Chapter 9: Richard Thought He Had Taken Everything From Nora—Until She Turned His Own Game Against Him
Chapter 9: Richard Thought He Had Taken Everything From Nora—Until She Turned His Own Game Against Him
Nora stared at the phone screen.
Lily was sleeping.
The masked figure stood beside the crib.
For several seconds, Nora couldn't hear anything except the pounding of her own heart.
“Where is she?”
Richard Caldwell smiled.
“You know exactly where she is.”
“Bring her here.”
“That isn't how negotiations work.”
Lorenzo stepped forward.
“You have five minutes.”
Richard laughed.
“You're still trying to threaten me?”
“I don't need five minutes.”
Lorenzo's voice was dangerously calm.
“I need thirty seconds.”
Richard's smile faded.
Nora grabbed Lorenzo's arm.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“This is what he wants.”
“I know.”
“Then don't give it to him.”
Lorenzo stared at her.
She looked back at Richard.
“What do you want?”
Richard's expression changed.
“Smart girl.”
“I asked you a question.”
“The ledger.”
Nora looked at the black book lying on the table.
“And then?”
“Your signature.”
“For what?”
“Transfer documents.”
Lorenzo shook his head.
“No.”
Richard smiled.
“I wasn't asking you.”
Nora's eyes narrowed.
“What happens if I refuse?”
Richard looked at the phone.
“Your daughter stays where she is.”
A silence fell over the room.
Nora felt something inside her change.
The frightened woman who had once sat behind a desk and worried about rent was still there.
But she was no longer alone.
She was a mother.
And mothers could become terrifying when someone threatened their children.
“Fine,” she said.
Lorenzo turned sharply.
“Nora.”
She squeezed his hand.
“Trust me.”
Richard smiled.
“Excellent.”
Nora walked toward the table.
She placed her hand on the ledger.
“Where do I sign?”
Richard gave instructions.
Nora listened carefully.
But she noticed something.
He kept looking at the clock.
Not the documents.
Not Lorenzo.
The clock.
She understood.
He was waiting for someone.
“Richard.”
“Yes?”
“If you wanted the estate, why didn't you take it already?”
His smile disappeared.
“What?”
“You had the documents. You had the lawyers. You had the legal claim.”
She leaned closer.
“So why did you need me?”
Richard said nothing.
Nora smiled.
“Because the documents aren't enough.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
Richard's jaw tightened.
“You don't know what you're talking about.”
“I know exactly what I'm talking about.”
She lifted the pendant around her neck.
“This is what you want.”
Richard's eyes immediately moved toward it.
Nora saw the reaction.
There it was.
The proof.
Richard wasn't interested in the estate.
He was interested in the ownership structure hidden inside the old inheritance agreement.
“Where is my daughter?” Nora asked.
“Safe.”
“Show me.”
Richard hesitated.
Then he lifted the phone.
The video changed.
Lily was still sleeping.
A second camera angle appeared.
Nora recognized the room.
The nursery.
The masked man was standing beside the crib.
Lorenzo's expression changed.
“That room has six cameras.”
Richard smiled.
“Had.”
Lorenzo immediately turned to his security chief.
“Find the signal.”
The man nodded.
Richard suddenly raised his voice.
“Don't!”
Lorenzo looked at him.
“You just made your mistake.”
Richard's face hardened.
Nora understood.
The nursery camera wasn't coming from outside.
It was coming from inside the estate.
Someone had disabled their security.
Someone had helped Richard.
She looked around the room.
Then she saw him.
One of the household staff.
Standing near the doorway.
Nora had seen him hundreds of times.
He looked terrified.
Richard noticed her staring.
“Nora.”
She pointed.
“That man.”
Everyone turned.
The servant froze.
Richard's expression changed.
The man ran.
Lorenzo's guards immediately chased him.
A struggle erupted in the hallway.
Then a gunshot.
Nora screamed.
Lorenzo pulled her behind him.
Seconds later, the guard was dragged back into the foyer.
He was bleeding from his shoulder.
“Where is the baby?” Lorenzo demanded.
The man refused to answer.
Nora walked toward him.
“Look at me.”
He did.
“You have a family?”
The man's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
“Children?”
“Two.”
“Then you understand what you're doing.”
He looked away.
Nora knelt beside him.
“Richard promised to protect them?”
The man nodded.
“He said he would kill them if I refused.”
Lorenzo's expression softened slightly.
Nora whispered:
“Then help us save my daughter.”
The man's voice broke.
“She isn't here.”
“What?”
“She was moved.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Richard laughed.
Nora stood.
“You're lying.”
The man shook his head.
“I swear.”
“Then tell me everything you know.”
He looked toward Richard.
Richard's face was cold.
The guard finally whispered:
“There is a tunnel.”
Lorenzo froze.
“Where?”
“Under the chapel.”
Nora looked at Antonio.
Antonio nodded.
“I knew it.”
“Where does it lead?”
“To an old warehouse.”
“Which one?”
The guard gave an address.
Lorenzo immediately ordered his team to move.
Richard smiled.
“You won't get there in time.”
Nora turned toward him.
“You're coming with us.”
Richard laughed.
“No.”
Lorenzo grabbed him.
“Yes.”
As they left the estate, Nora looked at the clock.
They had twenty-two minutes.
Twenty-two minutes to save her daughter.
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Twenty-two minutes to end a twenty-four-year-old nightmare.
And somewhere beneath New York, someone was waiting for them.
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