Chapter 4 - THE SECRET IN THE BLUE COAT
I didn't answer Claudia.
I pushed past her, carrying Lily, with Marcus Cole right behind me.
We didn't take the subway.
Marcus led us into the back of a black Maybach waiting outside the hotel.
Lily had never been in a car so quiet. She stroked the leather seats in awe.
"Mama, it's soft," she whispered.
"I know, baby," I said, pulling her close.
I felt completely out of my depth.
The man sitting across from me could buy my entire neighborhood with a phone call.
Yet, he looked at my daughter as if she were the only valuable thing in the world.
When we reached my apartment building in Queens, Marcus didn't flinch at the broken buzzer or the smell of bleach in the hallway.
He walked up the three flights of stairs behind us.
Inside, I went straight to the hall closet.
I pulled out David’s old blue wool coat.
My hands shook as I felt along the inside lining.
Near the bottom hem, there was a small, stiff square hidden between the fabric.
I grabbed a pair of kitchen scissors and carefully snipped the thread.
A small, brass key fell out into my palm.
And a crumpled photograph.
I smoothed the photo out on the counter.
It was David, much younger. But he wasn't alone.
He was standing with Claudia Whitcomb.
And Claudia was holding a stuffed rabbit with one ear.
Bun Bun.
"I don't understand," I said. "David bought this rabbit at a thrift store before Lily was born."
Marcus picked up the photo. His jaw tightened.
"He didn't buy it at a thrift store, Rosa. That rabbit belonged to Claudia's son. A son she claimed was kidnapped and never found twenty years ago."
I felt the room spin.
"Then why did David have it?"
"Because David found out the truth," Marcus said, his voice turning cold. "Claudia didn't lose her son. She sold him."
Suddenly, there was a heavy, violent knock at my apartment door.
"Police!" a voice shouted from the hallway. "Open up!"
Marcus looked at me.
"They aren't here for me, Rosa," he said quietly. "Claudia made a phone call before we left the hotel."
I looked down at the brass key in my hand.
It wasn't a key to a door.
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It was a key to a safe deposit box.
"Rosa, listen to me," Marcus said quickly as the knocking grew louder. "Do you trust me?"
