Chapter 2 - The Guarantee
The name hit Victor harder than any bullet ever had.
Vic.
Nobody had called him that in twenty years.
Tommy looked between them.
“Boss?”
Victor raised one hand.
“Everybody out.”
Mrs. Gable hesitated.
“But the dinner—”
“Out.”
Within seconds, the dining room emptied.
Norah remained beside the broken crystal.
Victor stared at her.
“You’re Norah Hayes.”
She gave a nervous laugh.
“You already knew my name.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I mean you're Norah.”
She backed away.
“You're Victor Costa.”
“Yes.”
“Vic Costa?”
“Yes.”
“The boy from St. Jude’s?”
His expression tightened.
“Yes.”
Norah stared at the man in front of her.
The boy she remembered had been thin, perpetually hungry and angry at the entire world.
This man owned an estate overlooking the Atlantic.
“You came back,” she whispered.
Victor’s jaw tightened.
“I did.”
“When?”
“Three years after they transferred me.”
Norah stopped.
“What?”
“I went back to St. Jude’s.”
Her face changed.
“They told me you never did.”
“I asked for you.”
“What did they say?”
“That you'd been placed with a family in Pennsylvania.”
Norah shook her head.
“I never went to Pennsylvania.”
Victor went still.
“I was moved to another group home forty miles away.”
Silence.
Victor looked furious, but not at her.
“I searched for you.”
“So did I.”
“You did?”
“For years.”
Norah touched the ring.
“I thought you were dead.”
Victor looked at the cheap copper loop hanging against her uniform.
“You kept that for twenty years?”
“I couldn't wear it anymore.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
She met his eyes.
“Yes.”
Victor looked away.
For perhaps the first time in years, he did not know what to say.
Norah broke the silence.
“Am I fired?”
His head snapped toward her.
“What?”
“The vase.”
Victor stared at the shattered crystal.
Then he actually laughed once.
It was short and disbelieving.
“You think I care about the vase?”
“I care. I can't lose this job.”
“Why?”
“Because normal people need paychecks.”
The words landed harder than Norah intended.
Victor glanced around his enormous dining room.
“Fair.”
He reached toward her injured hand.
Norah pulled back.
“I'm fine.”
“You're bleeding.”
“I've had worse.”
“So have I. Doesn't make it smart.”
He took a clean napkin from the table and held it out rather than touching her.
Norah accepted it.
Victor noticed her swollen knuckles.
“You work sixteen-hour shifts?”
“Sometimes.”
“Why?”
“Ask Mrs. Gable.”
“I’m asking you.”
“My sister needs care.”
“What happened?”
Norah stiffened.
“That's personal.”
Victor nodded once.
“All right.”
That surprised her.
A knock sounded.
Tommy opened the door slightly.
“Victor. They're arriving.”
The summit.
Victor looked at Norah.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
He blinked.
“I need to finish cleaning.”
“You're injured.”
“And I'm an employee.”
“You're Norah.”
“That doesn't erase the last twenty years.”
Victor said nothing.
She crouched toward the broken glass.
He immediately caught her wrist.
“Don't.”
Norah looked at his hand.
Then at him.
Victor released her.
“Sorry.”
Mrs. Gable entered.
Her face was pale.
“Mr. Costa, I sincerely apologize for Miss Hayes. I'll dismiss her immediately.”
“No.”
Mrs. Gable stopped.
Victor's voice hardened.
“Give her the rest of the night off.”
“Certainly.”
“And tomorrow.”
Norah frowned.
“I don't want tomorrow off.”
Victor almost looked offended.
“You just cut your hand.”
“I need the hours.”
“I'll pay you.”
“I don't want charity.”
Tommy coughed to hide a smile.
Victor slowly turned toward him.
Tommy's face became perfectly blank.
Norah folded the napkin around her thumb.
“I'll finish my shift.”
Victor studied her for several seconds.
There she was.
The same stubborn girl who once split an apple in half because she refused to let him steal food for her.
“All right,” he said.
Mrs. Gable blinked.
Victor pointed at Norah.
“But no glass.”
Norah stared.
“No glass?”
“No glass.”
“You run a criminal empire and your first order to me after twenty years is no glass?”
Tommy turned away, shoulders shaking.
Victor's mouth almost curved.
“Apparently.”
For one impossible second, Norah saw Vic again.
Then the dining-room doors opened.
Three powerful men entered.
And Victor Costa became the boss again.
But as he walked toward them, one of the visitors noticed Norah.
More importantly, he noticed the ring around her neck.
His expression changed.
Victor saw it.
And instantly understood something Norah did not.
May you like
Someone else recognized that ring.
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