Chapter 2 - THE MESSAGE
The private room had pale walls, a long sofa, and a small table with a bowl of fresh fruit. It looked less like a nightclub office and more like a hotel suite.
Nora did not sit.
Adrian stood by the door while his assistant, a woman named Celia, checked the corridor.
“Your sister is on her way,” Celia said. “We've asked the front desk to bring her directly here.”
“Thank you.”
Celia looked at Nora. “Would you like me to find a coat? Yours is still in the main room.”
Nora glanced down. She was wearing a thin black dress and one shoe had a broken strap.
“Please.”
When Celia left, Adrian placed a phone on the table.
“You can call your sister again if you need to.”
Nora stared at it. “Julian has her address.”
“Does he know where she is right now?”
“I don't know.”
“Then we'll have someone check that the building is secure. We won't approach her or contact her without your approval.”
Nora finally sat. Her wrist throbbed. A red mark circled it where Julian had grabbed her in the corridor.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I told you. Adrian Vale.”
“I mean what do you do?”
“I own the Halcyon. A few restaurants. Some property.”
“That's not an answer.”
“No,” he admitted. “It isn't.”
He pulled a chair several feet away, leaving a clear path to the door.
“I'll tell you what matters. This building has cameras in public areas. The footage is backed up off-site. The staff are trained not to interfere physically unless someone is in immediate danger. If Julian touched you in the corridor, there may be a record.”
Nora stared at her hands.
“He didn't just touch me.”
Adrian waited.
“He took my phone. He said I was making him look foolish. I told him I wanted to go home. He grabbed my arm and said I wasn't leaving until I apologized.”
“Did he threaten you?”
“He said my sister would lose her job if I embarrassed him.”
“Where does she work?”
“At a dental clinic. Julian's company manages the building.”
Adrian's expression changed slightly.
“Which company?”
“Northline Properties.”
He looked toward the window. “I know the name.”
Nora laughed once, without humor. “Of course you do.”
Before Adrian could answer, Celia returned with a coat and a small first-aid kit. She knelt beside Nora and asked permission before examining her wrist.
“It's bruised, but I don't think it's broken,” Celia said. “You should have it checked if the pain gets worse.”
Nora nodded.
Celia placed the coat beside her.
“Your sister is here.”
Lena entered a moment later, pale and breathless. She crossed the room and wrapped both arms around Nora.
“Oh, God.”
Nora clung to her.
“I'm okay.”
“Don't say that if you aren't.”
Lena pulled back and saw the red mark on her wrist.
“What did he do?”
“Not here.”
Lena looked at Adrian. Her eyes narrowed.
“Who is he?”
“Adrian Vale,” he answered. “I own the club.”
“Why is my sister in your private room?”
“Because she asked for help, and because she didn't want to leave with the man who brought her here.”
Lena's expression softened by a fraction. She turned back to Nora.
“We're going home.”
Nora nodded, but her eyes returned to the phone on the table.
“He has your address.”
Lena went still.
“What?”
“He showed me a picture of your building.”
Lena looked at Adrian. “Can you get us out without him seeing?”
“Yes.”
“Can you make sure he doesn't follow us?”
“I can arrange an escort to your door. I can't promise what another person will do, but I can help you take sensible precautions.”
Lena looked as though she wanted to demand more. Instead, she took Nora's hand.
“Let's go.”
Adrian handed Nora a card.
“My number is on it. If you need the footage preserved, medical assistance, or a safe place to wait, call. If you don't want to speak to me again, that's your choice.”
Nora slipped the card into her coat pocket.
At the service exit, a driver waited beside a dark sedan. Two staff members accompanied the sisters through the underground garage.
As the car pulled away, Nora looked through the rear window.
Julian's black car was parked across the street.
He wasn't inside it.
He was standing beside the passenger door, watching.
Her phone vibrated in her borrowed coat.
May you like
A message from an unknown number appeared.
You have no idea what you've just started.
