Chapter 3 - The Baby the Morettis Refused to Lose
The nearest hospital was forty minutes away in good weather.
That night, the roads were nearly impassable.
Snow buried the highway faster than plows could clear it.
Lorenzo's convoy moved behind two private snowplows while an ambulance followed close enough that its headlights filled the SUV.
Nora lay across the rear seat with a physician from the estate monitoring her.
Every few minutes, pain tightened across her abdomen.
She kept one hand against her belly.
"Stay with me, Lily."
Lorenzo sat beside her.
He had wanted the ambulance.
The physician had argued the larger SUV was more stable over the first section of private road.
So Lorenzo stayed.
Nora breathed through another contraction.
"How far?"
"Twenty-six minutes."
"You said that five minutes ago."
"Twenty-one."
She glared weakly.
"Don't lie to pregnant women."
"I'll remember that."
Her eyes closed.
Lorenzo watched the monitor.
He understood almost none of the numbers.
That bothered him.
He was accustomed to understanding every variable.
Money.
Routes.
People.
Risk.
This was different.
A tiny heartbeat filled the car.
Fast.
Fragile.
Real.
"Nora."
Her eyes opened.
"Why were you working like that?"
She laughed bitterly.
"Now?"
"Yes."
"You're interrogating me during contractions?"
"I'm distracting you."
"You're terrible at it."
Lorenzo almost smiled.
Then his expression hardened.
"Mrs. Gable knew the doctor restricted lifting."
Nora looked toward the window.
"Yes."
"And ignored it."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you leave?"
"Where?"
The word silenced him.
Nora continued.
"My apartment was gone. Brody was gone. My savings were gone. The clinic wanted money. I needed food."
Another contraction came.
She breathed slowly.
"I didn't have the luxury of being offended."
Lorenzo looked away.
Luxury.
He had spent his entire life surrounded by it.
For Nora, the ability to say no had become luxury.
He hated that thought.
At the hospital, doctors rushed her inside.
Lorenzo stopped at the treatment-room doors.
Nora grabbed his hand.
"Please."
He looked down.
"What?"
"Don't leave."
The request surprised both of them.
"I won't."
He entered.
Two hours later, the doctors determined that Nora was experiencing threatened preterm labor caused by severe physical strain, dehydration, and stress.
The bleeding came from a small placental complication.
Lily's heartbeat remained strong.
Medication slowed the contractions.
Steroids were administered to help the baby's lungs if delivery became unavoidable.
Nora cried when the obstetrician told her they had probably stopped labor.
"Probably?"
"We need to watch you closely."
"Is she safe?"
"For now."
Nora covered her face.
Lorenzo stood near the wall.
He had faced guns with less fear.
When the doctor left, Nora looked toward him.
"You can go."
"You asked me not to leave."
"That was before."
"Before what?"
"Before I stopped panicking."
He pulled a chair closer.
"I'll go when you actually want me gone."
Nora looked exhausted.
"You're always like this?"
"Like what?"
"Impossible."
"So I've been told."
She closed her eyes.
"Giovanni."
"He's safe."
"Is he warm?"
"Yes."
"Did somebody feed him?"
"Elena is there."
"Who's Elena?"
"My cousin. Nurse practitioner."
"You trust her?"
"With my life."
Nora opened one eye.
"That's dramatic."
"It's literal."
She relaxed.
"Okay."
Within minutes, she fell asleep.
Lorenzo remained.
At three in the morning, Marco arrived with information from the estate investigation.
Lorenzo stepped into the corridor.
"Talk."
"Mrs. Gable's been skimming money."
"I know."
"It's bigger."
"How?"
"Medical invoices route through a management company."
"Which one?"
"East River Domestic Holdings."
"Never heard of it."
"Because it's a shell."
"Who owns it?"
Marco handed him the phone.
Lorenzo read.
Brody Hale.
He looked up slowly.
"Nora's Brody?"
"Same name. Same date of birth."
Lorenzo's face hardened.
"That's impossible."
"Maybe not."
"He's a gambler with no money."
"On paper."
Marco swiped.
"The company was opened eighteen months ago."
"Before Nora worked for us."
"Yes."
"Who funded it?"
"Still tracing."
Lorenzo stared through the hospital window at Nora sleeping.
