Chapter 5 - THE EMPTY BED
“Claire!” Lorenzo roared, sprinting into the hallway.
I stood frozen beside the empty bed, the leather ledger still in my hands. The IV lines had been ripped out, fluid dripping onto the linoleum floor.
“Lock down the hospital!” Lorenzo yelled at the bewildered nursing staff. “Nobody leaves!”
He rushed back into the room, his eyes wild. “Grandpa, Bianca took her. She took my wife.”
“No,” I said softly, noticing something on the pillow.
I reached out with a trembling hand and picked it up. It was a faded train ticket. The date stamped on it was from exactly one week ago. The destination: Oak Park.
“Bianca didn't take her,” I realized, a strange mixture of dread and pride swelling in my chest. “Claire left on her own. She used the darkness to escape.”
“Escape? From Bianca?” Lorenzo asked, frantic.
“From you, Lorenzo,” I corrected him. “And from me. From all of this.”
I showed him the train ticket. “She didn't just find out about the trust fund today, Lorenzo. She’s known for a week. She went to Oak Park—to Rosa’s old safe house.”
Lorenzo ran a hand through his hair. “Why didn't she say anything?”
“Because she was waiting to see what kind of man you were,” I said, the truth cutting through the room like a blade. “She gave you a choice tonight. She went into labor, and she waited to see if you would choose your family, or your mistress.”
Lorenzo sank onto the edge of the empty bed, burying his face in his hands. “I failed her. I failed my daughter.”
“Yes, you did,” I said firmly. “But feeling sorry for yourself won't save them. Bianca knows about Oak Park. If Marco’s blood runs in her veins, she won't stop until every true Romano is dead.”
I turned toward the door. “We have to get to the safe house before Bianca does.”
We rushed to the elevator, but just as the doors opened, a doctor stepped out, his face grave.
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“Mr. Romano,” the doctor said, holding a small clipboard. “It’s about the baby in the NICU. We just caught a nurse trying to alter her medical charts. A nurse we don't recognize.”
I looked at Lorenzo. The trap wasn't just set for Claire. It was set for the infant, too.
