Delivery.”
She did not answer.
The doorbell rang again.
Norah backed away.
Her phone remained pressed to her ear.
“Dominic?”
“I'm here.”
“Someone's at the door.”
“Don't open it.”
The man outside knocked.
“Miss Hayes?”
Norah hurried toward the back of the house.
She could hear Dominic giving instructions.
Then a loud crash sounded from the front.
The door had been forced open.
Norah gasped.
“Dominic!”
“Norah, listen to me. Go to the back exit.”
She ran toward the kitchen.
Her heart pounded.
The baby moved sharply.
She pressed a hand against her stomach.
“Please,” she whispered. “Please be okay.”
Footsteps echoed behind her.
She reached the back door.
Opened it.
And found another man standing on the porch.
He wore a gray jacket.
A narrow scar marked the corner of his mouth.
Adrian Vale.
“Hello, Norah.”
She stepped backward.
Adrian smiled.
“Mr. Salazar would like a word.”
Norah's phone slipped from her hand.
And the last thing she heard before the call disconnected was Dominic shouting her name.