Chapter 8 - THE BLUE NOTEBOOK
“She's five minutes away, and we're standing here talking!”
Sebastian reached for his coat.
Detective Delgado stepped into his path.
“If you race after that vehicle with armed men, you could make everything worse.”
“That's my daughter!”
“And I intend to bring her home alive.”
Sebastian stopped.
I could see the struggle in his face.
He was accustomed to solving problems through power.
But power had not found Lucia for three years.
This time, he had to trust someone else.
Damon showed Delgado the traffic-camera images.
The vehicle had turned toward a section of riverfront property still controlled by Keene's companies.
Investigators were coordinating with local officers.
The fifteen teenagers from the bus were safe at the hotel.
The twelve scholarship recipients had been reunited with their guardians.
Now attention had turned to the one girl everyone had believed lost.
Eleanor signed urgently.
I NEED TO GO.
Sebastian shook his head.
“Mother, it's dangerous.”
Her hands flashed.
SHE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR ME.
I translated.
Sebastian looked at Delgado.
“Can my mother at least be nearby?”
Delgado considered it.
“She can come to the police staging area if it remains secure. But nobody enters the property without authorization.”
I accompanied Eleanor.
Sebastian followed in a separate vehicle with Damon.
By the time we reached the riverfront, the sky above Chicago had turned black.
Industrial lights reflected off the water.
The old pedestrian bridge stood ahead of us.
And beyond it was a long brick building.
Three narrow windows.
A green door.
Exactly as Lucia had drawn.
Eleanor reached for my hand.
THERE.
I nodded.
“I see it.”
Officers had already located the vehicle.
It was parked beside the building.
But Lucia wasn't visible.
Investigators were working to establish who was inside and whether anyone needed immediate medical attention.
Then something unexpected happened.
A woman emerged from the green doorway.
She wore a dark coat and carried a canvas bag.
She approached an officer with both hands visible.
“My name is Margaret Shaw,” she said.
“I manage the residence.”
Delgado stepped forward.
“Where is Lucia Caruso?”
Margaret looked toward the building.
“She's inside.”
Sebastian started moving.
Damon held him back.
Margaret raised her voice.
“Please. Listen to me.”
She explained that she had worked for Keene's organization for nearly four years.
She had believed the first placements were legitimate.
By the time she realized what was happening, she had become frightened of losing her livelihood and exposing the things she had helped conceal.
“I told myself I was keeping the children fed,” she whispered.
Delgado asked why she had come outside.
Margaret opened her canvas bag.
Inside were appointment books, handwritten schedules, and financial records.
“Lucia made copies,” she said.
Sebastian stared.
Margaret continued.
“She kept asking me to help. I was afraid.”
“Why now?” Delgado asked.
Margaret looked ashamed.
“Because she told me tonight that if I stayed silent again, I would be choosing Mr. Keene over every child who trusted me.”
I watched Eleanor's face.
Her granddaughter had learned something from her.
How to keep speaking when nobody wanted to listen.
Margaret handed Delgado the records.
Then she said something that made Sebastian turn pale.
“Lucia has the original notebook. Mr. Keene wants it destroyed.”
“Where is Keene?” Delgado demanded.
“He's still at the hotel, as far as I know. But his people have instructions to collect the notebook before the residence is closed.”
Delgado gave orders to the officers nearby.
Margaret confirmed there were two staff members inside with Lucia.
She believed they were waiting for instructions.
Sebastian looked toward the windows.
“Why isn't she coming out?”
Margaret swallowed.
“Because she doesn't trust us.”
The words landed heavily.
“Mr. Caruso, the last time she trusted a family member, he delivered her to the man who kept her prisoner.”
Sebastian looked away.
Eleanor touched my sleeve.
I KNOW HOW TO REACH HER.
I translated.
Margaret led us toward a secure observation point, away from the entrance.
From there, we could see the building's upper windows.
A light came on.
A teenage girl appeared behind the glass.
Dark hair.
Cream-colored sweater.
A familiar face.
Sebastian put a hand over his mouth.
“Lucia.”
Eleanor stepped into view.
She raised her hands.
LUCIA. IT'S GRANDMA.
The girl froze.
Then she pressed both palms against the window.
Her face crumpled.
GRANDMA?
Eleanor nodded.
I AM HERE.
Lucia began crying.
Even from that distance, I could see it.
Sebastian stepped forward.
“Tell her I'm here.”
I looked at him.
“She can see you. Try signing it yourself.”
He hesitated.
Then he raised his hands and formed the few signs he remembered.
DAD. HERE. LOVE YOU.
The grammar wasn't perfect.
His hands were shaking.
But Lucia understood.
For one beautiful second, she smiled.
Then she looked over her shoulder.
Her expression changed.
She signed frantically.
HE WANTS THE NOTEBOOK.
Eleanor answered.
KEEP IT SAFE.
Lucia shook her head.
Then she held up the little blue notebook.
On its cover was a silver swallow.
She pointed toward someone we couldn't see.
Her next signs were unmistakable.
HE HAS THE ORIGINAL AGREEMENT.
I translated for Delgado.
“Someone inside has the original agreement.”
Lucia continued.
JULIAN SIGNED IT. SEBASTIAN DID NOT.
Sebastian went completely still.
For years, he had believed Julian's story.
But the document that enabled the entire operation had apparently been signed without Sebastian's knowledge.
Then Lucia signed the final words.
IT HAS BOTH THEIR NAMES.
Before I could translate, someone inside the building pulled the curtains shut.
The light disappeared.
And a voice came from the building's entrance.
“Mr. Caruso!”
Nolan Price stood behind the partly opened green door.
“Your daughter has something Mr. Keene wants.”
Sebastian took a step forward.
May you like
Nolan raised a sealed envelope.
“And unless this agreement disappears tonight, she's not leaving with you.”
