Chapter 10 - THE GIRL WITH THE YELLOW RIBBON|
Dominic found Margaret Bell in a quiet neighborhood outside Naples, Florida.
The house was small, painted pale blue, with a white fence and a garden full of sunflowers. It was the kind of place Laura would have loved.
A little girl was sitting on the front steps.
Dark curls. Serious eyes. Yellow ribbon around her wrist.
Dominic stopped at the gate.
For three years, he had imagined his daughter as a memory. A photograph. A name on a bracelet. Now she was real, and she was close enough to touch.
Margaret opened the door.
“Can I help you?”
“My name is Dominic Romano.”
Her face changed.
She pulled the girl behind her.
“Go inside, Grace.”
The child looked at Dominic.
“Are you the man from the picture?”
He couldn't speak.
Margaret moved between them.
“You need to leave.”
“I'm her father.”
“That's what they told me.”
“Who?”
“Dr. Bell. He said the girl's parents were dead. He said there was no family left to look for her.”
Dominic reached into his coat and took out the photograph Samuel had given him.
“Is this the same child?”
Margaret glanced at it.
Her eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“Then tell me what happened.”
She looked toward Grace.
“Not in front of her.”
Dominic nodded.
A minute later, Grace was inside with a coloring book. Margaret sat opposite him at the kitchen table.
“Your father paid my brother to take care of her,” she said. “He told us the baby had been abandoned. I didn't know she was yours until I saw your name in the news.”
“Why didn't you contact me?”
“I tried. A man came to my house and told me that if I ever mentioned the child, my brother would go to prison and Grace would disappear.”
“Marco?”
“I don't know his name.”
Dominic looked through the doorway at his daughter.
“Has she been happy?”
Margaret's expression softened.
“She is a good little girl. She likes picture books and pancakes. She asks a lot of questions.”
“What does she ask?”
“Why other children have mothers.”
Dominic looked down.
Margaret continued.
“I told her her mother was somewhere far away. I thought it was kinder than telling her nobody knew where she was.”
He swallowed.
“Does she remember Laura?”
“No. She was too young.”
Dominic stood and walked to the doorway.
Grace was coloring a house with a red roof. She had drawn three people in front of it. One was very small. One had dark hair. The third was a tall figure with a black suit.
“That's me,” she said when she noticed him watching.
Dominic crouched.
“Can I ask you something?”
Grace nodded.
“Why did you draw me?”
“Because Margaret said my daddy might come someday.”
Dominic's throat tightened.
“Would you like to meet him?”
She studied his face.
“Are you him?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you take so long?”
He had faced men with weapons and never felt as helpless as he did in that kitchen.
“I was looking for you.”
“Were you looking for Mommy too?”
Dominic closed his eyes briefly.
“Yes.”
Grace put down her crayon.
“Can you find her?”
“I will.”
Margaret approached, holding a small envelope.
“My brother left this before he disappeared. He said I should give it to the child's father if he ever came.”
Dominic opened it.
Inside was a hospital record, a photograph of a woman in a medical uniform, and a handwritten note.
The mother survived delivery. She was transferred to the old Romano property. The order came from M. Romano.
Dominic read it twice.
“Did your brother say anything else?”
Margaret shook her head.
“He was frightened.”
Dominic folded the note.
He had found his daughter.
But Laura was still trapped somewhere beneath the world he controlled.
Grace tugged at his sleeve.
“Are you going away?”
He looked at her.
“No.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
She considered that.
Then she held out her small hand.
Dominic took it as if it were the most valuable thing he had ever been trusted with.
His phone vibrated.
A message from Marco appeared.
I know where you are. Bring the girl back before midnight, or Laura dies.
Dominic stared at the screen.
Grace looked up.
“Is something wrong?”
He forced himself to smile.
“No, sweetheart.”
May you like
But when he turned toward the window, he saw a black SUV parked across the street.
And the man behind its wheel was already raising a camera.
