Chapter 2 - The Father Nanya Never Asked For
The armored SUV smelled like leather, smoke, and crushed peppers.
Nanya sat between Nora and the window with both hands folded tightly in her lap.
She had stopped talking.
That terrified Alex more than anything.
He sat opposite them.
Tony drove.
Two security vehicles followed.
The market explosion had been small.
A warning.
Not designed to kill.
Alex knew the difference.
That was almost worse.
Somebody had known exactly where he would be.
Somebody had seen Nora.
And possibly Nanya.
Nora stared at him.
“You brought this to us.”
Alex did not defend himself.
“Yes.”
That surprised her.
“You’re not going to tell me it could have happened anywhere?”
“No.”
“You’re not going to say you can protect us?”
“I can.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Alex looked toward the floor.
“No.”
Nanya finally spoke.
“Why are people trying to explode you?”
Nora closed her eyes.
“Nanya.”
“What?”
“You don’t need to—”
“Yes, I do.”
She looked directly at Alex.
“Why?”
Alex considered every lie available.
Business dispute.
Security problem.
Misunderstanding.
Then he remembered her asking:
Are you bad?
He chose the truth.
“Because people I’ve hurt sometimes want to hurt me back.”
Nanya stared.
“Did you hurt their peppers?”
Tony made a sound from the driver’s seat.
Alex’s mouth twitched.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Nanya.”
Nora’s voice became firmer.
“That’s enough.”
The girl crossed her arms.
“Fine.”
Five minutes passed.
Then:
“Do you have other kids?”
Alex looked at her.
“No.”
“A wife?”
“No.”
“Girlfriend?”
“No.”
“Dog?”
Tony coughed again.
Alex stared.
“No.”
Nanya nodded.
“You sound lonely.”
Nora turned toward the window.
Alex felt the hit harder than he expected.
“I work a lot.”
“My mom works a lot.”
Nanya pointed toward Nora.
“She still has me.”
That ended the conversation.
They arrived at Alex’s estate thirty minutes later.
Nora stopped at the gates.
“No.”
Alex looked at her.
“This is the safest place.”
“It looks like a prison.”
“It’s protected.”
“Exactly.”
Nanya stared through the glass.
“Is that a fountain?”
Nobody answered.
“Can I see it?”
Nora looked at her.
“Nanya.”
“Just the fountain.”
Alex said:
“She can.”
Nora glared.
“You do not get to start buying her attention.”
“I offered a fountain.”
“You own the fountain.”
“Technically.”
Nanya whispered:
“Mom, it’s a really big fountain.”
Nora sighed.
They entered.
The estate had always felt impressive to Alex.
Now he saw it through Nora’s eyes.
Guards.
Cameras.
Black cars.
Locked doors.
Everything meant to communicate safety also communicated danger.
Nanya walked into the foyer.
“Whoa.”
A marble staircase curved upward.
A chandelier hung two stories above them.
“Do you live here alone?”
“Yes.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Alex almost smiled.
Tony failed completely and laughed.
Nanya pointed at him.
“What?”
Tony shook his head.
“Nothing, boss.”
“I’m not your boss.”
Tony looked toward Alex.
“Not yet.”
Nora stared at him.
“Don’t encourage her.”
A physician checked Nora and Nanya for minor injuries from the blast.
Both were fine.
Then Alex moved everyone into the library.
No armed men inside.
Nora insisted.
Alex agreed.
She sat opposite him.
Nanya was nearby eating grilled cheese after announcing expensive houses should still have normal food.
Alex wanted answers.
He also realized demanding them would make him exactly what Nora feared.
So he asked:
“Why did you disappear instead of telling me?”
Nora looked at him.
“I tried.”
Alex froze.
“What?”
“I came to your apartment.”
“When?”
“The day after I found out I was pregnant.”
He remembered that day.
His father had been killed forty-eight hours earlier.
Alex had been pulled into the center of the Gene organization overnight.
Chaos.
Funeral.
Threats.
War.
“I wasn’t there.”
“No.”
“Who was?”
Nora hesitated.
“Victor.”
Alex’s body went still.
Victor Kane.
His father’s consigliere.
The man who taught Alex how to survive the underworld.
The man who became his closest strategic adviser after Vincent Gene died.
Victor had been beside Alex ever since.
“What did he say?”
Nora’s face hardened.
“That you didn’t want to see me.”
Alex stared.
“He said you knew I was pregnant.”
Silence.
“And?”
“He said you wanted nothing to do with a child.”
Alex stood.
Nanya looked up.
Nora continued.
“He gave me money.”
“What?”
“Fifty thousand dollars.”
Alex felt something dark rising.
“I didn’t take it.”
Nora swallowed.
“He told me if I loved my baby, I would disappear before your enemies learned about us.”
Alex’s hand tightened against the desk.
“Nora.”
“I believed him.”
“Why?”
“Because two men had been shot outside your father’s funeral.”
Alex closed his eyes.
Of course she believed him.
Victor had not needed a sophisticated lie.
Only timing.
Fear.
“And then?”
“I left New York.”
“Where?”
“Philadelphia first. Then Minneapolis. Then back here years later.”
“Why come back?”
“My mother got sick.”
Alex looked at Nanya.
Eight years.
He had spent those years trusting Victor.
“How did you hide from my people?”
Nora laughed bitterly.
“Victor helped.”
The room changed.
Alex stared.
“He helped you disappear?”
“Yes.”
That made no sense.
Unless—
Victor wanted them gone.
Not protected.
Removed.
Alex immediately called Tony.
“Find Victor.”
Tony’s face changed.
“He’s at the Hudson meeting.”
“Cancel it.”
“Boss?”
“Bring him here.”
Nora stood.
“No.”
Alex looked at her.
“You think he did this?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re angry.”
“Yes.”
“You get dangerous when you’re angry.”
The truth hit.
Nanya looked between them.
Alex breathed slowly.
Then sat back down.
“You’re right.”
Nora blinked.
So did Tony.
Alex continued.
“No one touches Victor.”
Tony nodded.
“We bring him.”
“Alive.”
Nora stared.
Alex added:
“And unhurt.”
That was apparently necessary.
Twenty minutes later, Tony returned.
His face was pale.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“Victor’s gone.”
Alex stood.
“Gone where?”
“His car was found near the river.”
“Phone?”
“Destroyed.”
Alex’s eyes sharpened.
Tony continued.
“And we found something in his office.”
He handed Alex a folder.
Inside were photographs.
Nora.
Pregnant.
Leaving New York.
Nanya as a toddler.
Nanya at school.
Nora at the market.
Alex turned page after page.
Years.
Victor had known exactly where they were.
The entire time.
At the bottom of the file was a handwritten note.
THE GIRL REMAINS UNAWARE. KEEP GENE AWAY UNTIL THE SUCCESSION ISSUE IS RESOLVED.
Alex read it twice.
Nora whispered:
“What succession issue?”
Alex did not answer immediately.
Because the phrase belonged to an older part of his family history.
A dangerous one.
Under the Gene family structure, Alex had inherited control because he was Vincent’s only recognized child.
But if Alex had a biological heir—
Certain trusts, voting rights, and dormant holdings changed automatically.
Nanya was not merely his daughter.
Legally, she could alter ownership of an empire worth billions.
Alex looked at Nora.
“This wasn’t about protecting you from me.”
Her face changed.
“No.”
He looked at Nanya.
Victor had hidden his daughter because someone had needed Alex Gene to remain childless.
And the marketplace explosion suddenly looked less like revenge.
May you like
It looked like someone had realized the secret was no longer secret.
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