Chapter 7 - The Nurse’s Confession
The next morning,
the cabin was filled with the smell of pine and the soft sounds of Leo cooing.
I was cleaning my weapons at the table when my phone buzzed.
It was a message from my few remaining loyalists.
They had captured the night nurse.
She hadn't died from the poison;
Hunter had given her a lower dose than Halloran intended.
"They're bringing her here,"
I told Hunter.
She looked worried,
clutching Leo tighter.
"Is that safe?"
"It's necessary,"
I said.
"She knows things Halloran wouldn't tell a maid."
An hour later,
a black SUV pulled into the clearing.
Two men dragged the nurse,
pale and trembling,
into the cabin.
"Lorenzo,
please!"
she begged,
falling to her knees.
"I didn't have a choice!
They threatened my family!"
I stood over her,
my presence filling the small room.
"Who threatened them,
Angela?"
"Moretti's men,"
she sobbed.
"They said they'd kill my sisters if I didn't drug the baby's milk."
"And Halloran?"
I asked,
my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
"He was the one who approached them,"
she said,
wiping her nose on her sleeve.
"He wanted your assets,
Lorenzo.
He thought he could run the foundation once you were gone."
"And the car explosion?"
I asked,
my heart skipping a beat.
Angela looked at me,
true terror in her eyes.
"It wasn't Moretti."
The room went silent.
"What did you say?"
I asked,
grabbing her by the shoulders.
"Halloran did it,"
she whispered.
"He planted the bomb because Sophia had found out he was embezzling millions from the Rossi medical research funds."
"She was going to tell you that night."
The world tilted on its axis.
Moretti was a rival,
yes,
but he was a distraction.
The man who had stood by my side for a decade,
the man who had delivered my son,
was the one who had murdered my wife.
The betrayal was so profound it felt like I was breathing glass.
"Where is he?"
I roared.
"He's at the clinic,"
she cried.
"The private one on Long Island."
"He's preparing to leave the country tonight."
I turned to my men,
my eyes burning with a dark,
unforgiving fire.
"Take her away,"
I ordered.
"Keep her safe until the trial."
I looked at Hunter,
who was staring at me with a mixture of sympathy and fear.
"I have to go,"
I said.
"I know,"
she replied,
standing up and walking toward me.
"But you have to come back."
"Leo needs you."
"And so do I."
I kissed her forehead,
a promise that didn't need words.
Then,
May you like
I stepped out into the morning light,
ready to become the monster Halloran deserved.
