Chapter 2 - The Woman in the Hospital Bed
The woman's name was Sofia Reed.
She was thirty-two.
She had no criminal record.
No known connection to organized crime.
No outstanding warrants.
No history that explained why someone like her had been hiding in a third-floor apartment with two children in her care.
Lorenzo sat outside her hospital room while Emma slept in a chair beside Dominic.
A nurse had tried to move the child to a bed.
Emma had refused.
"She'll wake up and Mommy won't be here."
So Dominic had pulled the chair beside the hospital bed.
He looked exhausted.
Lorenzo looked through the glass.
Sofia was unconscious.
Machines beeped steadily.
A physician approached.
"Mr. Valente?"
Lorenzo stood.
"How is she?"
"Stable."
"Will she recover?"
"We believe so."
"How long?"
"At least several days."
Lorenzo nodded.
"Thank you."
The doctor hesitated.
"She appears to have been under severe stress."
Lorenzo looked through the window.
"She has children."
The doctor followed his gaze.
"Emma isn't her biological daughter."
"What?"
"According to the paperwork, Sofia is the legal guardian of both children."
"Both?"
"Yes."
Lorenzo's expression changed.
"Where is the other child?"
The doctor glanced at the file.
"Isabella Falcone."
Everything clicked.
The cloth doll.
The name inside the collar.
Marco.
Sofia.
Isabella.
Emma.
Lorenzo walked back into the waiting area.
Emma was awake.
Her eyes went immediately to him.
"Mommy?"
"She's still asleep."
"Is she dying?"
"No."
Lorenzo answered too quickly.
Emma stared.
"You promised."
"I did."
She nodded.
Then she looked at Dominic.
"Can I have my doll?"
Lorenzo gave it to her.
She held it tightly.
"Her name is Rosie."
"Rosie?"
"She was Mommy's when she was little."
Lorenzo sat across from her.
"Your mother gave you Rosie?"
"Yes."
"Why was Rosie at St. Cecilia's?"
Emma's face changed.
"I don't know."
Lorenzo waited.
Emma looked down.
"Mommy told me never to talk about Miss Bell."
"Who is Miss Bell?"
"The lady who takes care of Isabella."
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
"Where does Miss Bell live?"
"She has a yellow house."
"Where?"
Emma frowned.
"I don't know."
"That's okay."
He did not push her.
Children remembered fear differently.
Some forgot addresses but remembered colors.
Some forgot names but remembered sounds.
He had learned that in another life.
Another war.
Another winter.
He wondered if Emma's mother understood how much danger she had brought into her home.
Then the hospital doors opened.
Two men entered.
They wore dark coats.
Lorenzo recognized one.
Anthony Russo.
His own associate.
He had not sent Anthony.
That was the first warning.
The second was the weapon concealed beneath Anthony's coat.
Lorenzo stood.
Anthony looked toward the room.
"Boss."
"What are you doing here?"
"Checking on the child."
"Why?"
Anthony smiled.
"You know how rumors work."
Lorenzo stepped closer.
"Who told you about her?"
Anthony's smile disappeared for half a second.
"People talk."
"Not to you."
Silence.
Dominic quietly moved Emma behind the nurses' station.
Anthony looked at Lorenzo.
"You should come outside."
"No."
"Boss."
"No."
Anthony's expression hardened.
Lorenzo stared at him.
"You're not here for Sofia."
Anthony said nothing.
"You're here for Emma."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Lorenzo stepped closer.
"Then leave."
Anthony did.
But before he reached the doors, Lorenzo said,
"Anthony."
The man stopped.
"If I find out you knew where that child was before tonight, you're finished."
Anthony turned.
"I understand."
"No."
Lorenzo's voice was quiet.
"You don't."
Anthony left.
Dominic came back.
"That was strange."
"Very."
"Want me to follow him?"
"Yes."
"How far?"
"Until he meets whoever sent him."
Dominic nodded.
Then Emma appeared beside Lorenzo.
"Mr. Lorenzo?"
"What?"
"That man is bad."
Lorenzo looked down.
"Why?"
"He was at our apartment yesterday."
His blood ran cold.
"What did he do?"
"He asked Mommy where Isabella was."
Lorenzo's eyes hardened.
"Did your mother tell him?"
Emma shook her head.
"She said she didn't know."
"Did he hurt her?"
Emma hesitated.
"He made her cry."
Lorenzo's jaw clenched.
Then the hospital alarm began.
Sofia's room filled with nurses.
Lorenzo rushed inside.
Sofia's eyes opened for the first time.
They were dark.
Tired.
Terrified.
Her gaze found Emma.
Then Lorenzo.
She tried to speak.
No sound came.
Lorenzo leaned closer.
"You're safe."
Her lips moved.
He listened.
"Falcone."
He leaned closer.
"Marco?"
She nodded weakly.
"Where is he?"
Tears appeared in her eyes.
"Alive."
Lorenzo froze.
Marco was alive.
Three weeks.
Everyone had believed he was dead.
Sofia whispered another word.
"Warehouse."
"Which warehouse?"
Her fingers gripped his sleeve.
"Nine."
Lorenzo looked at Dominic.
Warehouse Nine.
An abandoned building on the South Boston waterfront.
Controlled by a company Anthony Russo had recently acquired.
Lorenzo understood immediately.
This wasn't a kidnapping.
It was a transfer.
Someone had taken Marco.
They had used Sofia to hide Isabella.
And they had been searching for the second child.
Why?
He looked at Emma.
Then at Sofia.
Then at the cloth doll.
He finally noticed the ribbon around Rosie's wrist.
There was a tiny metal tag sewn into it.
A number.
Lorenzo's heart stopped.
May you like
Warehouse Nine.
The doll had been carrying the location the entire time.
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