Chapter 3 - THE NAME SHE WAS TOLD TO FEAR
The drive to Dominic's private clinic was silent.
Evelyn sat in the back seat with Marco beside her.
Dominic remained in front.
Neither man spoke.
The bracelet lay on the console between them.
A tiny silver heart.
Eleven years old.
But somehow more dangerous than a gun.
Dominic finally broke the silence.
“You said your sister gave you my name.”
Evelyn stared through the rain-streaked window.
“She told me that if I ever met you, I should run.”
“And you didn't.”
“I tried.”
Dominic glanced at her through the mirror.
“You asked me to kill you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because dying seemed safer than trusting you.”
That answer stayed with him.
When they reached the clinic, Dominic carried Evelyn inside.
She protested.
“I can walk.”
“You couldn't walk ten minutes ago.”
“I can now.”
“Then you'll walk tomorrow.”
The doctor, Samuel Reed, examined her injuries.
Her ribs were bruised.
Her wrists were badly cut.
Her left eye was swollen but not permanently damaged.
There were older bruises beneath the fresh ones.
Samuel noticed.
“So this wasn't the first time.”
Evelyn looked away.
Dominic saw the movement.
He said nothing.
After Samuel cleaned her wounds, he left the room.
Dominic stood near the window.
Evelyn sat on the edge of the bed.
“You're afraid of me.”
“Yes.”
“Fair.”
She looked surprised.
“Most men like you wouldn't say that.”
“Most men like me don't have to.”
A faint smile almost appeared.
Then disappeared.
Dominic walked toward her.
“Tell me about your sister.”
“Anna.”
“How old was she?”
“Twenty-six when she vanished.”
“And you?”
“Twenty-two.”
“What did she do?”
“She taught music.”
Dominic frowned.
“She was involved with Caldwell?”
“No.”
“Then why was she investigating him?”
“Because one of her students was.”
Evelyn looked down at her hands.
“A sixteen-year-old boy disappeared after witnessing something near the docks.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Caldwell?”
“Yes.”
“What did Anna find?”
“A shipping ledger.”
“Where is it?”
“I don't know.”
Dominic noticed something around her neck.
A thin chain.
Almost hidden beneath the hospital gown.
“What is that?”
Evelyn touched it instinctively.
“A necklace.”
“I can see that.”
“It belonged to Anna.”
She pulled it free.
A small gold pendant hung from it.
Dominic recognized the design.
An old Ashford family crest.
His expression changed.
“Where did she get that?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“She said someone gave it to her.”
“Who?”
“She wouldn't tell me.”
Dominic reached toward the pendant.
Evelyn pulled back.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
“Why?”
“Because she told me never to let anyone from the Ashford family touch it.”
Dominic stared at her.
“My family?”
“Yes.”
“Did she tell you why?”
“No.”
He stepped back.
For the first time, Dominic felt something colder than anger.
Confusion.
His family had no known connection to Anna Hart.
None.
At least not one he knew about.
His phone vibrated.
Marco.
Dominic answered.
“What?”
“Boss, I checked Union Station.”
“And?”
“Locker 317 was opened three hours ago.”
Dominic's face hardened.
“By whom?”
“Camera footage shows a woman.”
“Description.”
“Dark coat. Brown hair.”
Evelyn slowly looked up.
Marco continued.
“She left something behind.”
“What?”
“A photograph.”
Dominic's eyes moved to Evelyn.
“Send it.”
A photograph appeared on his phone.
A young woman stood beside a little girl.
Dominic stared.
The woman was Anna.
The child was Evelyn.
But behind them was a third figure.
An older man.
Dominic knew him.
His father.
He looked at Evelyn.
“Your sister knew my father.”
Evelyn went pale.
“What?”
Dominic showed her the photograph.
She took the phone.
Her hands began shaking.
“I've never seen this.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“Your sister never mentioned him?”
“No.”
Dominic zoomed in.
His father stood behind Anna.
But something else caught his attention.
Around Anna's wrist was the same silver bracelet.
The bracelet found in the warehouse.
Dominic's pulse slowed.
“That bracelet wasn't hers,” Evelyn whispered.
“What?”
“She gave it to someone.”
“Who?”
Evelyn stared at the photograph.
“I don't know.”
Then she suddenly covered her mouth.
Dominic noticed.
“What?”
“I remember.”
“What do you remember?”
“My sister came home the night before she disappeared.”
“How was she?”
“Terrified.”
“What did she say?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“She told me to take care of someone.”
“Who?”
“She wouldn't say.”
Dominic waited.
“She only said, ‘If they find him, they'll kill him.’”
“Who was him?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“I thought she meant one of her students.”
Dominic leaned closer.
“What else?”
“She gave me this necklace.”
“And?”
“She said if anyone ever came asking about it, I should tell them it belonged to a dead woman.”
Dominic looked at the pendant.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
A knock came at the door.
Samuel entered.
“Dominic.”
He stopped when he saw Evelyn.
“There was something else.”
Dominic turned.
“What?”
Samuel placed a plastic evidence bag on the table.
Inside was a small folded piece of paper.
“We found this inside her coat.”
Evelyn stared.
“That wasn't there before.”
Dominic opened the bag.
The paper contained six words.
ASK WHO THE BOY IN BLUE WAS.
Evelyn's face drained of color.
Dominic looked at her.
“You know what that means.”
She shook her head.
Then whispered—
“I thought he was dead.”
“Who?”
“The boy.”
“What boy?”
Evelyn looked at the photograph again.
Her finger trembled as she pointed to the child standing beside Anna.
Not a girl.
A boy.
Hidden partly behind their mother.
“He wasn't in my memories.”
Dominic stared at the photograph.
The boy wore a blue sweater.
And around his wrist—
was the same silver bracelet.
May you like
Evelyn whispered—
“That was my nephew.”
