Chapter 6 — Elena's Awakening
Chapter 6 — Elena's Awakening
Just before dawn, a nurse rushed into the waiting room.
"Mr. Torino!"
Vincent stood instantly.
"She's awake."
Sophie bolted toward the intensive care room before anyone could stop her.
"Mama!"
Elena slowly opened swollen eyes as her daughter wrapped tiny arms around her.
Despite the bruises covering her face, she managed a weak smile.
"My brave girl..."
Tears rolled down Sophie's cheeks.
"I thought I'd lost you."
"You never will."
Vincent remained near the doorway.
He had expected gratitude.
Instead...
The moment Elena noticed him, her smile disappeared.
Fear replaced it.
"You..."
Her voice trembled.
"Stay away from my daughter."
The room fell silent.
Vincent didn't move.
"I'm not here to hurt either of you."
"I know who you are."
That surprised him.
"I've seen your face in newspapers."
She slowly pushed herself upright despite the pain.
"Men like you always arrive after the violence."
"I arrived to stop it."
"No."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"You arrived because someone wanted you here."
Those words lingered in the room.
Vincent realized she wasn't accusing him.
She was warning him.
Tony quietly closed the hospital door.
"What do you mean?"
Elena looked toward Sophie.
"Honey... could you wait outside with Mr. Russo?"
Sophie reluctantly obeyed.
Once the door closed, Elena lowered her voice.
"My husband wasn't just a florist."
Vincent said nothing.
"He worked with the Chicago Police Department."
Tony frowned.
"A detective?"
She nodded.
"Undercover."
The room became still.
"He spent years investigating organized crime."
Vincent's expression hardened.
"Which family?"
"I don't know."
"He never told you?"
"He said the less I knew... the longer we'd survive."
She reached weakly toward the bedside drawer.
"I thought he died in a warehouse fire."
Her hand trembled.
"But two weeks before he died..."
She looked directly at Vincent.
"...he started saying someone inside the police was helping the mafia."
Tony's breathing slowed.
Corrupt officers.
Hidden investigations.
A murdered undercover detective.
Nothing about Elena's family had been random.
Before anyone could continue, every light inside the hospital suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Then emergency generators kicked in.
May you like
Red lights flashed overhead.
A scream echoed from somewhere down the corridor.
