THE LOCKET IN THE WHEELCHAIR

The mechanical clack of four weapons being chambered echoed through the concrete garage.

I tightened my grip on Luca’s arm, my heart hammering against my ribs. There was nowhere to run. The concrete walls offered no cover.

“Charles,” Luca said, stepping slightly in front of me, shielding my body with his own. “You’re an old man. You don’t have the stomach for this.”

Dr. Bennett chuckled, a dry, rattling sound.

“I removed my own brother from his life and replaced him, Luca. Do not mistake my patience for weakness.”

He tapped his silver cane on the concrete.

“Give me the rosary, Sofia.”

Sofia stepped forward. The white-haired woman looked at the man who had locked her in a basement for three decades. She didn’t look afraid. She looked like a woman who had already lost everything.

“You’re going to burn in hell, Father,” Sofia spat.

“I’ll buy my way out,” Bennett replied smoothly. “The rosary.”

Sofia held up the wooden beads.

Then, with a sudden, vicious flick of her wrist, she threw the rosary as hard as she could.

It didn’t go toward Bennett.

It went over the edge of the parking structure ramp, clattering down into the dark storm drain below.

Bennett’s calm facade vanished. His face twisted in pure, ugly rage.

“You stupid bitch!” he screamed. “Shoot them!”

The guards raised their weapons.

I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact.

But the gunshot that shattered the silence didn’t come from the men in front of us.

It came from behind them.

The guard on the far left collapsed, a bullet in his leg.

The other three spun around in panic.

Out of the shadows of the concrete pillars stepped a figure.

Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dressed in a dark suit.

It was Luca’s head of security. The man who had argued with Bennett at the hospital.

And behind him were six more of Luca’s men, heavily armed, fanning out with precision.

“Drop your weapons!” the security chief roared. “Now!”

Bennett’s men froze. They were outgunned. One by one, they slowly lowered their firearms, kicking them across the concrete.

Bennett stood entirely still, his hand gripping his cane, his eyes darting frantically.

“How?” Bennett hissed.

Luca straightened up. Despite his weakness, the aura of the mafia boss returned to him instantly.

“You thought you controlled my security, Charles,” Luca said, walking slowly toward the old doctor. “Because you paid them. But my father—my real father—taught them loyalty. You taught them greed. Greed is temporary.”

The security chief walked up and grabbed Bennett’s arms, twisting them painfully behind his back.

Bennett gasped in pain.

“You can’t do this, Luca!” Bennett snarled, struggling. “I’m your doctor! I’m the only one who knows the exact formula of the medication you’ve been taking. If I don't give you the antidote, your heart will fail within forty-eight hours!”

My blood ran cold again.

I looked at Luca.

He was pale. Breathing hard. The Adenosine had restarted his heart, but the underlying poison Anna had been giving him was still in his system.

“He’s lying,” I said, stepping forward. “We’ll take you to a real hospital. A toxicologist can figure it out.”

Bennett laughed cruelly.

“It’s a proprietary blend, Nurse Collins. A slow-acting neurotoxin mixed with beta-blockers. It doesn't show up on standard tox screens. By the time they isolate it, he’ll be dead.”

Luca didn’t flinch.

He looked at Bennett with absolute disgust.

“I’d rather die than take another pill from you.”

“You say that now,” Bennett sneered. “Wait until the chest pains start. Wait until you can’t breathe.”

Luca gestured to his men.

“Put him in the trunk. Take him to the warehouse. He doesn't see daylight until I say so.”

They dragged the screaming doctor away.

Sofia walked over to the storm drain. She knelt on the concrete, reaching her thin arm down through the metal grate.

She pulled the wooden rosary back up. It was dirty, but intact.

She handed it to Luca.

“You have the accounts,” Sofia said softly. “You can take everything back.”

Luca took it. He looked down at the carved numbers.

Then he looked at me.

His eyes lost focus for a second. His hand went to his chest.

“Luca?” I asked, rushing to his side.

He collapsed against my shoulder. The adrenaline was wearing off. The poison was taking over.

“Get him in the car!” I yelled to the remaining guards.

We hauled him into the back of my sedan. I jumped in the back seat with him, pulling his head into my lap. Sofia got in the front.

“Drive!” I yelled to the guard who took the wheel.

“Where to, ma’am? The hospital?”

I looked down at Luca. His breathing was becoming shallow again. Bennett was right. A standard hospital wouldn't know how to treat a custom poison.

I looked at Sofia.

“Sofia,” I said urgently. “Your father designed the poison. Did he ever mention an antidote? A notebook? A lab?”

Sofia closed her eyes, thinking back through thirty years of isolation.

“He didn't keep notes at the facility,” she said rapidly. “He was too paranoid. But... there was a place. A place he took me when I was a little girl. Before everything went wrong.”

“Where?”

“An old hunting cabin in Wisconsin. He called it his sanctuary. If he has an antidote, or the formula, it will be there.”

I looked at the guard driving.

“Head north. Wisconsin.”

I looked down at Luca. His skin was turning gray.

He reached up, his trembling fingers wrapping around my hand.

“Rebecca,” he whispered. “If I don't make it...”

“Stop talking,” I ordered, my voice cracking. I stroked his dark hair, blinking back tears. “I’m not letting you die, Luca. Not after everything. You are going to live.”

He offered a weak, crooked smile.

“You are... very bossy,” he murmured.

Then his eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.

I grabbed my medical bag.

I had to keep him alive for the next three hours.

And as we sped down the highway, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

A text message.

From Anna.