Chapter 2 - THE GIRL WHO KNEW HIS FACE
Adrian chose the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for the meeting.
It was closed to the public that morning for winter maintenance.
Sarah objected until Vincent explained that the empty garden allowed security to remain distant.
No armed men stood beside the path.
No black cars lined the entrance.
Adrian waited alone inside the glass conservatory.
A sling held his injured arm against his chest.
The bullet wound made every movement stiff.
The heart monitor beneath his shirt remained invisible.
He had faced police raids, rival crews, and armed negotiations without losing control of his breathing.
Then Lily entered holding Sarah’s hand.
His knees almost failed.
She wore a yellow coat and red boots.
Kiara had once worn the same colors in a photograph Adrian kept inside his safe.
But Lily was not Kiara.
He forced himself to see the child standing before him instead of the child he had lost.
Lily stopped several feet away.
Adrian said nothing.
Sarah had warned him not to make the first moment about his guilt.
Lily examined his face carefully.
“You’re taller than my picture.”
Adrian’s throat tightened.
“I saw the picture.”
“Mr. Vincent gave it to you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you like it?”
“Very much.”
“I forgot your face.”
“I know.”
Lily looked toward Sarah.
“Is he my daddy?”
Sarah knelt beside her.
“Yes.”
Lily turned back to Adrian.
“Why didn’t you come before?”
Adrian had prepared explanations.
Enemies.
Danger.
Protection.
None belonged inside the mouth of a four-year-old.
“I was afraid.”
Lily frowned.
“Of me?”
“No.”
“Of people hurting you because of me.”
“Did they?”
“No.”
“Then you were wrong.”
Adrian felt the sentence land deeper than the bullet.
“Yes.”
“I was wrong.”
Lily approached one step.
“Are you still afraid?”
“Yes.”
“What do you do when you’re afraid?”
Adrian looked toward Sarah.
“I am learning to tell the truth.”
Lily nodded as though this was acceptable.
Then she noticed his sling.
“Did someone hurt you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you say sorry?”
“The person who hurt me?”
“No.”
“Did you say sorry for not coming?”
Adrian lowered himself carefully to one knee.
Pain moved through his shoulder.
“I am sorry I stayed away.”
“I thought it would keep you safe.”
“But it made you wonder whether I wanted you.”
“I wanted you every day.”
“I was still wrong.”
Lily watched him.
Children did not automatically forgive because adults finally became honest.
She took time.
Then she held out one small hand.
“Can I hold your hand just once?”
Adrian stared at her fingers.
His good hand had signed death orders.
Held weapons.
Closed deals built on fear.
Now it trembled before touching a child.
“Yes.”
His voice broke.
Lily placed her hand inside his.
Adrian lowered his head.
The tears came before he could stop them.
He had not cried when his father died.
He had not cried when doctors removed the bullet from his shoulder.
He had cried alone after Kiara’s funeral, where no one could see.
Now he broke down in the middle of the conservatory.
Sarah looked away to give him dignity.
Vincent, watching from the far doorway, did the same.
Lily remained still.
“Does your shoulder hurt?”
“No.”
“What hurts?”
Adrian pressed her hand gently against his chest.
“Something in here.”
“Your bad heart?”
Sarah’s eyes widened.
Adrian looked toward her.
“I told her you were sick,” Sarah said.
“I did not tell her she had to fix it.”
Lily touched the front of Adrian’s coat.
“Doctors fix hearts.”
“Sometimes.”
“My teacher says glue fixes paper.”
“I don’t think glue will work.”
She smiled.
Adrian laughed through tears.
The sound surprised everyone.
Lily released his hand.
“You can hold it again later.”
Adrian nodded.
“I would like that.”
She moved toward the pond inside the conservatory.
Adrian rose slowly.
Sarah remained beside him.
“This does not make you her father overnight.”
“I know.”
“She may love you immediately.”
“That does not mean she trusts you.”
“I know.”
“You cannot visit when it suits you and disappear when it becomes difficult.”
“I know.”
Sarah looked at his pale face.
“Did you schedule the surgery?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Good.”
A shadow moved beyond the glass roof.
Vincent’s voice sounded through Adrian’s earpiece.
“We have a photographer on the north wall.”
Adrian’s body tightened.
The meeting was supposed to be secret.
Someone had found them.
Before Vincent’s men reached the wall, the photographer disappeared.
May you like
All that remained in the snow was a black card bearing a silver wolf.
Dimitri Volkov knew about Lily.
