Chapter 6 - The Trap Begins
Within two hours, Roman's private security team had transformed the sixth floor into a fortress. Nico was carefully evaluated by Roman’s trusted personal pediatrician, who confirmed that despite three weeks in isolation, the boy was remarkably healthy.
However, a serious problem remained: the sick baby still lying in Incubator Four in the public NICU, and Julian Moretti, who had no idea his grand design had just shattered.
Roman stood in the dim corridor outside the hidden nursery, staring out at the Chicago skyline. Elena walked up beside him, carrying two paper cups of hot coffee.
"How is the baby downstairs?" Roman asked softly, accepting the cup.
"Stable for now," Elena said, her eyes heavy with sympathy. "Now that I've flushed Sloan's custom TPN mixture out of his line and put him on proper nutrition, his heart rate is settling. But he's an abandoned baby, Roman. No family on record. Sloan used him as an expandable pawn."
Roman took a slow sip of coffee. "In my world, innocence is a rare commodity. A child who has no one is a target."
"What are you going to do about Moretti?" Elena asked, looking up at him. "If he expects to transfer Nico tomorrow morning, he’ll send his men here soon."
A cold, razor-sharp smile slowly spread across Roman's face. The broken, grieving man from that morning was gone, replaced by the lethal strategist who ruled the city's underbelly.
"Moretti thinks he bought a quiet tragedy," Roman said, turning to face her. "He thinks I'm sitting downstairs watching a screen, waiting for my boy to die. We are going to let him keep thinking that until his transport team steps into this building."
"You're going to set an ambush," Elena said.
"No," Roman corrected, his eyes gleaming in the dark. "An ambush implies they have a chance to surrender. I am going to erase Julian Moretti’s operation from this city."
He looked at Elena, his expression softening just a fraction. "But I need you to do something dangerous, Elena. I need you to stay with Nico. My men will protect you with their lives, but I can't trust anyone else to care for him while I deal with the rats."
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Elena looked into Roman's eyes and saw not a criminal lord, but a father fighting for his family's future.
"I won't leave him," Elena said firmly. "Neither of them."
