Chapter 6 - THE NIGHT THE HOUSE CAUGHT FIRE
Roman was standing beside Nora's kitchen counter when he asked about the cookbook.
She glanced at him.
"Why?"
"Thomas Reed mentioned it."
Her expression changed.
"Grace knew about my mother's cookbook?"
"Apparently."
Nora looked confused.
"That doesn't make sense."
She reached for the book.
It was old, with a red cloth cover and pages stained by decades of flour, butter, and cooking oil.
Her mother had written notes in the margins.
More cinnamon for Nora.
Don't overcook the chicken.
Save the good chocolate for birthdays.
Nora opened the front cover.
Tucked inside was Roman's old handwritten note.
He stared at it.
Ten years had passed, but the paper looked exactly as he remembered.
Thank you for treating me like a person.
His throat tightened.
"You kept it."
Nora smiled.
"Of course."
He touched the edge of the paper.
"I didn't know whether I'd ever see you again."
"Neither did I."
For a moment, the mystery disappeared.
They were simply two people remembering a freezing night behind a grocery store.
Then Nora turned the page.
A folded sheet slipped from the binding.
She frowned.
"What's that?"
Roman picked it up.
The paper had been hidden between the cloth cover and the book's cardboard backing.
It was thin and slightly yellowed.
Across the top were the words:
HARBORLINE — PRIVATE ACCOUNT RECONCILIATION.
Below were columns of numbers.
Dates.
Transfer references.
Company names.
And several payments marked with the initials V.V.
Nora stared.
"I've never seen this."
Roman carefully placed the paper on the table.
"Grace must have hidden it."
"But why in my cookbook?"
"Because she trusted you."
Nora's eyes filled.
Grace had spent months sharing meals in this kitchen.
She knew where Nora kept her most treasured belongings.
She knew the cookbook rarely left her possession.
And perhaps, as danger closed in, she had chosen the one hiding place nobody would suspect.
Roman photographed the document.
Then called Daniel.
"Get Julia and an independent forensic accountant. We found financial records."
Daniel answered immediately.
"Where?"
"In Nora's cookbook."
There was a long silence.
Then Daniel said, "Don't leave the apartment until I get there."
Roman looked toward the windows.
"Why?"
"Reed just called me."
"What happened?"
"He says somebody is watching Nora's building."
Roman's stomach tightened.
He crossed the room and looked outside.
A dark sedan sat near the corner.
Its engine was running.
"Daniel, send the police the location."
"Already doing it."
Roman closed the curtain.
Then he turned toward Nora.
"We need to leave."
She looked at Lucy, who was asleep on the sofa after a long day at school.
"What's wrong?"
"Someone may have found us."
Nora went pale.
"Victor?"
"We don't know."
Roman moved toward the door.
"Get Lucy's coat."
Before Nora could respond, a loud crash sounded downstairs.
Then someone shouted.
"Fire!"
Smoke began drifting through the hallway.
Roman opened the apartment door and immediately stepped back.
A thick gray cloud was spreading up the stairwell.
Nora screamed Lucy's name.
Roman closed the door.
"Stay low!"
He grabbed his phone and called emergency services.
Then he moved toward the windows.
The apartment was on the second floor, with a fire escape outside the bedroom.
Nora lifted Lucy from the sofa.
The child woke, confused.
"Aunt Nora?"
"Sweetheart, listen to me. We have to go outside."
Lucy began crying.
Roman wrapped a damp towel loosely around her shoulders and guided Nora toward the bedroom.
Smoke was seeping beneath the apartment door.
The fire alarm blared.
The window opened with difficulty.
Outside, the metal fire escape was wet and cold.
Roman checked the ladder.
It appeared intact.
"One at a time," he said.
Nora looked frightened.
"Roman—"
"I'll be right behind you."
She climbed out carrying Lucy close to her chest.
The little girl clung to her neck.
Below, people were gathering on the sidewalk.
A firefighter who had reached the rear of the building directed Nora down the escape.
Roman followed them carefully.
Halfway down, Lucy began coughing.
Nora's fear sharpened.
"Baby, stay with me."
"I'm scared."
"I know. Keep looking at me."
They reached the ground.
A firefighter guided them away from the building.
Roman stepped down behind them.
Then a window above exploded outward in a burst of heat and shattered glass.
Everyone ducked.
Roman pulled Nora and Lucy farther from the wall.
Seconds later, flames climbed through the apartment they had occupied only minutes earlier.
Nora stared.
Their clothes.
Lucy's schoolbooks.
Her mother's photographs.
Everything was inside.
"Oh, God," she whispered.
Roman wrapped his arms around both of them.
"You're alive."
Nora began sobbing.
"My mother's things..."
"I know."
"Grace's letters..."
"I know."
Lucy cried against her shoulder.
Roman looked over the child's head toward the burning building.
He had been raised among men who considered fire a useful way to erase evidence.
This didn't feel accidental.
And when Daniel arrived, his expression confirmed Roman's fear.
"The building's entrance camera captured someone carrying a container into the utility room," he said quietly.
"Who?"
"We're checking."
"Was anybody hurt?"
"Fire crews are evacuating everyone. We don't have a full report yet."
Roman looked at Nora.
She was trembling uncontrollably.
He approached her.
"We need to get Lucy checked."
She nodded.
At the hospital, doctors examined them for smoke exposure.
Lucy was frightened but medically stable.
Nora had minor irritation from smoke inhalation and a bruised wrist.
Roman's shoulder had been scratched by broken glass.
He barely noticed.
While they waited for discharge, Nora sat beside Lucy's bed.
The little girl was sleeping.
Nora stared at her daughter.
Then whispered, "I can't do this anymore."
Roman sat beside her.
"You don't have to."
She shook her head.
"No, Roman. I mean it. I can't keep letting your uncle turn my life into a battlefield."
He lowered his head.
"You're right."
"I had almost nothing before you found me. Now even that is gone."
The words hurt.
Because they were true.
Roman reached into his pocket.
Pulled out the old grocery receipt.
Placed it on the chair between them.
Nora looked at it.
"I didn't buy you dinner so you would owe me your life."
"I know."
"Then stop acting as though saving me means controlling everything."
Roman closed his eyes.
She continued.
"If we're going to fight this, we do it together. With the police. With evidence. Not with another gang war."
He looked at her.
For years, he had believed power meant people obeying his orders.
Nora was asking him to surrender that power.
To trust a system he had spent his life avoiding.
Finally, he nodded.
"All right."
She searched his face.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
At that moment, Daniel appeared outside the hospital room.
His face was pale.
"Boss."
Roman stood.
"What?"
"The fire investigators found evidence suggesting the blaze was deliberately set."
Roman's jaw tightened.
"And the person on the camera?"
Daniel swallowed.
"We identified him."
"Who?"
"Caleb Shaw. One of Victor's oldest drivers."
Roman closed his eyes.
Then Daniel handed him a photograph.
It showed Caleb entering the building's utility room.
But something else was visible.
A young woman stood near the entrance, watching him.
Nora leaned closer.
Her face changed.
"Oh, my God."
Roman looked at her.
"What?"
She pointed toward the woman.
"That's Grace."
Silence.
Roman stared.
"Grace Bennett?"
Nora nodded, trembling.
"But Grace died seven years ago."
Daniel looked down at the photograph's timestamp.
It had been taken less than two hours earlier.
May you like
The woman whose death had left Lucy an orphan was standing beside the man suspected of burning down their home.
And Nora suddenly understood that the past was far more dangerous than either of them had imagined.
