Chapter 5 - The Stolen Tie
While Claire was weeping in the small staff bedroom, little Nora quietly slipped out into the grand, sprawling hallways of the mafia estate.
Nora didn't fully understand the complex, terrifying world she lived in, but she was incredibly observant. She saw how the massive, scary men with guns always bowed their heads when "Mr. Adrian" walked into a room. She saw how even the mean lady, Victoria, stopped yelling whenever the big boss with the tattoos appeared.
In Nora’s innocent, three-year-old logic, she deduced that in order to protect her mommy, she needed to act exactly like the most powerful person in the house. She needed to be the boss.
Nora padded quietly down the carpeted hallway and snuck into the master suite’s massive, walk-in dressing room. The room smelled of expensive cologne and polished leather. She reached up to a low-hanging rack and pulled down a sleek, black silk tie—Adrian’s favorite tie.
She awkwardly draped the massive strip of silk around her tiny neck, feeling a sudden surge of bravery.
Then, she reached into the small, hidden compartment of her mother’s old wooden jewelry box. Claire had always told Nora that the heavy silver object inside was very special, a magical treasure from the father she had never met. Nora grabbed the antique pocket watch, dropped it into her pink plastic purse alongside her crayons and crackers, and marched out into the foyer to confront the scary guards.
She wanted to show them that she was brave, bossy, and completely in charge.
She had absolutely no idea that pulling that silver watch out of her purse was the equivalent of pulling the pin on a massive, highly explosive grenade.
Standing in the grand foyer, Adrian Cole slowly lifted his eyes from the silver pocket watch in his hand. He looked directly at Claire, his piercing blue eyes burning with an intense, terrifying mix of disbelief, betrayal, and sudden, overwhelming comprehension.
"Daddy James..." Adrian whispered, repeating the little girl's words as his mind rapidly calculated the impossible truth standing right in front of him.
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Before Claire could even open her mouth to beg for her daughter's life, the sharp, arrogant clicking of expensive high heels echoed down the grand marble staircase.
👉 Read Part 6 to return to the explosive confrontation in the grand foyer.
