Chapter 6 - THE MAFIA’S JUSTICE
When I woke up, the blinding afternoon sun was streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the master bedroom.
The air smelled of fresh eucalyptus and clean linen. My right leg was heavily bandaged, throbbing with a dull, manageable ache rather than the unbearable agony from before. An IV line was taped to the back of my left hand, pumping fluids and antibiotics into my system.
I stirred, groaning softly, and tried to sit up.
“Don't try to move yet.”
I looked toward the armchair beside the bed. Luca was sitting there. He was still wearing his dark trousers, but his dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked tired, with faint shadow dark circles under his eyes, but his gaze was sharp and alert.
On his lap sat little Lily. She was wearing her favorite blue pajamas, fast asleep, clutching her stuffed rabbit.
“Mr. Moretti…” I rasped, my throat dry as sandpaper.
Luca reached over to the nightstand, poured a glass of fresh water, and carefully held it to my lips, helping me take small sips.
“How do you feel?” he asked gently.
“Better,” I whispered. “Much better. How long was I out?”
“Nearly thirty-six hours,” Luca replied. “Dr. Evans said the infection was severe, but the antibiotics worked. You’re going to make a full recovery.”
I looked down at his sleeping daughter, relief washing over me. “Is Lily okay?”
A soft, genuinely warm smile touched Luca’s lips. “She’s safe. Thanks to you. Daniel’s team intercepted the transport vehicle at the perimeter gates. They found three fake security guards with forged custody papers waiting inside. They’ve been… dealt with.”
I hesitated, asking the question that terrified me most. “What about… Michael and Vanessa?”
Luca’s smile vanished, replaced by an impenetrable slate of ice.
“Michael is currently locked in a basement cell in our warehouse district,” Luca said, his tone shockingly calm. “The Syndicate council stripped him of his rank and titles yesterday morning. He will spend the rest of his life in exile, stripped of every dollar he ever possessed, watching his former associates run the family business.”
“And Miss Bellini?”
“Don Bellini arrived from New York three hours ago,” Luca said, his voice dropping into a dangerous whisper. “When I showed him the forged documents, the contract with the Swiss facility, and the evidence of her attempted kidnapping, he disowned her on the spot. A high-society scandal like this would have destroyed his family’s reputation completely. Vanessa has been stripped of her inheritance and sent to a secluded monastery in Northern Italy under strict surveillance. She will never step foot in America again.”
I gasped softly. The terrifying monsters that had held my life and my mother’s life in their hands just two days ago were completely erased from our world.
Suddenly, Lily stirred on Luca’s lap. Her big brown eyes opened, and when she saw me awake, a huge smile erupted across her face.
“Hannah!” she cheered, scrambling off her father’s lap and rushing to the side of the bed. She carefully climbed onto the mattress, avoiding my bandaged leg, and threw her arms around my neck. “You’re awake! Daddy said you were sleeping because you fought the bad monsters!”
I hugged the little girl tightly, tears pricking my eyes. “I’m awake, sweetie. I’m okay.”
Lily pulled back, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a crudely drawn piece of paper. It was a crayon drawing of three figures holding hands under a yellow sun: a tall man in a suit, a little girl in a pink dress, and a woman with long brown hair wearing a blue uniform.
“I made a new picture for my birthday,” Lily said proudly, handing the paper to me. “This one can’t be broken.”
I stared at the drawing, tears spilling over my lashes. For the first time in my life, I felt a sense of belonging so powerful it threatened to overflow my heart.
May you like
Luca stood up, walking over to the side of the bed. He looked down at the drawing, then met my eyes with an intensity that made my heart leap in my chest.
“Lily is right,” Luca said quietly. “That picture can’t be broken. And neither can our debt to you, Hannah.”
