𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟐
𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬

Aurora unlocked the door to the new home that Tommy had promised her and Finn. The pair walked inside and Aurora had a wide smile on her lips. "I love it.." she spoke. Finn looked around the hallway and hummed in agreement. "Tommy's done well." He said.

"For once.." Rory whispered.

She ran her hands over the dark wooden doors and let out a breath. "Finally a bit of piece." She turned to Finn. He nodded. "I hope so." He agreed.

Rory was the first of the two to go upstairs, Finn close behind her. They looked in each room. There were two main bedrooms and a second office upstairs. Finn was busy admiring the office when he heard Aurora gasp. He frowned and joined her side.

She pushed the door open further to show him the fully decorated nursery. "Tommy did this?" He asked. She nodded slowly and placed a hand on her stomach. "It was him who got us the house.." she whispered. "Oh my.." Aurora stepped fully into the room and admired the details.

It had everything they would need for their child.
"I can't believe it." Finn laughed. "It's really ours?"

Aurora spun round and grinned widely at him. "It's really ours, Finny." She hung her arms loosely around the back of his neck and placed a kiss on his cheek. "It'll be just me, you and the baby. Maybe we'll finally find some peace."

"That would be a miracle, Rory." He said quietly.

"Sometimes miracles come true."

Finn ran his hands over the wooden drawers that sat against the wall — many thoughts rushing through his mind. He bit down on the inside of his cheek and inhaled sharply. "Are you.. ready for all of this?" He asked for, not turning to face her.

Aurora paused to take in his words and thought for a moment. "The baby?"

"Yeah..." he looked at her. "Do you think we're ready to be parents?" He fiddled with his hands as he began to worry that she would snap at him.

"I think that it wouldn't have happened if we were not ready for it." She offered the explanation and watched his face soften ever so slightly. "Do you not want this?" She asked with worry.

"It's not that I don't want it.. i'm just— i'm scared." He admitted. Aurora picked up a small, knitted rabbit teddy and handed it to him. "This child can be our new start. A reason for us to be better." She said. Finn nodded. "What if i'm not a good dad?"

"Nonsense, Finn. I think you'll be brilliant." Aurora held the side of his neck and spoke genuinely.

"You're sure?" Finn swallowed.

"If I wasn't sure, would we be stood here having this conversation?" She asked him. He shrugged. "No, we wouldn't."

-

Rory sat comfortably at the table opposite Lizzie and when suddenly the door slammed. They all turned their heads toward the footsteps approaching and much to their surprise, Linda was walking through the shop.

"Said to Arthur while i'm in this fucking place I want something to keep my mind busy." Linda hung her coat over her chair and didn't even look at them.

"What— you're going to take bets?" Polly frowned.

"I've always been able to do addition and subtraction without pen and paper but i'll need a telephone. Apparently we have clients who make special bets by telephone." She spoke.

Rory leaned on her fist and examined the woman.

"Linda.. this is a betting shop." Polly said with concerned.

Linda scoffed. "Look— Arthur said yes, Tommy said yes." She told them. Polly raised her brows. "But did God say yes? Gambling is a sin, Linda." Polly asked her. Aurora cackled and covered her mouth. "It's not me who's doing the gambling. I'm just taking the bets." Linda spoke smartly.

"She's had you there, Pol." Rory whispered.

The door slammed again.

"The rule is that door is to always remain locked until nine am." Finn stormed through. Rory sat up in her chair with confusion. "Right, boy. Where are you going?" Polly stopped him.

He back tracked. "Well Arthur's not coming in today, he's taking the day off so."

"So what?" Lizzie asked.

Rory's eyes switched between the two.

"So today, Tommy said that i'm in charge." He shrugged. Rory smiled. Polly raised her brows. "Sorry— you're in charge?" Polly asked. "Don't apologise." Rory sighed, speaking with sarcasm.

Finn nodded. "Yeah.. that's what he said."

Polly stood. "Alright, sweetheart. Ladies, let's give our boss a first day that he will never forget." Polly grinned. Rory shifted in her seat uncomfortably, confused as to what she meant. Finn glanced at her and rolled his eyes, walking off to Tommy's office.

Rory stood and followed him in.

"What the bloody hell does she mean?" Aurora asked him, closing the door behind her. He shrugged and sat down at the desk. "I haven't got a clue— I don't want to know." He sighed, looking through the papers Tommy had left for him.

She sat down opposite him and crossed her arms over her stomach.

"Oh— Tommy said he's going to send some men round to watch over the house whilst this whole Italian business is going on. He said he's worried about you, about us. You and the baby he said." Finn recited.

"That's kind of him."

"You've always been his favourite, Rory." He said, scribbling on the paper. "Ever since we were young."

Aurora played with the ring that sat on her finger. "It saddens me to think that John isn't here to dance with me like we had promised." She said, "he had always wanted to see me get married. And now he's just dead. As if he never existed."

Finn felt his chest tighten at the mention of his late brother. His eyes stung, making the words on the page grow blurry as tears clouded his views Rory continued to talk of John and how she missed him.

