Chapter 4 - The Co-Conspirator Revealed
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The digital cardiac monitor hummed rhythmically in the dimly lit master medical suite on the third floor.
Outside the bulletproof windows, dawn was beginning to cast a cold, gray light over Lake Michigan.
Luca’s eyes slowly fluttered open, blinking against the soft light of the bedside lamp.
The first thing he saw was his father sitting in an armchair, holding a rosary in his weathered hands.
Beside Frank stood Claire, holding a fresh cup of warm broth and looking down with relief.
“Dad...” Luca rasped, his throat raw and burning from the night’s ordeal.
Frank dropped the rosary and leaned forward, kissing his son’s pale forehead with overwhelming gratitude.
“You’re alive, my boy,” Frank whispered, tears streaming freely down his wrinkled face.
“God spared you, thanks to this guardian angel standing right beside us,” Frank said, pointing to me.
Luca turned his dark eyes toward me, a profound depth of emotion swirling in his gaze.
“Thank you, Claire,” he whispered, his powerful voice slowly regaining its natural authority.
“You saved my life twice tonight,” Luca said, remembering the food and the swift medical intervention.
Dr. Rossi stepped into the room holding a sealed glass vial containing the remnants of Luca’s dinner.
“The toxicology results just came back from my private lab,” Dr. Rossi announced with grave seriousness.
“It was a concentrated dose of oleander extract combined with high-grade liquid benzodiazepines,” the doctor explained.
“It would have stopped your heart within forty-five minutes and looked entirely like sudden heart failure,” Dr. Rossi added.
Luca’s jaw set into iron, his mafia boss demeanor resurfacing with lethal intensity.
Marco knocked twice and entered the room, holding an evidence bag containing a sleek black burner phone.
“We pulled this from Vanessa’s hidden compartment behind her vanity mirror, boss,” Marco stated.
“The phone has only been in contact with one single unregistered number for the past six weeks,” Marco reported.
Luca reached out, taking the phone with steadying fingers and demanding Marco unlock it.
“Who was she speaking to on that tape, Marco?” Luca asked, his voice dead and dangerous.
Marco swallowed hard before delivering the name.
“It’s Julian Romano, boss,” Marco answered.
The air in the bedroom instantly turned freezing cold at the mention of the rival syndicate leader.
Julian Romano controlled the southside docks and had been waging a quiet shadow war against the Morettis for years.
Luca scrolled through the dozens of text messages detailing the horrific conspiracy.
Vanessa had promised Julian the master deeds to all Moretti properties once Luca was buried.
In exchange, Julian had promised to marry Vanessa and give her thirty percent of the unified syndicate’s revenue.
One message sent just five hours earlier made Luca’s blood boil with volcanic fury.
‘Make sure the old bastard Frank signs the conservatorship papers before Luca’s heart stops beating tonight,’ Julian had texted.
Frank lowered his head into his hands, trembling with the realization of how close they had both come to death.
Luca pulled the IV needle from the back of his hand, ignoring Dr. Rossi’s urgent warnings to rest.
“They thought my father was weak,” Luca said, rising to his full height with terrifying menace.
“They thought they could break the man who raised me and murder me in my own dining room,” Luca continued.
He looked at Marco, his eyes burning like black coals.
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“Bring Vanessa up here from the basement,” Luca ordered coldly.
“It is time my dear wife explains how she plans to spend the rest of her miserable life.”
