Chapter 5 - A Traitor at His Bedside
By seven that morning, I no longer knew whether I was a nurse caught in a mafia war or a daughter finally discovering that my mother's death had been part of one.
The distinction stopped mattering.
Marco took Maya and me to a Moretti-owned apartment overlooking the river.
I hated agreeing.
But returning home was impossible.
Calder knew where I lived.
Hale knew where I worked.
And someone had been watching me before Luca ever reached my trauma room.
Maya paced.
“I should call federal authorities.”
Marco shook his head.
“Not from your phone.”
“I wasn't asking permission.”
“You don't need permission. You need to stay alive.”
She glared.
“Are all of you this charming?”
“Usually worse.”
I sat at the kitchen table with the ledger.
My mother's name remained in front of me.
Sofia Reyes.
I traced the letters once.
Then stopped.
“Tell me everything.”
Marco leaned against the counter.
“Luca's brother, Matteo, decided to cooperate with federal prosecutors five years ago.”
“Against Luca?”
“Against their father.”
That surprised me.
“Luca's father?”
“Alessandro Moretti.”
“The old boss.”
Marco nodded.
“Luca and Matteo discovered he had expanded into things they refused to touch. Human trafficking. medical fraud. forced labor.”
I looked at the hospital entries.
“Hale.”
“Hale helped create false medical records for people moved through the network.”
My stomach turned.
“And Nico?”
“Security and cleanup.”
“Calder?”
“Protection.”
“Where is Matteo?”
“Nobody knows.”
“You said he wasn't dead.”
“He vanished during a hospital transfer. The official report said he died from complications after a car crash.”
I stared at him.
The similarity hit me.
“My mother.”
“Yes.”
“She witnessed Matteo being moved.”
Marco nodded.
“She worked housekeeping at Riverside at the time.”
I remembered.
Mom had taken overnight cleaning shifts after my father died.
“She saw Nico and Hale moving a conscious patient whose chart said deceased.”
My hands curled.
“So they killed her four years ago.”
“Not immediately. She started writing down what she saw. She contacted Luca.”
“Why him?”
“Because she knew Matteo was his brother.”
I swallowed.
“Luca believed her?”
“He'd spent a year suspecting Matteo's death was staged.”
“Then why didn't he protect her?”
Pain crossed Marco's face.
“He tried.”
Not enough, I wanted to say.
But I had already spent enough years learning the cruelty of hindsight.
“What happened to her accident?”
“Brake line.”
Maya stopped pacing.
“Oh my God.”
I stared at the table.
My mother's last voicemail had been about groceries.
She asked whether I wanted her to buy tamales from the market because she knew I would be home Sunday.
I still had the recording somewhere.
For years, I had thought her death was random.
A wet road.
A tired driver.
Bad luck.
Now three men had names.
My grief changed shape.
It became anger.
The apartment door opened.
Every Moretti man reacted.
Weapons came out.
Then Luca entered.
I stood so fast my chair scraped backward.
“What are you doing here?”
He looked terrible.
Pale.
Bent slightly.
Hospital gown replaced by black pants and a loose shirt.
Dr. Shah followed behind him, furious.
“I would also like an answer.”
Luca ignored him.
“You found the ledger.”
I walked toward him.
“You left the hospital?”
“Hale controls too much of it.”
“You almost died an hour ago.”
“I've had worse mornings.”
“No, you haven't.”
Marco looked like he wanted to disappear.
I stopped inches from Luca.
“You knew my mother.”
His expression softened.
“Yes.”
“And never told me.”
“She asked me not to.”
“Don't use her promise to make yourself feel better.”
“I don't.”
That answer stopped me.
Luca sat carefully.
Pain tightened his face.
“I failed her.”
Nobody spoke.
“I thought I could expose them before they reached her. I was wrong.”
“You knew she was in danger.”
“Yes.”
“And four years later you're still collecting evidence?”
“I've spent four years trying to find Matteo.”
“While Hale stayed at my hospital?”
“I needed him comfortable.”
“So my workplace was bait?”
