Chapter 2 - THE GHOST IN THE ROOM
The name the nurse whispered made the blood freeze in my veins.
Arthur.
Elena’s older brother. The brilliant, fiercely protective young man Lorenzo believed he had shot and pushed into the Chicago River seven years ago.
I leaned heavily on my cane, staring at the nurse. “Are you absolutely certain that’s the name she said?”
“Yes, Mr. Moretti,” the nurse replied, her voice trembling slightly. “She said, ‘Tell Salvatore to call Arthur. Tell him the debt is paid.’”
I turned to my son. Lorenzo’s face had drained of all color. He looked like a man who had just watched his own gravestone being carved. Seven years ago, Arthur had been accused of stealing three million dollars from our family’s offshore accounts. Lorenzo, trying to prove his ruthlessness to me, had taken it upon himself to eliminate the threat. He came home that night with blood on his shirt, swore Arthur was dead, and I never questioned it.
“Dad,” Lorenzo stammered, stepping toward the door. “That’s impossible. I was there. I watched him go under the ice.”
“Stay out here,” I commanded, my voice carrying the absolute authority of a man who had ruled the Chicago underworld for fifty years. “You have done enough damage for one lifetime.”
I pushed past the heavy wooden doors of the ICU.
Elena looked terribly small in the hospital bed. Her dark hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat, and a web of IV tubes ran into her pale arms. When she saw me, her exhausted eyes softened.
“Dad,” she rasped.
I hobbled to her bedside and took her cold hand. “I’m here, sweetheart. The baby is safe. She’s small, but she has your fighting spirit.”
Tears spilled over Elena’s cheeks. “I didn't think I would make it. I thought… I thought Lorenzo’s enemies had finally found me.”
I frowned. “What enemies, Elena?”
She squeezed my hand with surprising strength. “The people Victoria works for. She didn't come back to Chicago for Lorenzo’s heart, Dad. She came back for the ledger.”
Answer one, open two.
Victoria wasn't just a selfish ex-girlfriend. She was an operative. But a ledger?
“What ledger?” I asked quietly.
“The one Arthur found seven years ago,” Elena whispered, her breathing ragged. “Arthur didn't steal the family’s money. Victoria did. She was skimming from the casinos, and she framed my brother. Arthur found her secondary books. When Lorenzo went to kill him… Rosa intervened.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. My beautiful, gentle Rosa had stepped into mob business?
“Rosa had my men pull Arthur from the river,” Elena cried softly. “She hid him. But the only way Victoria’s bosses would stop hunting Arthur was if they thought the Moretti family had him in our custody. So Rosa made me a deal.”
Elena reached under her hospital gown and unclasped a thin silver chain from around her neck. Hanging from it was a small, tarnished safety deposit box key.
“I had to marry Lorenzo,” Elena said, her voice breaking. “I had to stay close to him, act as the dutiful wife, to ensure he never found out Arthur was alive. I gave up my freedom to buy my brother’s life. But tonight… when Victoria kept Lorenzo away while I was bleeding… I realized she’s making her final move.”
Suddenly, the ICU doors crashed open.
Lorenzo barged in, his eyes wild, followed closely by a woman in a stunning crimson evening gown. Victoria.
“Lorenzo, I told you to wait outside!” I roared.
But Victoria ignored me. She looked directly at Elena, a cruel, calculating smile spreading across her painted lips.
“Elena, darling,” Victoria purred, pulling a folded legal document from her designer clutch. “Lorenzo and I were so worried. The hospital needs a signature to transfer your baby to the specialized neonatal unit across the city. Lorenzo has already signed. Now we just need yours.”
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I looked at the document. The hospital logo at the top was slightly pixelated. It wasn't a medical transfer.
It was a power of attorney.
