Chapter 4
My hands shook as I brought the phone to my ear.
"Hello?"
A raspy, deep breath came through the speaker.
"Is my grandson safe?" Raymond Ashford asked.
Direct.
Cold.
"No," I whispered. "They're trying to take him, Dad."
Silence.
Then the quiet click of a metal lighter closing.
"Are they pressing you?" Raymond asked softly.
The gentleness in his tone was far more terrifying than anger.
"Mason signed temporary authority over to Blair," I whispered.
A long pause.
I could hear him breathing.
I could hear the years between us.
"Eight years, Nora," Raymond rasped. "You hid long enough. Come home."
The line went dead.
I pulled the phone away.
Blair stepped up beside us.
She smoothed her coat and looked at her documents.
"This is the proper legal pathway, Nora," she murmured with a soft smile.
"The Family requires proper standing. You only hold things back."
Eli shrank toward me.
He held my sleeve.
I stood up slowly.
My hands were steady.
I reached out and wrapped my fingers around Blair's wrist.
Firm.
Unyielding.
I pulled her away from my son.
"Keep your distance," I said quietly.
Blair's smile dropped.
Her eyes flashed.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
She looked me up and down.
"You think you still have leverage? Your standing is stripped. Your security is gone. You're cut off."
"I have my name," I said softly.
Blair laughed.
"The Callahan name? You signed it away ten minutes ago."
"Not that name."
Blair frowned.
A flicker of confusion crossed her face before she brushed it off.
"Mason's transport team is downstairs. The court filings are processed. Eli leaves with me."
She stepped forward.
I blocked her path completely.
"Try it."
The heavy double glass doors at the end of the lobby swung open with a loud thud.
Three men in black raincoats stepped inside.
Water dripped from their shoulders.
At the front was Nick.
His hands hung low and loose at his sides.
The headmaster stood up instantly and bowed his head.
Eli's eyes widened.
He peered around my skirt.
"Uncle Nick?"
Nick didn't smile.
He didn't speak.
He just looked at me.
Then he looked at Blair.
Then he looked at the headmaster.
The room went quiet.
Even the rain outside seemed to stop.
Nick reached into his coat.
He pulled out a heavy leather binder.
He laid it on the headmaster's desk.
The headmaster stared at the seal.
His hands trembled.
He didn't reach for it.
"Mr. Nick," he said. "I--I wasn't expecting--"
"Open it," Nick said.
His voice was soft.
That made it worse.
The headmaster opened the binder.
He read the first page.
His face went white.
"This is a council directive," he whispered.
"Yes," Nick said.
"From Don Callahan?"
"No," Nick said.
He looked at me.
"From the Ashford table."
Blair's head snapped toward me.
Her eyes went wide.
For the first time, she looked afraid.