Chapter 3 - Shadows Over Chicago
The next morning, I returned to the hospital before dawn. The corridors were quiet, smelled of antiseptic and floor wax. When I stepped into Room 614, Sophie was curled up on the small cot next to her mother’s bed, sleeping soundly. Her little $45 school shoes were neatly aligned under the edge of the cot.
Elena was awake. Her breathing was shallower today, her eyes sunken but sharp with maternal instinct.
"You didn't sleep," she whispered as I pulled up a chair.
"Neither did you," I countered softly, reaching out to gently take her pale, fragile hand. "I checked the records, Elena. Why didn't you go to a better hospital? Why didn't you use the resources I know you could have found?"
"Because a paper trail brings Vincent," she murmured, a tear escaping her eye. "The moment I use my real name, or a large amount of money, the alarms go off. This hospital... it's municipal. It’s crowded. I could hide Sophie here. Michael, my brother Vincent doesn't just want me back. He wants the ledger I took when I ran. He thinks I have it."
"Do you?"
Elena looked at Sophie, then back at me. "It's encrypted on a flash drive hidden inside the lining of Sophie's old teddy bear. It contains forty years of Russo family bribes, offshore accounts, and government informants. It was my insurance policy to keep us alive. But my health is failing, Michael. The cancer... it's aggressive. I don't have months. I have weeks. Maybe days."
The weight of her words settled into the room. I leaned forward, looking into the eyes of the only woman I had ever truly loved. "I am moving you both. Today. I have a private medical wing at my estate in Lake Forest. It has top-tier security, private doctors, and no paper trail."
May you like
Before Elena could answer, the door to the room swung open. Two men in dark, tailored suits stepped inside. They didn't look like doctors. The larger of the two had a broken nose and eyes like flint.
"Elena," the large man said, his voice a low, gravelly rasp. "Your brother says it's time to come home."