"Does she know?"
"Doesn't look like it."
Lorenzo thought about Brody disappearing.
Gambling debts.
Nora finding this exact job.
A staffing agency that asked few questions.
Nothing looked accidental anymore.
"Find him."
Marco nodded.
"Alive."
Marco raised an eyebrow.
"Wasn't planning otherwise."
"I know you."
"Fair."
The next morning, Lorenzo returned briefly to the estate.
Giovanni sat beside the windows in a new motorized wheelchair Dr. Rosen had brought.
An eye-tracking communication tablet stood in front of him.
Elena adjusted the screen.
"Try again, Uncle Gio."
Giovanni stared at one word.
The device spoke aloud.
NORA.
Lorenzo stopped in the doorway.
His father moved his eyes.
BABY.
"Safe."
Giovanni closed his eyes.
Relief.
Lorenzo approached.
"They stopped the labor."
The machine took several seconds.
GOOD.
Elena smiled.
"He's getting fast."
Giovanni's gaze moved.
GABLE.
Lorenzo's expression changed.
"Under guard."
BRODY.
Lorenzo stared.
"How do you know that name?"
Giovanni selected letters slowly.
N O R A T O L D M E.
Of course.
She had told Giovanni everything.
"Did she say anything useful?"
Giovanni's eyes moved.
G A M B L I N G.
Then:
M E N C A M E.
Lorenzo leaned closer.
"What men?"
Giovanni struggled.
H O U S E.
"When?"
B E F O R E N O R A.
Lorenzo became still.
"You heard men discussing Brody before Nora started working here?"
One blink.
Elena looked confused.
"Why would Brody's name come up here?"
Giovanni typed one word.
G A B L E.
Lorenzo stood.
Mrs. Gable had known Brody before Nora arrived.
That meant Nora's hiring was not coincidence.
He walked toward the staff wing.
Mrs. Gable sat in a private office with two security guards outside.
When Lorenzo entered, she stood.
"Mr. Moretti."
"How do you know Brody Hale?"
Her face flickered.
There.
"Who?"
Lorenzo closed the door.
"Wrong answer."
She swallowed.
"I've never heard that name."
Lorenzo placed a financial statement on the desk.
"East River Domestic Holdings."
Color left her face.
"You signed payments to this company for four years."
"I sign hundreds—"
"It belongs to Brody Hale."
Silence.
"Same Brody who abandoned Nora."
Mrs. Gable's breathing changed.
Lorenzo leaned forward.
"How did Nora get this job?"
"The agency sent her."
"Which employee referred her?"
"I don't remember."
"Interesting."
He placed another page down.
The staffing agency had received a $12,000 consulting payment from East River Domestic Holdings the week before Nora was hired.
Mrs. Gable stared.
"What exactly did you bring into my house?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Lorenzo straightened.
"You're going to tell me."
"I want a lawyer."
"Good."
He opened the door.
"One is waiting with the state police."
Her eyes widened.
"You called police?"
"You stole from my father's care."
Mrs. Gable had expected Moretti justice.
Private.
Violent.
Invisible.
Lorenzo almost enjoyed disappointing her.
Nora's words returned.
Don't punish her in a way that makes his story disappear behind yours.
"I want your crimes documented."
Mrs. Gable's composure finally cracked.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
She looked around.
"Brody owed money."
"To who?"
"I don't know."
"Liar."
"To people connected to Carlo Vescari."
Lorenzo went still.
Carlo Vescari.
A rival whose family controlled gambling operations across parts of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.
There had been peace between the Morettis and Vescaris for seven years.
Not friendship.
An agreement.
"What did Vescari want?"
Mrs. Gable's voice lowered.
"Information."
"What information?"
"About Giovanni."
Lorenzo's blood ran cold.
"Why?"
"They wanted to know whether he could communicate."
Everything clicked.
The suppressed therapy.
The fake records.
Keeping Giovanni isolated.
Someone outside the family had paid to make sure the old don remained voiceless.
"How long?"
"Three years."
"And Brody?"
"He handled payments."
"Then why Nora?"
Mrs. Gable shook her head.
"I don't know."
Lorenzo stepped closer.
"Why did Brody's pregnant girlfriend end up inside my house?"
"I swear I don't know."
