Chapter 10 - The Syringe And The Final Choice
“Vanessa is at the hospital?” Luca’s voice was a low, terrifying rumble that vibrated through his chest.
The relief that had just washed over me instantly evaporated, replaced by a fresh, icy wave of panic. Vanessa hadn't fled the city when her father was arrested. She hadn't gone into hiding. She had donned a nurse’s uniform, grabbed a lethal syringe, and walked straight into the hospital to murder the man who had exposed her treason. She was completely unhinged.
“Hold her,” Luca barked into Marco’s radio, his eyes darkening with a fury I had never seen before. “Do not let her out of your sight. I am coming.”
He tossed the radio back to Marco and turned to me, his expression softening only slightly as he gently grasped my shoulders.
“Sarah, get in the car with Daniel,” Luca ordered quickly. “Leo is going to drive you back to the safe house. Marco and his men will stay with you. You are not leaving that house until I come back.”
“I’m coming with you,” I insisted, gripping his lapels, terrified of letting him out of my sight after nearly losing him in the warehouse.
“No,” Luca said firmly, pressing a quick, desperate kiss to my forehead. “You are not walking into another crossfire today. Vanessa has nothing left to lose. She is cornered and desperate, and that makes her the most dangerous person in the city right now. Please, Sarah. Keep Daniel safe.”
I looked at my son, who was shivering in his torn chef’s jacket, exhausted and traumatized. Luca was right. I couldn't drag Daniel back into danger.
“Come back to us,” I whispered, tears welling in my eyes.
“I promise,” Luca swore, turning and sprinting toward a second SUV.
Leo ushered me and Daniel into the back of our vehicle, locking the doors securely before speeding away from the chaotic scene at the meatpacking plant.
The ride back to the safe house was a blur of flashing sirens and adrenaline crash. Daniel leaned against me, finally succumbing to the sheer exhaustion of the ordeal, falling asleep with his head on my shoulder. I held him tightly, stroking his hair, praying silently for Luca’s safety.
Meanwhile, at St. Joseph’s Hospital, the scene was entirely different.
The private VIP recovery wing on the fourth floor was completely locked down. Four massive Moretti guards stood outside the double doors, their weapons drawn, forming an impenetrable wall.
Inside Anthony’s hospital room, the tension was suffocating.
Anthony was lying in the hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor. He looked pale and exhausted from the surgery to repair his sabatoged brakes, but his eyes were sharp, watching the scene unfold with lethal calm. His wife, Caroline, stood fiercely protective beside him, holding his hand.
And kneeling on the linoleum floor in the center of the room, her hands zip-tied behind her back, was Vanessa Bellini.
She was wearing a stolen blue nurse’s scrub top, her blonde hair messy and chaotic. The syringe of potassium chloride lay on a metal tray nearby, a silent, deadly testament to her intentions.
The heavy doors to the room swung open.
Luca walked in. The air in the room seemed to instantly drop ten degrees.
He didn't yell. He didn't pull a weapon. He walked slowly, methodically, until he was standing directly in front of the kneeling woman he was supposed to marry just days ago.
Vanessa looked up at him. She didn't look terrified. She looked furious.
“You ruined everything,” Vanessa spat, her voice shaking with unadulterated venom. “My father is going to federal prison. The Commission is stripping our territory. I have nothing, Luca. Because of you.”
“You have nothing because of your own arrogance, Vanessa,” Luca said coldly, looking down at her as if she were dirt on his shoes. “You tried to murder my mother. You sabotaged Anthony’s car. And today, you walked into a hospital with a lethal injection to finish the job. You are a psychopath.”
“I did what I had to do to secure our future!” Vanessa screamed, thrashing against her zip-ties. “Your mother was a liability! Anthony was a threat! I was trying to build an empire with you, and you threw it away for a pathetic maid and her bastard son!”
Luca’s expression didn't change, but his eyes turned completely black.
He crouched down, bringing his face level with hers.
“Do not ever speak Sarah’s name again,” Luca whispered, his voice vibrating with a terrifying, primal threat. “She has more grace, more loyalty, and more strength in her little finger than your entire family has possessed in three generations. You are not fit to scrub the floors she walked on.”
Vanessa laughed, a sharp, bitter, hysterical sound.
“You think you’re so righteous, Luca,” she sneered, tears of rage spilling down her cheeks. “You think because you handed a ledger to the Feds, you’re a good man? You’re a mob boss! You’re a killer! And when the Commission finds out you turned rat on my father, they won't care about your immunity deal. They will hunt you down. They will kill you, they will kill Anthony, and they will slaughter Sarah and her son just to make an example out of you!”
The threat hung heavily in the sterile hospital room.
Vanessa was right. The Chicago Commission—the ruling body of the Five Families—did not tolerate informants. By handing over Carlo Bellini to the FBI, Luca had broken the most sacred rule of the underworld: Omertà. The code of silence.
If Vanessa walked out of this hospital and went to the Commission, she would paint Luca as a traitor, inciting a massive, city-wide mob war that would put a target on the back of everyone Luca loved.
Luca stood up slowly, looking at the syringe on the metal tray.
He had a choice.
He could hand Vanessa over to the police for attempted murder. She would hire the best lawyers, drag the trial out for years, and spend every waking moment orchestrating hits on Sarah and Daniel from behind bars.
Or, he could end the threat right here, permanently. He was a Boss. He had killed men for far less.
Anthony watched Luca from the hospital bed, recognizing the deadly calculation in his best friend’s eyes.
“Luca,” Anthony said quietly, his voice rasping from the breathing tube they had just removed.
Luca turned to look at him.
“She isn't worth it, brother,” Anthony said, shaking his head slightly. “If you kill her now, you prove her right. You prove you’re still a monster. Sarah doesn't want a monster. She wants the man who gave her son his father’s jacket back.”
Luca looked at Anthony. Then, he looked at Caroline, who was holding Anthony’s hand, crying silently. He thought of me, waiting for him at the safe house, terrified but trusting him completely.
He closed his eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath. The dark, violent urge receded, replaced by a profound, exhaustion-filled clarity.
Luca opened his eyes and looked down at Vanessa.
“You’re right, Vanessa,” Luca said softly. “I was a killer. But I’m not anymore.”
He turned to his guards.
“Call the FBI,” Luca ordered. “Tell them we apprehended the suspect who sabotaged Anthony Marino’s vehicle. Tell them we have the murder weapon, security footage of her entering the hospital in disguise, and multiple witnesses to her attempted homicide.”
Vanessa’s eyes widened in sheer panic. “No! Luca, you can't! If I go to federal prison with my father, the rival families will kill me inside! I’m a Bellini! They’ll tear me apart!”
“Then you better hope solitary confinement is comfortable,” Luca said coldly, completely devoid of mercy.
He didn't look at her again. He turned his back on the screaming, thrashing woman, and walked over to Anthony’s bed.
He gently grasped his best friend’s shoulder, a silent, powerful communication passing between them. The war was over. The violent chapter of their lives was permanently closed.
“Rest, Anthony,” Luca whispered. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Luca walked out of the hospital room, ignoring Vanessa’s desperate, hysterical screams as the guards hauled her away to await the federal agents.
He walked out into the cool evening air of Chicago, pulling his cell phone from his pocket.
He dialed my number.
May you like
I answered on the first ring, my heart hammering. “Luca?”
“I’m coming home, Sarah,” Luca said, his voice thick with overwhelming relief and love. “It’s over. I’m coming home.”
