Chapter 5 - The Secret Hidden in Locker B-17|
The abandoned printing building stood between a shuttered laundromat and an old brick church on Chicago's North Side.
Its windows were covered with plywood.
A faded sign above the entrance still read MCKENNA PRINTING SERVICES.
Emma stared at the building from the passenger seat of Attorney Lydia Park's car.
Seven years earlier, she had come here searching for Nicholas.
She remembered pounding on the locked door until her knuckles hurt.
She remembered a man across the street telling her the business had closed without warning.
Most of all, she remembered going home and realizing she would have to raise her baby alone.
Now she was back.
But this time, she wasn't alone.
FBI Special Agent Elena Ruiz stood outside with two investigators and the building's property representative.
The agents had obtained legal authorization to examine the old storage area after learning about the threatening messages and Nicholas's possible connection to the explosion.
Dominic waited near his vehicle.
He had agreed not to enter unless the investigators requested his assistance.
Emma appreciated that more than she wanted to admit.
For someone accustomed to giving orders, he was finally learning that other people had the right to make decisions.
"Are you ready?" Lydia asked.
Emma touched the small brass key inside her coat pocket.
"No."
Lydia offered a reassuring smile.
"Then we can take another minute."
Emma shook her head.
"I've already lost seven years."
She opened the car door.
The building smelled of dust, damp paper, and forgotten machinery.
Old printing presses stood beneath plastic coverings.
A calendar from October 2019 hung beside an office doorway.
Emma stopped when she saw it.
October 2019.
The month Nicholas disappeared.
The month Lily's father was supposedly killed.
An investigator led them down a narrow staircase to the basement.
Rows of metal storage lockers lined the wall.
Most were empty.
Some had been forced open years earlier.
But locker B-17 remained closed.
Emma stared at the faded numbers.
"That's it."
Agent Ruiz examined the lock.
"Are you comfortable opening it?"
Emma nodded.
Her hand shook as she inserted the key.
For one terrifying moment, nothing happened.
Then the mechanism turned.
The metal door opened with a long, rusty squeal.
Inside were three objects.
A small waterproof case.
A blue ribbon tied around a stack of envelopes.
And a folded photograph.
Emma reached for the photograph after Ruiz documented its position.
Nicholas stood beside the lake, smiling directly at the camera.
On the back, in handwriting Emma recognized instantly, were six words.
For my daughter, when she's ready.
Emma pressed her hand over her mouth.
"He knew."
Lydia touched her shoulder.
"He knew he might not see her."
The realization hurt in a completely different way from abandonment.
For years, Emma had imagined Nicholas walking away because he didn't want a child.
Now she was beginning to understand he might have disappeared because he wanted his child to survive.
Ruiz carefully opened the first envelope.
It was addressed to Emma.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Emma asked to read it herself.
She unfolded the paper.
My beautiful Emma,
If you're reading this, something has gone terribly wrong.
I need you to know that I never stopped loving you.
I never wanted to leave you.
The message you may receive from my phone won't be written by me.
There are people in my family who believe everything has a price.
They think they can purchase silence with money and fear.
I found proof that innocent people died because of something they ordered.
I thought I could stop it quietly.
I was wrong.
Please protect our baby.
If we have a daughter, tell her I dreamed of meeting her.
If we have a son, tell him I would have loved him just as fiercely.
And if you ever meet my brother Dominic, remember that he doesn't know everything his family has done.
I hope one day he becomes the man I always believed he could be.
I love you.
Nick.
Emma read the letter twice.
By the third time, tears were dripping onto her coat.
Seven years of bitterness suddenly had somewhere to go.
Nicholas hadn't forgotten her.
He hadn't rejected Lily.
He had been afraid for them.
"Can you prove he wrote it?" Emma whispered.
Ruiz nodded thoughtfully.
"We can have the handwriting and materials examined."
She didn't offer certainty before the evidence was tested.
Emma was grateful for that.
She had lived too long with people telling her what to believe.
Inside the waterproof case were a small digital storage device, handwritten financial notes, and copies of old housing contracts.
Several pages bore the same name.
HAWTHORNE COURT REDEVELOPMENT.
Emma remembered Hawthorne Court.
Everyone in Chicago had heard about the apartment fire that killed four residents eight years earlier.
The building had housed low-income families.
After the fire, the property was demolished and sold.
A luxury development eventually rose in its place.
Official reports had blamed faulty electrical wiring.
Nicholas's documents suggested something much more disturbing.
Ruiz quickly recognized that the records might be evidence of financial crimes connected to the property.
She sealed the items for forensic examination.
Then she opened the final envelope.
This one was addressed to Thomas Grant.
Dominic's dead driver.
Ruiz read the first line.
Her expression changed.
She stepped outside and asked Dominic to join them.
He entered slowly.
"What is it?"
Ruiz held up the envelope without handing it over.
"Your brother left a message for Thomas."
Dominic went pale.
"Thomas?"
Emma watched his reaction.
Dominic looked at the letter.
Then he whispered, "He knew."
"Who knew what?" Emma asked.
Dominic sat on the basement stairs.
"Thomas told me he had information about Nico before the bombing."
"He told you that?"
"Yes."
"And you never mentioned it?"
"I didn't understand what it meant."
Emma stared at him.
Dominic looked up.
"The night my car exploded, Thomas said he was finally ready to tell me who betrayed my brother."
Ruiz exchanged a glance with Lydia.
"What happened to the original evidence Thomas was bringing you?" the agent asked.
Dominic hesitated.
"It disappeared in the fire."
Ruiz examined the final page of Nicholas's notes.
Then she looked at Dominic.
"According to this, Thomas wasn't the only person who knew."
Emma felt a chill.
"Who else?"
Ruiz placed the page on the table.
Beneath a list of payments was a name written in black ink.
ENZO SALVATORE.
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And beside it was a handwritten warning from Nicholas.
If Dominic ever discovers the truth, Enzo will try to kill him too.
