Chapter 3 - THE UNDERGROUND SANCTUARY
The rain lashed against the bulletproof windows of the SUV as we sped away from the Moretti estate. I sat in the backseat, holding the tiny, fragile bundle close to my heart. Sophia and her mother, Maria, sat huddled opposite me, terrified but safe. The baby had finally stopped crying, exhausted from his ordeal, and was now sleeping against my chest.
"Where to, Boss?" Carlo asked from the driver’s seat, his eyes constantly checking the rearview mirror.
"The safe house in the docks. The one only you and I know about. And call Dr. Aris. Tell him to meet us there immediately. Bring an incubator, baby formula, everything. Tell him if he breathes a word of this, I'll cut out his tongue."
The drive was a blur of neon lights and rain-slicked streets. My mind raced, piecing together the betrayal. Isabella Rossi. She had infiltrated my life flawlessly. The real Valentina—my sweet, quiet fiancée from a rival family—must have been murdered years ago, replaced by Isabella before our wedding. And I had been too blind, too consumed by the family business to notice the subtle differences. They had planned to take everything. My money, my territory, my legacy.
We arrived at the safe house, a converted warehouse heavily fortified with steel doors and state-of-the-art security systems. Within thirty minutes, Dr. Aris arrived. He was a disgraced surgeon who patched up gunshot wounds for the underworld, but he was brilliant.
He set up a makeshift neonatal unit on the large oak table in the center of the room. He examined my son with surprising gentleness, cleaning him, checking his vitals, and taking a blood sample for a rapid DNA test, just to be absolutely certain.
"He's healthy, Mr. Moretti," Dr. Aris said, exhaling a sigh of relief. "A bit cold, slightly dehydrated, but his lungs are strong. He’s a fighter. You got to him just in time."
I looked down at the boy. He had my dark hair, my strong jawline. "His name is Leo," I whispered. "Leonardo Moretti."
"Boss," Carlo interrupted, walking into the room with a burner phone. "I have ears inside the estate. Matteo has taken over. He’s telling the captains you suffered a psychotic break from grief, that you stole a random baby and held them hostage. He’s putting a bounty on your head."
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I let out a dark, humorless laugh. Matteo was playing a dangerous game. He thought he could outmaneuver me. "Let him. We need to gather our loyalists. But first, we need undeniable proof. Carlo, I need you to break into St. Helena Private Hospital. Find the original medical files from today, and find the twelve-year-old autopsy report for Isabella Rossi. We are going to expose them to the entire commission."
As I fed Leo his first bottle of formula, I made a silent vow to my son. I would burn the city down before I let anyone hurt him again.
