Chapter 5 - THE WEB UNRAVELS
Dante didn't waste time on doubt. A man who built an empire on paranoia didn't second-guess an anomaly when it was handed to him with this level of precision. His phone was out of his pocket within seconds, his thumb flying across the screen.
"Luca," Dante spoke into the device, his voice razor-sharp. "Get the encrypted comms up. I want every security feed from Northwestern Mercy Hospital from the night of November 14th backed up, decrypted, and brought to my safehouse within the hour. No warrants. No corporate red tape. Just pull it."
He hung up without waiting for an acknowledgment. He turned his burning gaze back to Sofia. "Dr. Croft. You said he threatened you?"
"Explicitly," Sofia replied, standing up alongside him. "He told me it wasn't worth dying for. Which means whatever happened that night wasn't an accident of a chaotic emergency room. It was a planned operation. Someone inside the hospital orchestrated the swap."
"My wife's car was bombed because someone wanted the Marchetti bloodline wiped out," Dante said, his jaw clenching so hard a muscle twitched violently. "They thought killing Isabella and the baby would finish it. But if they realized she was pregnant and wanted to keep the child as leverage, or if a rival faction wanted to substitute a dying infant to destroy me psychologically from the inside... either way, someone inside this hospital is on their payroll."
"We need to move fast," Sofia urged. "If Croft realizes we aren't backing down, he won't just threaten us next time. He’ll eliminate any paper trail left in the hospital database."
"He won't get the chance," Dante said coldly.
Within twenty minutes, four black SUVs idling outside the hospital's ambulance bay signaled that Dante's private security team had locked down the perimeter. No one was leaving Northwestern Mercy Hospital without explicit clearance from the head of the Marchetti syndicate.
Sofia packed her personal belongings into her locker, stripping off her scrubs and swapping them for civilian clothes—a heavy denim jacket and jeans. When she stepped back out into the hallway, Dante was waiting by the elevators, flanked by two towering men in dark suits who radiated lethal competence.
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"Where are we going?" Sofia asked.
"To see a man who owes me a very large favor," Dante said, the elevator doors sliding open to reveal a private express car that bypassed the lobby entirely. "And then, Nurse Reyes, we are going to find my boy."