For the first time, he believed her.
Which made the situation worse.
Brody had positioned Nora independently.
Why?
Back at the hospital, Nora woke to a familiar voice.
"Well."
Her eyes snapped open.
Brody stood near the door.
For a second, she thought medication had created him.
Then he smiled.
Same smile.
Same brown hair.
Same face that once made her feel safe.
"Nora."
She sat upright.
"What are you doing here?"
"I heard about the baby."
"How?"
His smile faded.
"I've been checking on you."
Her heart began pounding.
"You left me."
"I made mistakes."
"You stole my savings."
"I was in trouble."
"You left me pregnant."
"I know."
Nora reached for the call button.
Brody moved faster.
He closed his hand around it.
"Don't."
Fear replaced shock.
"What are you doing?"
"I just need to talk."
"Leave."
"Nora."
"Leave."
He looked toward the hallway.
"I can fix things."
"There is nothing to fix."
"There is if you help me."
Her blood went cold.
"Help you with what?"
Brody moved closer.
"The old man."
Giovanni.
Nora stared.
"What about him?"
"Can he understand people?"
She stopped breathing.
Brody saw the answer.
"Jesus."
He whispered it.
"He can."
Nora's face hardened.
"Why do you care?"
"I need you to listen."
"No."
"Carlo is going to kill me."
"I don't know who Carlo is."
"Vescari."
Even Nora recognized the surname.
Brody had once mentioned illegal gambling rooms connected to that family.
"You work for them?"
"I owed them."
"So you sold information."
"I did what I had to do."
Nora almost laughed.
"I did what I had to do too."
She placed one hand over Lily.
"I scrubbed floors."
Brody flinched.
"I never wanted this."
"Then what did you want?"
"I needed someone inside the Moretti estate."
The room became silent.
"You got me the job."
He looked down.
Nora felt sick.
"Why?"
"They thought nobody would suspect you."
Her eyes filled.
"You used your pregnant girlfriend as a spy without telling her?"
"I wasn't asking you to spy."
"What were you doing?"
"Just… placement."
"Why?"
"So if Giovanni ever responded, someone could observe him."
Nora's mind raced.
The questions Brody used to ask before disappearing.
Did the job include elder care?
Who lived in the house?
Was the old man really brain-dead?
At the time, they had sounded like curiosity.
"You knew before I started."
"Some."
She stared at him.
"Did you ever love me?"
His face broke.
"Yes."
"No."
"I did."
"Then you wouldn't have done this."
The door opened.
Brody turned.
Lorenzo stood there.
He had heard enough.
Behind him were two federal security officers and Marco.
Brody went pale.
Lorenzo entered calmly.
"Step away from her."
Brody raised his hands.
"Mr. Moretti."
"That would be me."
"I can explain."
"Good."
Lorenzo's eyes moved to Nora.
"You okay?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
He returned his attention to Brody.
"Explain somewhere else."
Brody panicked.
"If you arrest me, Vescari will know."
"Know what?"
"Giovanni is awake."
Lorenzo's face changed.
Brody continued quickly.
"Carlo has people everywhere."
"Why does he care about my father?"
Brody swallowed.
"Because Giovanni knows where the old ledgers are."
"What ledgers?"
"I don't know."
"Wrong answer."
"I swear."
Brody looked toward Nora.
"There are records from twenty years ago. Payments. Politicians. Judges. Businesses."
Lorenzo understood.
Giovanni's memory was not the only thing Carlo feared.
It was what Giovanni had hidden before his stroke.
"Does Carlo know Nora cared for him?"
Brody hesitated.
That hesitation answered.
Lorenzo's voice became dangerously quiet.
"Does he?"
"Yes."
Nora felt cold.
"Why does that matter?"
Brody looked at her.
"Because if Giovanni can communicate with anyone…"
He glanced toward Lorenzo.
"Carlo thinks it'll be you."
He pointed to Nora.
The room went silent.
Brody continued.
"You're the one person Giovanni trusts."
Nora looked at Lorenzo.
Then toward her unborn child.
She had thought she was simply feeding a forgotten old man.
May you like
Instead, she had become the only bridge to a man whose memories could destroy an empire.
And somewhere beyond the hospital walls, dangerous people had just learned her name.
