Chapter 4 - THE PRICE OF ADMISSION
The hospital’s administrative office was silent,
except for the sound of Marla Hensley’s frantic typing.
She was trying to update files,
trying to look busy,
trying to pretend she wasn't about to face the devil.
The door opened,
and Giovanni walked in.
He didn't sit down.
He stood in front of her desk,
a shadow that blotted out her escape.
“Mr. Moretti,”
she stammered,
her voice an octave higher than usual.
“I was just...
I was just clearing up the records.”
“The records are already clear,”
Giovanni said.
“You saw a woman in distress.”
“You saw a child in pain.”
“And you saw an opportunity to feel powerful.”
“I was following protocol,”
she lied,
her eyes darting to the door.
Giovanni leaned forward,
placing his palms flat on the desk.
The wood groaned under his weight.
“Protocol is for people who don't have a name.”
“My son has a name.”
“And his mother has my protection.”
He pulled a thin folder from his pocket and tossed it onto her keyboard.
“What is this?”
she asked,
her fingers trembling as she opened it.
“It’s your bank records for the last five years,”
Giovanni said.
“It shows the 'bonuses' you’ve been receiving from medical supply companies in exchange for favorable contracts.”
Marla went white.
“That’s...
that’s confidential.”
“Nothing is confidential from me.”
“You are fired,
Marla.”
“The board has already received the evidence.”
“And if I ever hear of you working in the medical field again,”
“I will consider it a personal insult.”
She looked like she was going to faint.
“Please...
I have a family.”
“So do I,”
Giovanni said,
his voice turning to steel.
“And you put mine at risk.”
“Count yourself lucky that I am in a generous mood because my son is alive.”
He turned and walked out,
leaving her in the wreckage of her career.
He didn't feel any pity.
In his world,
cruelty was met with consequence.
He walked back to the VIP wing,
his mind already shifting to the next problem.
The news.
The enemies.
And the woman sleeping in the room with his son.
He reached the door and stopped,
looking through the glass.
I was curled up in the chair next to the crib,
my hand resting on the railing.
He watched us for a long time,
a man who had everything but the one thing he actually wanted.
His family.
He had let me go once because he thought I would be happier.
But seeing me tonight,
broken and desperate,
he realized that he had been wrong.
He couldn't leave us to the mercy of the world.
The world had no mercy.
May you like
Only he did.
And his mercy was reserved only for us.