“No.”
“Then why was my name in the ledger?”
Luca looked away.
“Because Nico had identified you.”
“When?”
“The night your mother died.”
My skin went cold.
“He knew I existed.”
“Yes.”
“Why leave me alive?”
“Because touching you would have drawn attention. Your mother died in an accident. Her daughter dying afterward would look different.”
I laughed once.
No humor.
“So I survived because murdering me would have been inconvenient.”
Luca looked at me.
“You survived because your mother made sure they believed you knew nothing.”
I had to look away.
Maya sat beside me.
I took a breath.
“What happened last night?”
Luca answered carefully.
“I received proof Matteo might still be alive.”
“From who?”
“A source inside Hale's network.”
“Who?”
He looked at Marco.
Marco nodded.
Luca said:
“Dr. Evelyn Cross.”
I knew her.
Former trauma surgeon.
Retired two years earlier.
“She contacted me and arranged the Riverside meeting.”
“But she didn't arrive.”
“No.”
“Then Nico shot you?”
“I believe so.”
“You didn't see him.”
“No.”
“But the cologne.”
“Yes.”
“You gave him that bottle.”
“When his daughter was born.”
I glanced at Marco.
“He has a daughter?”
Marco nodded.
“Eight.”
That complicated hatred.
People always did.
“Why would Nico betray you?”
Luca's face hardened.
“I don't know.”
A phone rang.
Not mine.
Luca's.
Marco answered.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at Luca.
“They found Nico.”
“Where?”
“South Side warehouse.”
“Alive?”
Marco paused.
“Yes.”
“Bring him.”
Dr. Shah exploded.
“Absolutely not. You need a hospital.”
Luca looked at him.
“I need answers.”
“You need abdominal monitoring.”
“I have Danielle.”
Every face turned toward me.
“No.”
Luca almost smiled.
“No?”
“I am not your private physician.”
“You're better than most I've met tonight.”
“That does not flatter me as much as you think.”
But an hour later, I was checking his vitals in a Moretti safe house.
I told myself it was because moving him again might kill him.
That was partly true.
The other truth was that I wanted Nico to look me in the face and explain my mother.
They brought him in just after nine.
No gun.
Hands zip-tied.
Blood along his temple.
Marco pushed him into a chair.
Luca looked at him.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Luca asked:
“Why?”
Nico laughed quietly.
“You think I shot you?”
“You were there.”
“I was.”
“The cologne.”
Nico looked confused.
Then understanding dawned.
“God.”
“What?”
“He wanted you to smell it.”
“Who?”
Nico looked at me.
“Hale.”
I stepped forward.
“My mother.”
His face changed.
“Danielle—”
“You knew her.”
“Yes.”
“Did you kill her?”
“No.”
“Your payment was logged the morning after she died.”
“That payment wasn't for killing Sofia.”
“What was it for?”
Nico closed his eyes.
“For taking someone out of the hospital.”
“Who?”
He opened them.
“Matteo.”
Silence.
Luca stood despite the pain.
“My brother is alive?”
Nico nodded.
“Where?”
“I don't know anymore.”
Luca grabbed his shirt.
“Nico.”
“I kept him hidden for four years!”
The room froze.
Nico's voice broke.
“I betrayed Hale, not you.”
Luca released him.
“Then why did you try to kill me in ICU?”
“I didn't.”
“You were in the room.”
“I went in because Hale told me Danielle had given you something.”
I stared.
“He lied.”
Nico nodded.
“He sent me upstairs. When I reached the room, your IV was already disconnected. I heard security coming and ran because I knew exactly how it would look.”
Marco swore.
Luca leaned against the table.
“If you didn't shoot me, who did?”
Nico looked at him.
“Someone who knew the garage meeting.”
“Who?”
“Only three people knew.”
“Name them.”
“You.”
Nico raised one finger.
“Dr. Cross.”
Second.
“And Marco.”
Nobody moved.
I turned.
May you like
Marco Bellini was standing behind me.
And the gun in his hand was pointed directly at Luca.
