Chapter 23
“I loved you because you were kind when no one was watching.”
Nico’s eyes held hers.
“You were not always kind.”
“I know.”
“You cannot promise me you will never be afraid again.”
“I can promise I will not use fear as an excuse to hurt you.”
“That is different.”
“It is the only promise I can make honestly.”
Celia stepped away from them.
“I should have told you both sooner.”
Norah turned to her.
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because Sofia asked me to wait.”
“She is gone.”
“I know.”
Celia touched the photograph again.
“She believed that if you learned the truth while Matteo’s influence still remained, it would place you both in greater danger.”
Nico gave a humorless smile.
“Matteo has been dead for six years.”
“But his choices did not die with him.”
The sentence carried a quiet warning.
Norah looked at the ledger.
“What remains?”
“Accounts,” Celia said.
“Names.”
“People your father helped and people he harmed.”
“Which names?”
“The ones he intended to use as leverage after his death.”
Nico’s expression grew serious.
“Where are the rest of the records?”
Celia looked toward the blue door.
“Your father divided them.”
“Why?”
“Because he trusted no one completely.”
“Where are they now?”
“One part is here.”
She reached into her coat and withdrew a small brass key.
Norah recognized it immediately.
It was identical to the one her mother had left her.
Celia placed it beside the ledger.
“The second part is with Elias.”
“And the third?”
Celia looked at Nico.
“You have it.”
His brow furrowed.
“I have never seen these records.”
“You have carried them for years.”
She pointed toward the ring on his right hand.
It was a simple band of dark metal that Nico rarely removed.
Norah had always assumed it was a family heirloom.
Celia asked him to turn it over.
A tiny seam appeared along the inner edge.
Nico stared at it.
“My father gave me this when I became head of the organization.”
“He told you it was a symbol of authority.”
“It was.”
“It is also a key.”
Nico removed the ring and pressed the hidden ridge.
A narrow compartment opened.
Inside was a folded strip of paper, so small it appeared almost like a thread.
He pulled it free and unfolded it across his palm.
The paper held a sequence of numbers and three initials.
S.R.
E.V.
C.M.