Chapter 3 - The Bloodline Exposed
When Julian reached the third floor, the hallway was deathly quiet.
He threw open the door to Nora’s room. Nora was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a sleeping Lily against her chest, rocking her back and forth in the dark. The little girl’s thumb was in her mouth, her dark curls resting against Nora’s shoulder.
Nora looked up, wide-eyed, as Julian strode into the room.
"Pack your bags," Julian commanded, his voice tight and urgent. "Both of you. Right now."
"What happened?" Nora asked, tightening her grip on the child. "Is Cassandra..."
"Cassandra is alive, but Thomas betrayed us," Julian said, kneeling down beside the bed so he was eye-level with Nora. "He was working for the Moretti syndicate. He sent a message to Carmine Moretti before he was caught. They know about Lily."
Nora’s face drained of what little color she had left. She knew the name Moretti. Everyone in Chicago knew the name. Carmine Moretti was the ruthless patriarch of the rival crime family that had fought the DeLucas for control of the Great Lakes shipping routes for three decades.
"No..." Nora whispered, tears welling in her eyes again. "No, please, God, no! This is why Claire ran away! This is why she hid!"
"I know," Julian said, reaching out to touch Lily’s soft, warm cheek with trembling fingers. The child stirred slightly, letting out a soft sigh that cut straight to Julian's heart. "I failed Claire, Nora. I let her live in fear, and I let her die alone. I will burn this entire city to ash before I let anyone hurt this child. Do you understand me?"
Nora looked into Julian’s eyes. The cold gangster was gone; in his place was a desperate father ready to wage war against the world to protect his blood. For the first time in eighteen months, Nora trusted him.
"Where are we going?" she asked softly.
"The safehouse in Lake Geneva," Julian said. "It’s a bunker built under a timber lodge. No satellite can track it, no phones work there unless they're encrypted by my personal servers. Marcus will drive you."
"What about you?"
"I have to stay in Chicago," Julian said, his eyes darkening into flint. "If I run with you, Moretti will know she is my weakness and hunt us together. If I stay here, he will think I am focused on holding my territory. I am going to draw Carmine Moretti into the open, and I am going to end him."
Just then, Lily opened her big brown eyes. She rubbed her nose with the back of her tiny fist and looked at Julian.
"Mr. Boss man?" she murmured, her voice thick with sleep. "Where is my bunny?"
Julian felt something snap inside his chest—a wall he had built four years ago crumbling into dust. He picked up the worn, velvet rabbit from the bedside table and gently placed it in her small hands.
"Here he is, little bird," Julian said softly, using the nickname Claire had once used.
Lily smiled, clutching the rabbit to her chest, and reached out one small hand to touch Julian’s cheek. "You look sad. Did you break your glass like the silver lady?"
Julian closed his eyes, leaning into the warmth of her small hand. "No, sweetie. I didn't break my glass. But I am going to fix everything."
Ten minutes later, an unmarked, heavily armored SUV pulled out of the estate’s underground garage, carrying Nora and Lily away into the dark, snowy night toward Wisconsin.
Julian stood on the driveway, watching the red taillights vanish into the blizzard.
Marcus walked up beside him, holding an encrypted tablet. "Boss, we have a situation. Cassandra just woke up at the hospital. She’s demanding to see you. And... her father just arrived."
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Julian’s jaw tightened. Cassandra’s father was Arthur Vale—a powerful federal judge with deep ties to the Department of Justice, a man who had spent ten years trying to put Julian behind bars.
"Let’s go to the hospital," Julian said, pulling his leather gloves on. "It’s time to play the game."
