Chapter 6 - Shadows at the Hospital
By sunrise, the storm had cleared, leaving Boston wrapped in a blinding, crystalline white.
We returned to the estate just as Ethan was waking up from his emergency surgery.
I sat in the armchair beside his hospital bed, holding a warm cup of coffee while Roman stood by the window, speaking in low tones on a encrypted satellite phone.
Ethan’s eyes fluttered open. He blinked against the bright lights, his gaze wandering around the room before finally resting on me. A faint, broken smile tugged at his bruised lips.
"Clara..." he rasped, his voice barely above a whisper.
I set my coffee down and leaned forward, taking his hand gently. "Hey, kiddo. Don't try to move too much. You have two cracked ribs."
"Did... did you give him the numbers?" Ethan asked.
"I did," I smiled softly. "Your dad got the ledger back. Miles is in custody, and you're safe."
Ethan let out a long, shaky sigh, his shoulders relaxing into the mattress. "I was so scared... in the alley. I thought... I thought I was going to die out there."
"You were very brave, Ethan," I said, brushing a stray lock of hair from his forehead. "You held on until help arrived."
Roman ended his phone call and walked over to the side of the bed. He looked down at his son, his expression softening into a warmth he rarely showed the rest of the world.
"You did well, son," Roman said quietly, placing his hand over Ethan’s shoulder. "You protected the family."
"Clara protected me, Dad," Ethan murmured, turning his head toward his father. "She didn't leave me."
Roman met my eyes over the bed. The weight in his look was profound, carrying promises that went far beyond monetary debts.
Suddenly, the glass door of the medical suite burst open.
Sophia stepped in, her face pale, her tablet clutched tightly against her chest. "Mr. Duca. We have a massive problem."
Roman’s posture instantly hardened. "Speak."
"Leo Moretti just launched a full-scale offensive against our docks in South Boston," Sophia reported quickly. "He’s spreading word that you’ve been compromised, that Miles turned over the entire operation, and that the Duca family is open season. Three of our warehouses are currently under fire."
Roman didn't flinch. He stood tall, his jaw set like granite. "He’s desperate. He knows we have the secondary ledger now, which exposes his entire network to federal indictment. He’s trying to force a war before we can deliver the files to the State Attorney."
"What are your orders?" Sophia asked.
Roman looked down at Ethan, then turned to me.
"Sophia, double the security perimeter around this room. No one enters or leaves without my personal biometric clearance," Roman ordered. Then he looked at me with an intensity that made my heart leap. "Clara, I need you to do something for me. Something dangerous."
"Name it," I said without hesitation.
"The State Attorney, Sarah Connor, is waiting at a secure location in Downtown Boston," Roman said, pulling a encrypted flash drive from his pocket—the data copied from the leather ledger. "I cannot trust my usual couriers. Moretti’s men know every soldier in my organization. But they don't know you."
May you like
I looked at the silver drive resting in his palm. "You want me to deliver the evidence to the government?"
"You are the only person in this city who isn't compromised," Roman said gravely. "If you do this, Moretti’s empire ends today. And you... you will finally be free."
