Chapter 5 - The File With Her Baby’s Name
Elena’s hand tightened around the phone.
“What did you change?”
Dr. Hayes breathed heavily.
“Not over the phone.”
“Then where?”
“My clinic. Come alone.”
Dante shook his head.
“No.”
Elena stared at him.
Hayes continued.
“If Dante comes, you’ll never get the truth.”
The call ended.
Dante immediately ordered Marco to secure the clinic.
Elena faced him.
“I’m going.”
“With me.”
“He said alone.”
“And somebody shot Adrian two hours ago.”
“Then stay close without being seen.”
Dante studied her.
She saw something different in his expression now.
Not control.
Respect.
“All right.”
At the clinic, Elena entered alone while Dante and Marco watched remotely.
Hayes was waiting in his office.
He looked terrified.
“What did you change?”
He handed her a folder.
Prenatal records.
Blood tests.
Genetic screenings.
Several pages had been replaced.
“Why?”
“Vittorio ordered me to falsify complications.”
Elena stared.
“What complications?”
“There weren’t any.”
Her stomach tightened.
“You told me my pregnancy was high-risk.”
“I lied.”
Months of fear rushed back.
Bed rest.
Medication.
Restrictions.
Dante refusing to let her travel.
All based on lies.
“Why?”
“To isolate you.”
“From whom?”
“Dante.”
Elena’s eyes narrowed.
“Vittorio wanted tension between you.”
Hayes nodded.
“He needed Dante distracted.”
“Why?”
“Because Dante was preparing to make his businesses legitimate.”
Elena knew that.
Dante had spent two years dismantling the violent parts of the organization.
He wanted their child born into something different.
Vittorio hated it.
Hayes handed Elena another document.
A life insurance policy.
One hundred million dollars.
Beneficiary: Marino Holdings.
Signed by Elena.
Except Elena had never signed it.
Her blood ran cold.
“If I died giving birth—”
“Vittorio planned to blame Dante’s enemies.”
Elena covered her stomach.
“And my baby?”
Hayes looked ashamed.
“The baby was supposed to survive.”
“Why?”
“Leverage.”
Elena nearly became sick.
Vittorio planned to take Dante’s child and control him through grief.
Dante burst into the room.
He had heard enough.
Hayes backed away.
“I’m sorry.”
Dante’s fury was lethal.
Elena stepped between them.
“No.”
“Elena.”
“We need him alive.”
Dante stopped.
She looked at Hayes.
“Where is Vittorio?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is Maria?”
Hayes swallowed.
“Old Marino maternity hospital.”
Dante looked at Marco.
The building had closed fifteen years earlier.
They moved immediately.
Inside the abandoned hospital, they found evidence someone had been living there.
Food.
Blankets.
Medical supplies.
Then they heard a woman shouting.
Dante kicked open a locked door.
Maria was tied to a chair.
Alive.
Michael’s mother sobbed when they freed her.
“My son?”
“Safe,” Elena said.
Maria cried.
Dante crouched beside her.
“Who put the shoes under my bed?”
Maria looked confused.
“What shoes?”
Elena’s suspicion returned.
“The invitations?”
“No.”
“Sabrina’s robe?”
Maria shook her head.
“I only brought Michael into the building. Someone else disabled security.”
“Who?”
“I thought it was Alessandra.”
Dante stiffened.
“My mother?”
Maria nodded.
“She contacted me three months ago.”
Elena looked at Dante.
Alessandra had lied.
Again.
Maria continued.
“She said Vittorio was preparing something against Elena.”
“Where is my mother now?”
“I don’t know.”
A slow clap echoed from the corridor.
Vittorio appeared.
Silver ring.
Gun.
Dante stepped in front of Elena.
Vittorio smiled.
“My nephew.”
Marco raised his weapon.
Vittorio laughed.
“You think I came alone?”
Red laser sights appeared across Dante’s chest.
Gunmen surrounded them.
Vittorio looked at Elena.
“You were supposed to be easier to manipulate.”
Elena stared at him.
“You underestimated the pregnant woman.”
“I underestimated how stubborn you are.”
Dante said, “Let them leave.”
Vittorio smiled.
“There he is. The predictable husband.”
“You want me.”
“I want what you control.”
“I’ll sign everything.”
“No,” Elena said.
Dante looked at her.
She understood his plan from his eyes.
Trust me.
Vittorio produced documents.
Dante signed.
Then the lights died.
Marco moved.
Gunfire erupted.
Elena dropped behind a medical cart.
Dante attacked Vittorio.
Maria crawled toward Elena.
Emergency lights flashed red.
Marco’s men entered from the rear corridor.
Within seconds, Vittorio’s gunmen were overwhelmed.
Dante pinned his uncle against the wall.
Vittorio laughed through bloody teeth.
“You still don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“I didn’t put those shoes there.”
Dante froze.
“Who did?”
Vittorio smiled.
“The person who wanted you to find Michael.”
“Who?”
“The same person who has been moving all of you since the beginning.”
Elena thought of the invitations.
The robe.
The shoes.
The anonymous messages.
The security override.
One person had orchestrated every discovery.
Dante whispered:
“My mother.”
Vittorio smiled.
Then Elena’s phone vibrated.
A photograph arrived.
It showed Alessandra standing inside the Marino penthouse.
Behind her was Michael.
The timestamp was thirty seconds ago.
A message followed.
May you like
COME HOME, DANTE.
YOUR SON IS WAITING.
