Chapter 3 - The Velvet Cage
By sunrise, St. Catherine’s NICU had transformed completely.
Dr. Harrison and his team of specialists were barred from entering Suite A. Instead, a brand-new medical protocol was established under Daniel Russo’s direct command: Nurse Rachel Jenkins was placed in sole charge of infant Leo Russo’s physical care.
A luxurious velvet-upholstered armchair had been moved into the glass suite, positioned directly beneath a warm, dim lamp. Rachel sat in it, exhausted, her eyes burning as she held Leo skin-to-skin. The baby had fed from a tiny dropper for the first time in three days, taking in vital nutrients without throwing them up. He was currently snoring softly against her neck.
Outside the glass wall stood Daniel.
He had changed into a fresh white shirt, though he refused to leave the floor. Through the clear glass, he watched Rachel with a unreadable, intense gaze.
Mateo walked up beside him, holding an iPad displaying a thick dossier.
"I ran her background, Boss," Mateo said quietly. "Rachel Jenkins, twenty-six. No criminal record. Top of her class at UIC Nursing. She works sixty hours a week at St. Catherine's and two other clinics. She’s been paying off her late mother's medical bills and trying to keep her brother Tommy out of rehab debt."
Daniel didn't look away from Rachel. "And her brother?"
"Police held him at the 12th District station overnight after the warehouse raid," Mateo replied. "He’s terrified. He thinks our men are still coming for him."
"Have our lawyers post his bail," Daniel ordered calmly. "Bring him to a safehouse in suburban Naperville. Put two guards on him. He doesn't leave that house, he doesn't touch a slot machine, and he doesn't contact Rachel until I say so."
"Understood," Mateo nodded. He paused, looking through the glass at the nurse holding the mob boss’s child. "Boss... what about the ambush on Lake Shore Drive? The hit that killed Mrs. Russo?"
Daniel’s blue eyes darkened into dangerous ice. "What did forensics find?"
"The shell casings recovered from the black SUV weren't from the Moretti family," Mateo whispered, glancing around the quiet hallway. "They were custom-loaded 9mm hollow points. The same ammunition issued to our internal security team."
Daniel’s body went rigid. A lethal silence settled over the corridor.
"An insider," Daniel murmured, his voice laced with venom. "Someone in my inner circle helped coordinate the hit that killed Camille and almost killed my son."
"Yes," Mateo said grimly. "Whoever did it knows Leo survived. And if they realize this nurse is keeping the baby alive..."
"They will try to kill her too," Daniel finished the sentence. He turned his head slowly, looking through the glass at Rachel, who was gently brushing her fingers over Leo’s thin brown hair.
"Double the guards on this floor," Daniel commanded coldly. "No one enters this room without my personal clearance. If anyone I haven't vetted steps within ten feet of Rachel Jenkins, shoot them."
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Inside the suite, Rachel looked up and caught Daniel staring at her. The sheer authority in his posture intimidated her, yet there was something else in his eyes—a fierce, protective instinct that extended not just to his son, but now, somehow, to her.
She lowered her gaze back to the sleeping infant, realizing with a chill that she had just walked into the center of a deadly war.
