Chapter 5 - The Wrong DischargeDetective Hayes locked the room again.
Hospital security escorted the confused employee away for questioning.
Emma sat beside Grace's bassinet and stared at nothing.
Every time she thought Connor had reached his limit, another door opened.
Another record changed.
Another stranger appeared with paperwork bearing her name.
Luca stood beside the window making phone calls.
His voice remained quiet.
That calmness had seemed comforting earlier.
Now Emma realized it was something else.
Training.
Experience.
Luca Moretti was comfortable in situations that frightened everyone else.
That realization made him useful.
It also made him dangerous.
When he ended the call, Emma looked at him.
"Who were you talking to?"
"My attorney."
"Why?"
"Because we need to know whether anyone connected to Connor has filed anything involving Grace."
Detective Hayes looked up.
"I already requested that search."
"Mine may be faster."
"You don't get special access to sealed records."
"I didn't say I did."
Hayes frowned.
Luca calmly put his phone away.
Emma almost smiled despite herself.
"You two aren't going to get along, are you?"
Hayes shook her head.
"Probably not."
Luca remained serious.
"That's fine."
A nurse entered with Grace's discharge instructions.
This time Detective Hayes personally verified every page.
Emma was medically cleared to leave that evening.
Grace was healthy.
But leaving the hospital now felt more frightening than staying.
"Where am I supposed to go?"
Emma asked.
Hayes sat beside her.
"We can arrange a confidential shelter."
Emma looked toward Grace.
"Can Connor find it?"
"Not easily."
"Not easily isn't the same as no."
"No."
Luca stayed silent.
Emma noticed.
"You still have that property?"
"Yes."
"Who knows the address?"
"My family."
"My attorney."
"Three members of my security staff."
"Connor?"
"No."
"Did Marco?"
"Yes."
Emma looked at the letter on her bedside table.
Marco had told her to trust Luca.
That mattered.
It did not erase the fact that Luca was still a stranger.
"What kind of property?"
"A house near Lake Geneva."
"Wisconsin?"
"About ninety minutes away."
Detective Hayes immediately shook her head.
"Taking her across state lines complicates my investigation."
Luca nodded.
"Then I have an apartment downtown."
"Secure building."
"Private garage."
"Controlled elevators."
Hayes considered it.
Emma looked at him.
"You have an extra apartment?"
"It's normally used for visiting executives."
"Of course it is."
For the first time, Luca almost smiled.
Emma noticed that too.
They agreed on the apartment.
Detective Hayes would notify Chicago police.
Luca would provide the address directly to Hayes.
No one else at the hospital would receive it.
By seven that evening, Emma sat in a wheelchair with Grace in her arms.
The maternity corridor looked peaceful.
Almost normal.
Connor had been taken away for questioning but had not yet been formally charged with anything beyond the confrontation inside the hospital.
Emma hated that fact.
"What if they release him?"
"They probably will."
Hayes answered carefully.
"Until we establish the forged documents and unauthorized chart access, the hospital incident may not keep him detained."
Emma looked toward Luca.
His expression did not change.
They entered a service elevator.
Two security officers accompanied them.
The elevator descended directly to an underground loading area.
A black SUV waited near the doors.
Luca opened the rear passenger door.
Emma stopped.
"Whose car?"
"Mine."
"Driver?"
"Someone I've trusted for fifteen years."
Emma looked through the windshield.
A gray-haired man lifted one hand in greeting.
"His name is Daniel."
Emma nodded.
She climbed inside.
Luca took the seat across from her.
The SUV pulled away.
For five minutes, no one spoke.
Grace slept peacefully.
City lights passed outside the tinted windows.
Then Luca's phone vibrated.
He looked down.
His face changed.
"What?"
Emma asked.
He turned the screen toward her.
A photograph filled it.
Emma's apartment building.
Taken less than a minute earlier.
Below it was a text message from an unknown number.
Wrong direction.
A second message appeared.
You can't protect her forever, Moretti.
Emma felt sick.
"Connor?"
"Maybe."
Luca called Detective Hayes.
She answered immediately.
"What's wrong?"
"We're being watched."
"Where are you?"
"Southbound on Michigan."
"Don't go to the apartment."
Luca looked at Daniel.
"Change route."
The SUV turned at the next intersection.
Emma held Grace closer.
"Where are we going?"
Luca looked through the rear window.
A dark sedan had turned behind them.
"Somewhere Connor doesn't know."
The sedan turned again.
Still behind them.
Daniel accelerated slightly.
The sedan matched him.
Emma's breathing quickened.
"Luca."
"I see it."
Another message appeared on Luca's phone.
This time there was no photograph.
Only four words.
Give me the key.
Luca looked at Emma.
"Connor doesn't want Grace."
Emma stared at him.
"What?"
"He wants locker 318."
The dark sedan moved closer.
May you like
Luca's expression became colder.
"And he thinks you still have the key."
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