Chapter 3 - The Price of Saving Luca Moretti
Luca took Clara somewhere she had never expected.
A quiet townhouse.
No mansion.
No nightclub.
No underground criminal headquarters.
Just a beautiful old building overlooking the river.
Clara entered cautiously.
“You live here?”
“One of my properties.”
“Of course.”
Marco remained near the door.
Luca removed his coat.
Clara noticed him wince.
“You tore something.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re terrible at lying.”
“You lied to three armed men.”
“Yes, professionally.”
“Check the wound.”
“No.”
“Clara.”
“You have doctors.”
“I trust you.”
That stopped her.
“Why?”
“Because when you thought I was nobody, you helped me.”
She looked at him for several seconds.
“Sit down.”
Luca obeyed.
She removed the dressing.
“You reopened two stitches.”
“I had things to handle.”
“Were those things worth bleeding internally?”
“No.”
“Good answer.”
As Clara replaced the dressing, Luca asked, “Why St. Jude’s?”
“What?”
“You could work anywhere.”
“St. Jude’s hired me.”
“That simple?”
“Life usually is when you’re broke.”
Luca glanced toward her.
“You’re behind on rent.”
Clara stopped.
“How do you know that?”
“I had Marco check you.”
“You investigated me?”
“I needed to know whether someone had gotten to you.”
“You checked my finances?”
“Yes.”
“That is wildly inappropriate.”
“I know.”
She tightened the dressing harder than necessary.
Luca inhaled sharply.
“Was that intentional?”
“Absolutely.”
Marco entered.
“We found something.”
He placed photographs on the table.
One showed a man entering St. Jude’s shortly after Luca had left.
Clara recognized him.
“That’s Raymond.”
“Who?”
“Night maintenance.”
Marco looked at Luca.
“He disappeared the next morning.”
Clara frowned.
“He has two daughters.”
Luca looked at her.
“You know everyone?”
“I work nights. People talk.”
Marco placed another photograph down.
The same man was meeting someone outside a warehouse.
Clara recognized the second person too.
Her stomach dropped.
“No.”
Luca noticed.
“You know him?”
Clara pointed.
“Dr. Warren.”
“The clinic administrator?”
“My boss.”
Silence filled the room.
Luca stood.
“Your clinic is compromised.”
Clara shook her head.
“Warren isn’t a gangster.”
“People don’t have to be gangsters to sell information.”
“You don’t know that.”
“No.”
Luca picked up the photograph.
“But someone knew exactly where I disappeared.”
Clara stared at the picture.
Her workplace.
Her coworkers.
Her patients.
Everything suddenly felt different.
“I’m going back.”
Luca turned.
“No.”
“People are working there.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“It’s a clinic full of nurses and patients who know nothing about this.”
“Clara—”
“If someone is using St. Jude’s because of me, I’m fixing it.”
Luca stared at her.
Then sighed.
“You are the most difficult woman I’ve ever met.”
“You've known me four days.”
“Longest four days of my life.”
She grabbed her coat.
“You coming?”
Luca looked at Marco.
Marco shrugged.
“She does seem to be in charge.”
Luca gave him a deadly stare.
May you like
Marco smiled.
“Just observing.”
