Chapter 5 - THE HOSPITAL ROOM
Luca didn't let up the pressure on Marcus’s chest. "Where, Hannah?" I held the faded photograph up, my hands trembling. "This hospital room," I said, my voice tight. "The wallpaper. The specific view out the window. That's St. Jude’s Medical Center. Room 402." Marcus’s eyes widened in sheer panic. "Shut up, you stupid maid!" he roared, thrashing wildly under Luca's weight. Luca drove his knee down harder, silencing him with a sharp gasp. "How do you know that room, Hannah?" Tears pricked my eyes. "Because that's where my mother has been recovering for the last three weeks," I whispered. "She had her surgery there. I sit by that window every single night." The pieces violently clicked together in my mind. My mother hadn't just gotten sick. She had been the victim of a hit-and-run accident three weeks ago. A dark SUV had run her off the road. The police said it was a random accident. But Marcus Thorne had arranged for her hospital care. He had told Luca he was handling the medical bills for the staff out of "charity." "You put my mother in that room," I said, stepping toward Marcus, the heavy gun still in my hands. "You hit her with your car so you could use her hospital room as a drop location for your blackmail ledger!" Marcus laughed, a wet, ugly sound. "The old lady was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But her room had a loose ceiling tile. Perfect hiding spot. And who suspects a grieving maid going in and out of the hospital every day?" I felt a wave of absolute fury wash over me. I had scrubbed floors for this man. I had served him wine. And he had nearly killed my mother just to find a convenient hiding spot for his treason. "Call my head of security," Luca ordered one of his guards. "Tell him to get a team to St. Jude’s immediately. Tear Room 402 apart. Find that black book." The guard nodded and pulled out his phone. Marcus sneered. "It won't matter. You're too late." "Why?" Luca demanded. "Because my lawyer is already at the hospital," Marcus said, checking the Rolex on his wrist. "It's eight-thirty. He's picking up the ledger right now. If I don't call him by nine, he walks it straight into the FBI field office." Vanessa staggered to her feet. Her red gown was torn, her makeup ruined. She looked at the man she had conspired with. The man who had fathered her child and murdered her father. "Who is the lawyer, Marcus?" Vanessa asked quietly. "Like I'd tell you," Marcus spat. "You don't have to," Vanessa said. She turned to Luca. "The lawyer's name is Elias Thorne. It's Marcus’s younger brother. He's a corporate attorney downtown." Marcus screamed in rage, fighting to break free. "You treacherous—!" "You killed my father!" Vanessa screamed back. "You made me abandon my mother! You made me lie to my own daughter! I'm done protecting you!" Luca looked at me. "Hannah. Call your mother's room. Now." I dropped the gun onto the table and fumbled in my apron for my cell phone. My hands were shaking so badly I dropped it twice. I dialed the hospital extension. It rang three times. "Hello?" a groggy, weak voice answered. "Mom! Mom, it's Hannah. Are you okay?" "Hannah, sweetie," my mother said softly. "I'm fine. But there's a strange man in my room. He said he's an inspector checking the ventilation." My heart stopped. "Mom, listen to me very carefully," I said, fighting to keep my voice level. "Is he standing on a chair?" "Yes," she replied. "He just pulled a black book out of the ceiling. He says he has to take it." I looked at Luca in sheer panic. Luca held his hand out for the phone. I gave it to him. "Put the man on the phone," Luca said, his voice carrying the full weight of the Moretti empire. There was a pause. Then a new voice came on the line. "Who is this?" the lawyer asked. "This is Luca Moretti." Silence on the other end. "Listen to me very closely, Elias," Luca said. "Your brother is currently bleeding on my dining room floor. If you walk out of that hospital room with that ledger, I promise you, you will not make it to the parking garage." Elias Thorne laughed nervously. "You can't touch me, Moretti. I'm an officer of the court. And I have the evidence." "Evidence of crimes your brother committed," Luca countered smoothly. "You think the FBI won't ask how Marcus obtained those records? They'll arrest him before they arrest me." "I'm willing to take that risk to bring you down," Elias said. And then, the line clicked dead. Luca lowered the phone. The answer was clear: Elias had the ledger and was on the move. The open question: How could they stop him before he reached the FBI? Suddenly, a loud, heavy pounding echoed from the front doors of the mansion. Not the polite knock of a guest. The heavy, rhythmic thud of a police battering ram. Marcus started laughing hysterically. "I didn't just have a backup plan, Luca!" Marcus yelled. "I tipped off the Feds an hour ago! They're not waiting for Elias. They're here right now to tear this house apart!"