"And I can't help but feel like this is my fault. He died because of my dad.." she looked down.

Finn sniffled and Rory looked up to see Finn with his head in his hands. Her mouth fell open and she stood and rushed to him. "I'm sorry." She rushed, arms wrapped around him whilst he remained in his position.

Finn choked on his sobs and only got worse once she held him.

"I'm sorry, Finn." She whispered. Aurora felt so selfish. There she was expressing her grief for John in front of his own brother. Finn soon snaked his arms around her waist and rested his head against her stomach. She rubbed his back and closed her eyes, guilt filling her. "I'm so sorry, that was so selfish of me." She whispered.

—

Now sat in the Shelby offices, Rory was looking at the list of numbers that had been calling or been called from the offices. Nothing unusual. She recognised The Garrison number, the betting shop number, Arrow House..

And then there was a break in the familiar pattern.

A number she had never seen before had been contacted from the Shelby offices several times during the week. She opened up her desk's drawer and lifted the phone book that held all the phone numbers she needed to recognise.

She flipped through, searching for this particular number.

Nothing. Rory couldn't find it. And she knew that Tommy always had Lizzie write in new numbers that held any sort of significance.

With a look of confusion plastered onto her face, Rory walked through to Finn's office where he sat signing papers. "Do you recognise this number?" She asked. Finn's eyes scanned over the several numbers and he shook his head. Rory questioned his reliability due to his struggle around reading numbers but didn't question him further. "Is Tommy in his office?"

Finn shook his head.

Rory tutted and nodded. "Okay.." she slipped back into her own office and searched through the papers for the other document that would hold the addresses that matched the phone numbers.

She followed the same pattern and noticed the outlier — an address that sat outside of Small Heath, practically in the middle of nowhere.

Rory wracked her brain, wondering if she knew the location. She did — slightly.

With a hesitated hand, she reached for the phone. There was one possibility that stood out to her that she was begging to be true.. and the only way to find out would be to call.

The call went through straight away and it rang for several moments before it was answered. Silence. She could hear steady breathing on the other end. Silence. She thought of something to say. "John?" She whispered.

The line cut off.

Her heart had began pounding. She put the phone down and stared at the door.

It opened before she could think about it any longer.

"Lizzie says she's locking up soon— we should get going. It's starting to rain and I want us to get home before the roads get too bad." He said, shoving his hat onto his head.

Rory nodded and tucked the now folded paper full of addresses into her pocket, taking her coat and shoving her arms through the holes.

Finn took her hand and they began walking down the stairs in a comfortable silence. Rory's mind was racing — was it really John or was she just hoping that it was?

She was ripped away from her thoughts when realising they were at the car. Finn opened the door for her and she climbed inside.

"Are you okay?" Finn asked.

She hummed. "Just tired."

—

There was a comfortable silence that lingered over the couple whilst they sat together in their living room, a knitted blanket draped over them and the fire burning brightly at the end of the room.

"What are you thinking about?" Finn asked, his fingers lazily drawing shapes against her skin.

She inhaled deeply and sat up to face him. He placed a hand on her knee and waited for her to speak. "There's something I have to say.. and before you call me crazy, I want you to listen to me."

"I'm listening." Finn furrowed his brows suspiciously.

"I think John might be alive." She blurted out.

A scoff escaped the Shelby boys mouth and he attempted to get up with a shake of his head. Aurora grabbed his wrist. "No— just hear me out. Sit down." She pleaded.

Finn rolled his eyes and threw himself back down beside her. "Go on then."

"I was going through the call records and usually it's the same few numbers every week and they have a name and address connected to them on a separate document. That number I showed you earlier today had an address but no name. So i called it—"

"You did what— Tommy will go mad!" Finn panicked.

"Finn." She warned him, placing her hand over his. "I called the number.. and nobody spoke. I could hear them though— they were definitely on the other end.. it wasn't some false number. I could hear them breathing. So I spoke John's name."

"And?" Finn winced.

"The line went dead." She sighed.

"So that makes you think that my brother is alive? Rory, that makes no sense. I'm sorry but do you understand what you're sounding like right now?" He asked calmly, staring at her.

She looked down. "I know but.. I just want to know if i'm right. I can't keep going like this— we can't keep going like this, believing that a man who is such a big part of our life is dead. I can't sit here, mourning him and wishing it was me who had died that day if he's still out there." She said. "So I want to go to the house— I want to see if he's there."

"And if he isn't?"

"Then I can admit that I sound insane, you can laugh at me. I don't care. I just want to know." She begged with sad eyes.

Finn tutted. "We can drive down there tomorrow." He offered. "I'll come with you."

Her eyes lit up. "You will?"

He nodded. "I don't want you driving.. you know with the baby and stuff." He said awkwardly. "And.. I want to see if you are right. I want to see my brother."

gracessecretshelby

Author's note: y'all is this a bad decision to keep John alive? Cause ik a few people like the drama of it all so idk if i'm making the right decision. Also are you honestly still enjoying this story? I feel like my writing has gone so bad pls be honest with me.