Chapter 4 - The Mafia Boss Went to Prison Again to Protect the Woman He Loved
Alaric had warned her.
“If they arrest me, don't panic.”
Zoe hadn't listened.
She panicked.
For the next forty-eight hours, Ferrante property was searched.
Accounts frozen.
Employees questioned.
The press exploded.
Mafia Boss Linked to Psychiatric Trust Fund Theft.
Zoe saw her own name in three articles.
Convicted Nurse Connected to Crime Family.
She nearly broke.
Then Sabine came to her.
“Don't read anything.”
“I already did.”
“Stop.”
“They're using me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Sabine sat beside her.
“Because you're the only person Alaric trusts.”
Zoe looked at her.
“Why would that matter?”
“Because trust is leverage.”
Sabine handed her a file.
“Read.”
Inside were records showing federal investigators had received evidence from Daniel.
But the documents had been altered.
Again.
The same technique.
False timestamps.
Forged authorizations.
Someone was manufacturing evidence.
Someone wanted Alaric in prison.
And someone wanted Zoe discredited so completely that nobody would believe her testimony.
Sabine stared at her.
“We need you to do something.”
“What?”
“Believe him.”
Zoe almost laughed.
“That sounds easy.”
“It isn't.”
She opened the file.
One page contained a name.
Special Agent Marcus Vale.
A federal investigator assigned to the case.
Zoe remembered that name.
Daniel had mentioned him once.
At Harrowgate.
Three days before the theft.
She told Sabine.
The room went silent.
“If Marcus was involved,” Sabine said, “then the investigation is compromised.”
Zoe nodded.
“Then prove it.”
The investigation became a race.
Zoe revisited Harrowgate.
She found archived emails.
Old medical schedules.
A security recording.
Daniel meeting Marcus Vale.
The timestamp was hidden.
But the footage was intact.
They had been working together.
The false case against Alaric had been built with federal help.
The reason became clear.
Marcus was part of the same network collecting psychiatric records.
Alaric had unknowingly spent years getting close to exposing them.
They needed him discredited.
Zoe had been the perfect weapon.
Then they found Daniel.
Dead.
His body was discovered in an abandoned warehouse.
His death looked like suicide.
It wasn't.
Zoe stared at the photographs.
“He's dead.”
Sabine nodded.
“Someone killed him.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew too much.”
The evidence was growing.
The danger was getting worse.
Zoe called Norah.
“I need you.”
Her sister came.
She read everything.
Then looked at Zoe.
“This is bigger than your conviction.”
“I know.”
“It reaches federal agents.”
“I know.”
“Then you have to be careful.”
“I know.”
Norah looked toward the window.
“Do you love him?”
Zoe froze.
“What?”
“Alaric.”
Zoe looked down.
“Yes.”
Norah sighed.
“Then don't lie to yourself about what this means.”
“What?”
“If you stay beside him, you become part of his life.”
“I already am.”
Her sister studied her.
“Then make sure he becomes part of yours for the right reasons.”
Alaric was released after three weeks.
The case against him collapsed when the evidence was challenged.
But he came home thinner.
Harder.
More tired.
Zoe waited for him on the porch.
He stopped when he saw her.
“You stayed.”
“Yes.”
“You shouldn't have.”
“I know.”
He walked closer.
“I could have lost everything.”
“So could I.”
He touched her face.
“I love you.”
It was the first time he had said it.
Zoe's eyes filled.
“I love you too.”
He kissed her.
Then stopped.
“What?”
“You're shaking.”
“So are you.”
He laughed quietly.
For a moment, they were not a mafia boss and a disgraced nurse.
They were simply two people who had survived.
But that night, Zoe found another envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
Her mother.
Taken outside her care facility.
With a man standing several feet behind her.
Marcus Vale.
Underneath:
THE NEXT PERSON THEY TAKE WON'T BE YOUR HUSBAND.
Zoe's blood turned cold.
She looked at Alaric.
“My mother.”
He read the message.
His face became expressionless.
That was how Zoe knew he was furious.
“Pack a bag.”
“Why?”
“We're moving her tonight.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere nobody can find.”
Zoe stared.
“Will she be safe?”
Alaric looked at her.
“Yes.”
“How can you promise?”
“Because I'll be there.”
She took his hand.
May you like
This time, she wasn't afraid of what that promise meant.
She was afraid of what it would cost him.
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