Chapter 4 - Smuggling a Ghost
The plan was madness, but it was the only choice they had.
By 8:00 a.m., Gabriel had been stabilized with the limited medication Dr. Vale had in his bag. His breathing was stronger, but he remained in a deep, unresponsive coma.
To anyone walking into the room, he had to look dead. Matilda carefully arranged the white sheet over him, leaving just enough space near his collarbone for his chest to rise without drawing attention. She stayed by the door, pretending to clean the brass fixtures, her ears straining for any sound of approach.
At 9:30 a.m., heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Matilda’s heart stopped as the bedroom door swung open. Carmine Russo walked in, flanked by two of his personal guards. He looked disheveled, his eyes bloodshot from a night of drinking and plotting, but his smile was as cruel as ever.
"Still here, fat girl?" Carmine sneered, looking at Matilda. "I'd think you'd be packing your bags. The new management isn't going to keep dead weight around."
Matilda lowered her head, playing the role of the submissive, frightened maid. "I was just... finishing my duties, Mr. Russo."
Carmine ignored her, walking over to the bed. He stared down at the white sheet covering Gabriel's body. For a terrifying second, he reached out his hand, as if to pull the sheet back.
Matilda’s hand clenched around her cleaning rag so hard her knuckles turned white. If he looked close enough, he would see the faint movement of Gabriel's chest.
"A shame," Carmine muttered, his voice devoid of any real regret. "He was a great man. But the world belongs to the living." He turned to one of his guards. "When is the transport arriving?"
"Ten o'clock, boss," the guard replied. "The funeral home on the South Side. Owned by the Valenti family. They're loyal to us."
"Good," Carmine said. "Make sure he's buried quick. No big public display. I want this over with."
He turned and walked out, his laughter echoing down the hallway.
The moment the door closed, Matilda let out a breath she felt she had been holding for hours. She looked at Dr. Vale, who had been hiding in the master bathroom.
"We have thirty minutes," she said.
She had already contacted the one person in the mansion she knew she could trust: Leo, Gabriel's personal driver. Leo was a quiet, older man who had served Gabriel’s father before him. Unlike the others, Leo had no ambition for power; his loyalty was old-school, born of a deep respect for the Falcone family.
When Matilda had whispered the truth to Leo in the garage earlier that morning, the old man had simply nodded, his eyes shining with sudden hope.
"I'll have the utility van ready," Leo had said. "The back is hidden behind the laundry bins. We can load him through the service elevator."
Now, it was time to move.
Matilda and Dr. Vale worked quickly. They disconnected the portable IV lines, wrapping them carefully around Gabriel's body under a heavy wool blanket.
Then came the hardest part. Gabriel was a tall, heavily muscled man, weighing easily over two hundred pounds. Dr. Vale was slight and weak.
"I can't lift him," Vale gasped, struggling to support Gabriel's shoulders.
"Move," Matilda said.
She stepped in, her thick arms sliding beneath Gabriel’s back and knees. With a deep grunt of exertion, she lifted him in one fluid motion, cradling his limp body against her chest. The strain was immense, her legs shaking under the combined weight, but she refused to drop him.
They slipped out of the room and down the service corridor toward the industrial elevator. Every shadow looked like an assassin; every squeak of the elevator cables sounded like a gunshot.
When they reached the basement loading dock, Leo was waiting. The rear doors of a large, gray laundry van were open. Inside, a space had been cleared between massive hampers of dirty linens.
Matilda gently laid Gabriel down onto a makeshift mattress of blankets.
May you like
"We're set," Leo whispered, his hands tight on the steering wheel. "But the guards at the gate... they're checking every car leaving the estate today."
"Leave that to me," Matilda said, climbing into the back of the van beside Gabriel's body. "Just drive, Leo. Don't stop for anything."
