Chapter 2 - THE LOCKED NURSERY
The click of the lock sounded like a gunshot in the silent room. Lorenzo Rossi’s eyes darted from the heavy oak door to the sleeping nurse, who hadn't twitched despite the commotion. He moved with a predator’s lethal grace, stepping between me and the door, his pistol raised. "Who is out there?" he demanded, his voice a lethal whisper. The name the voice had whispered was mine. A name I hadn't used since I fled the blood-stained apartment where my daughter died.
"It's Marcus," I breathed, my chest tightening in absolute terror. "My ex-boyfriend. But it's impossible. He shouldn't know I'm here. He's running from loan sharks."
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Lorenzo’s jaw clenched. "My security is impenetrable. Nobody walks into this estate unless someone on the inside opens the gates." He glanced at the monitor, watching his son's heart rate stabilize as Leo continued to nurse, drawing life from the grief I carried. Lorenzo reached for his radio, his thumb pressing the emergency broadcast button. Nothing but static hissed back. Jammed. The realization hit him instantly. This wasn't a random break-in; it was an orchestrated assassination.
Suddenly, a heavy thud against the nursery door made me flinch, pulling Leo closer to my skin. "Open up, Rossi," Marcus’s muffled voice slurred from the hallway. "I just came to collect my property, and the generous man who let me in said I could take some of your vault cash as a bonus." Lorenzo looked at me, a cold, calculating fury settling into his dark eyes. He wasn't just a father anymore; he was the head of the Chicago syndicate. "Keep feeding him," Lorenzo ordered softly. "When the door opens, you drop to the floor."
