Chapter 7 - The Dawn of the Crimson Dawn
By 5:45 AM, the storm over Chicago had cleared, leaving behind a crisp, cold dawn sky painted in streaks of deep crimson and icy gold.
We returned to the Moretti Estate under heavy armed escort. The entire perimeter was now reinforced with twice the usual security force. Tactical guards stood stationed every fifty yards along the stone walls, armed with high-powered rifles.
As we walked through the grand foyer, Dr. Clare Benton met us near the main staircase. She looked exhausted, but her face held an expression of pure, professional amazement.
"Mr. Moretti," Dr. Benton said, holding a tablet. "Sophia woke up twenty minutes ago. She asked for water, and then... she asked to use the restroom."
Luca froze on the third step of the staircase. "And?"
"She didn't let the nurses carry her," Dr. Benton said, a faint, disbelieving smile touching her lips. "She stood up on her own, held onto the wall, and walked six feet to the bathroom door. The paralytic toxins are clearing her metabolic system faster than we anticipated. Her motor neural pathways are firing remarkably well."
Tears glistened in Luca’s eyes. He didn't say a word. He simply took the stairs two at a time, moving toward his daughter's room. I followed closely behind him.
When we opened the door to Sophia’s bedroom, she was sitting up in bed, propped against a pile of plush pillows, sipping orange juice from a straw.
When her eyes landed on us, her entire face lit up.
"Hannah! Daddy!" she cried out happily, setting her cup on the nightstand.
Luca stepped over to the bed, dropping to his knees beside her and pulling her into a fierce, gentle embrace. He buried his face in her small shoulder, his massive frame trembling slightly as he held his daughter.
"You walked, sweetheart," Luca whispered into her hair. "You walked."
"I told you I could do it," Sophia said proudly, pulling back to look at him. "The lady in the water told me that if I kept practicing my steps, she’d come back for me. And she did."
Luca turned his head, looking up at me where I stood near the doorway. The unshakeable mob boss—a man who commanded empires and struck terror into the hearts of his enemies—looked at me with an expression of pure, unadulterated gratitude.
"She did, Sophia," Luca agreed softly, standing up. "She did."
Suddenly, Marco appeared at the bedroom door, tapping twice on the wood frame. His face held a grim, decisive certainty.
"Boss," Marco said quietly. "The strike teams are in position outside Lucchesi’s compound in Lake Forest. We have his entire council surrounded. We’re waiting for your green light."
Luca looked at his daughter, who was smiling as she pointed out a drawing she had made on her pad. Then he looked at me.
"Watch her for a few minutes, Hannah," Luca asked softly.
"Of course," I replied.
Luca stepped out into the hallway with Marco. I walked over to Sophia’s bedside, sitting on the edge of the mattress as she proudly showed me a picture she had drawn of three figures standing beside a blue river beneath a sky full of yellow stars.
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Outside in the hallway, through the cracked oak door, I could hear Luca’s quiet, lethal command:
"Execute the order, Marco. Erase them all."
