Chapter 2 - The Mafia Boss Gave Me A Safe Room—But Ryan Knew Exactly Where To Find Me
The next morning, I almost left.
Almost.
I stood in front of the elevator with my bag packed.
I had borrowed clothes.
My hospital badge was in my pocket.
My phone was charged.
I had enough cash to get three meals and one cab.
That was all.
Lucian found me before the elevator doors opened.
"You leaving?"
I turned.
He was barefoot.
That was the first surprising thing.
The most feared man in Manhattan looked almost ordinary in a black T-shirt and gray sweatpants.
Almost.
"I'm going back to work."
"I know."
"And then I'm getting an apartment."
"You already have one."
"That's Ryan's apartment."
"Not anymore."
I frowned.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing."
"That's not convincing."
"He doesn't have legal control over the lease."
I stared.
"How do you know?"
"Because I had it reviewed."
"You had my lease reviewed?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to know whether he could legally prevent you from leaving."
I rubbed my forehead.
"This is insane."
"Probably."
He walked toward the kitchen.
"Breakfast?"
"I don't have time."
"You do."
"No."
"Amanda."
His tone wasn't threatening.
Just steady.
"Sit."
I sat.
He placed a plate in front of me.
Eggs.
Toast.
Fruit.
Coffee.
I stared.
"You cook?"
"No."
"Then who did?"
"My mother."
I looked up.
"You live with your mother?"
"Sometimes."
He smiled faintly.
"She lives three floors below."
That explained why a woman's voice occasionally drifted through the house.
His mother appeared ten minutes later.
Elegant.
Silver-haired.
Warm eyes.
She looked at me.
Then at Lucian.
Then smiled.
"So you're Amanda."
I almost choked.
"You know me?"
"Everyone who matters knows you."
Lucian frowned.
"Mother."
"What?"
"Don't scare her."
She laughed.
"I like her."
"I don't know her."
"Neither do you."
She looked at me.
"I'm Sofia."
"Amanda."
"I know."
I smiled despite myself.
Sofia sat down.
"My son isn't good at this."
"At what?"
"Helping people without making them feel like hostages."
Lucian sighed.
"Mother."
She waved him away.
I laughed.
It was the first real laugh I'd had in weeks.
Then Sofia asked:
"How long have you been afraid?"
The question erased the smile.
I looked down.
"A long time."
Sofia reached across the table.
"You can be safe here."
I nodded.
I wanted to believe her.
At the hospital, Maria hugged me when she saw me.
"You disappeared."
"I wasn't feeling well."
She looked toward the entrance.
Then back at me.
"Who was that man outside?"
"What man?"
"The one in the black car."
My heart tightened.
"Security."
"For you?"
"Yes."
Maria lowered her voice.
"People are talking."
"What are they saying?"
"That you’re involved with the Moretti family."
I almost laughed.
"I'm not."
"Good."
She touched my arm carefully.
"Ryan came by yesterday."
I froze.
"What?"
"He asked for you."
"What did you tell him?"
"That you weren't working."
"Thank you."
Her face changed.
"Amanda... are you okay?"
I looked away.
"I'm getting there."
My shift started.
For twelve hours, I focused on patients.
A child with asthma.
An elderly man with pneumonia.
A mother in labor.
A trauma patient after a collision.
Those were the moments when my life made sense.
Pain had a language.
Medicine had steps.
People either stabilized or they didn't.
There was no manipulation.
No guessing.
No waiting for a mood to change.
When my shift ended, Lucian's driver was waiting.
I frowned.
"I can take the train."
"No."
"You can't keep deciding."
"I'm not."
He stepped out of the car.
"I came."
I stared.
"You came yourself?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"You've had a bad day."
"I don't know how you know that."
"I asked Maria."
I groaned.
"Of course you did."
He opened the door.
"Come on."
The city was crowded.
Holiday lights reflected on wet streets.
For a few minutes, we said nothing.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
"Talk."
His expression changed.
"Are you certain?"
A pause.
"Send it."
He ended the call.
"What happened?"
"Ryan filed a report claiming you stole from him."
I stared.
"What?"
"He says you took cash and jewelry."
"I didn't."
"I know."
"How?"
"Because he sold the jewelry himself six months ago."
I turned toward him.
"How do you know that?"
"I have people who investigate facts."
I sighed.
"This is unbelievable."
"There's more."
He handed me a document.
Ryan had also claimed I was unstable.
That I abused prescription medication.
That I had threatened him.
The report was designed to discredit me.
I felt sick.
"Why would he do this?"
"To control the narrative."
"The police could believe him."
"They won't."
"You don't know that."
"I know enough."
He looked at me.
"You've been isolated."
"Yes."
"He wants people to doubt you."
"Yes."
"That ends now."
We arrived at the penthouse.
Marco was waiting.
He held a folder.
"Another issue."
Lucian opened it.
Ryan had entered my apartment.
Or tried to.
The building manager had footage.
The same footage showed someone else.
A man leaving with Ryan.
I recognized him.
Daniel Price.
A hospital administrator.
I stared.
"Daniel knows Ryan?"
Lucian looked at me.
"Apparently."
Daniel had been one of the people I suspected months earlier when medication inventory began disappearing.
I had reported the discrepancy.
Nothing happened.
Now I understood why.
They had been working together.
My skin prickled.
"What were they stealing?"
"Medication," Lucian said.
"From the hospital?"
"Yes."
"How?"
He looked at me.
"They were using forged signatures."
I remembered something.
A patient chart.
A medication order that hadn't made sense.
The initials of a doctor who wasn't on duty.
I suddenly stood.
"I know where they hid the records."
Lucian's eyes narrowed.
"Where?"
"In the old supply room."
We returned to the hospital after midnight.
With permission from the director, we checked the storage area.
Behind a damaged cabinet, I found a locked box.
Inside were copies of medication logs.
Names.
Dates.
Transfers.
And payments.
Ryan's name appeared twice.
Daniel's appeared six times.
Then I saw another name.
Lucian Moretti.
I froze.
Lucian took the page.
His expression darkened.
"Someone is using my name."
"Why?"
"To make it look like I'm funding the theft."
I looked at him.
"Who would do that?"
He stared at the records.
"Someone who wants a war."
I didn't understand.
He did.
For the first time since I'd met him, fear appeared in his eyes.
Not fear for himself.
For me.
He folded the document.
"We leave."
"Why?"
"Because whoever built this setup knows you've seen it."
The lights went out.
I froze.
Lucian grabbed my hand.
"Stay behind me."
The emergency lights flickered on.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor.
Then a man's voice came through the darkness.
"You really shouldn't have gone looking, Amanda."
Ryan.
I felt Lucian's fingers tighten around mine.
"That's him," I whispered.
Lucian stepped forward.
Ryan appeared at the far end of the hallway.
His face was smiling.
"Amanda," he said. "Come home."
Lucian's voice turned cold.
"She is home."
Ryan looked at him.
Then laughed.
"You have no idea what you're protecting."
May you like
And that was the moment I realized Ryan wasn't simply trying to get me back.
He was afraid of what I knew.
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