Chapter 5 - THE PRICE OF ARROGANCE
Gunfire erupted in the maternity ward, shattering the pristine silence of the hospital.
Lorenzo didn't dive for cover. With a roar of pure, primal rage, he launched himself forward, tackling the closest fake security guard to the floor. The guard’s weapon discharged into the ceiling as Lorenzo rained brutal, unforgiving punches down on the man’s face.
Arthur provided cover fire, shooting with terrifying precision, taking down two more of Victoria’s men in the corridor.
I pulled Anthony behind the reception desk, my old bones aching. “The power!” I yelled over the gunfire. “If they breach the NICU, they’ll cut the backup generators!”
Victoria wasn't trying to steal the baby to raise it. She was trying to take the child hostage to force me to hand over the ledger and the estate documents. She knew a mob boss would trade his empire for his granddaughter.
Suddenly, the hospital lights flickered and died. The emergency red sirens began to flash, casting an eerie, bloody glow over the hallway.
Then came the sound that stopped my heart.
The high-pitched, continuous alarm of the life-support machines failing in the NICU.
Lorenzo heard it too. He dropped the unconscious guard, his hands covered in blood, and sprinted toward the heavy glass doors of the neonatal unit.
The doors were locked magnetically due to the power outage. Lorenzo slammed his fists against the reinforced glass. Inside, the nurses were scrambling, using manual hand-pumps to keep the premature infants breathing.
But there were too many babies, and not enough hands.
Lorenzo looked at his daughter’s incubator. The tiny chest wasn't moving.
“No!” Lorenzo screamed, a sound of absolute heartbreak. He grabbed a heavy steel fire extinguisher from the wall and swung it with all his might. The reinforced glass cracked. He swung again, and again, tearing his hands open, until the glass shattered into a million pieces.
Lorenzo dove through the broken window, ignoring the cuts on his arms. He sprinted to his daughter’s incubator, pushed the panicked nurse aside gently, and grabbed the small manual oxygen bag.
He began pumping it. One, two, three. Steady and calm.
“Breathe, little one,” Lorenzo whispered, tears mixing with the blood on his face. “Daddy’s here. I’m right here.”
From the doorway, Arthur watched my son save his niece. The hatred in Arthur’s eyes flickered, replaced by a stunned silence.
The standoff in the hallway was over. Victoria’s remaining men had fled down the stairwell.
Arthur walked over to me, lowering his weapon. “She played us all, Don Salvatore. For seven years, I hid in the shadows, thinking you ordered my death. Elena told me the truth tonight. Victoria orchestrated the hit on me to cover up her embezzlement.”
“And she’s not finished,” I said, leaning on the desk to stand. “She failed to take the child. Now she’s going for the kill.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
It was an unknown number. I answered it.
“Salvatore,” Victoria’s voice purred through the speaker. “Such a shame about the hospital. But I’m afraid you have a bigger problem.”
“You are a dead woman walking, Victoria.”
“Perhaps,” she laughed. “But before I die, I’m going to make sure your daughter-in-law pays for hiding Arthur. You see, I didn't come to the hospital for the baby.”
Answer one, open two.
My stomach plummeted. “Where are you?”
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“I’m standing in Elena’s ICU room,” Victoria smiled. “And the nurses are all very busy with the power outage. Bring the ledger to my hotel in thirty minutes. Or I turn off Elena’s monitors myself.”
The line went dead.
