Chapter 5 - The War at the Hospital Door
By noon, the maternity floor no longer felt like a hospital.
Two men in plain clothes stood near the elevators. Another remained by the stairwell. Vincent had quietly spoken with hospital security, and although no one said Dominic Moretti’s name too loudly, the staff understood enough to stop asking questions.
Lena hated every second of it.
She sat upright in bed with Ethan sleeping beside her in the bassinet.
Dominic stood near the window, speaking quietly into his phone.
“No one enters this floor unless Vincent approves it.”
He listened.
“I don’t care who they claim to be.”
Another pause.
“Find Bellini.”
Lena looked at Rachel.
“This is exactly what I didn’t want.”
Rachel lowered her coffee.
“I know.”
“I wanted him to have a normal life.”
“He’s twelve hours old.”
“And there are armed men outside his hospital room.”
Rachel looked toward Dominic.
“He also has a father who appears willing to burn down half of Chicago to protect him.”
“That is not comforting.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
Dominic ended the call.
Lena stared at him.
“Send them away.”
“No.”
“Dominic.”
“No.”
His answer was calm.
That irritated her more than shouting would have.
“This is my room.”
“And Ethan is my son.”
“You didn’t even know he existed until a few hours ago.”
“I knew you were pregnant.”
“You guessed.”
“I knew.”
“You had people investigating me.”
“I had people making sure you were alive.”
“That distinction only exists in your head.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“You want me to remove security while Bellini knows where you are?”
“I want you to stop turning everything into a war.”
“This became a war the moment he learned about Ethan.”
Lena’s eyes flashed.
“Because of you.”
Dominic went silent.
She immediately regretted how sharp it sounded.
Not because it was untrue.
Because he did not fight back.
He simply nodded.
“Yes.”
Lena looked away.
“That’s why I left.”
“I know.”
“I thought if I disappeared, he would never be part of this.”
Dominic glanced at Ethan.
“You were trying to protect him from me.”
“Yes.”
“And now?”
Lena looked back.
“I don’t know.”
That answer hurt more than hatred would have.
Dominic accepted it anyway.
A knock sounded.
Vincent entered.
“Good news and bad news.”
Dominic folded his arms.
“Start with the useful one.”
“Bellini isn’t coming here himself.”
Lena frowned.
“That’s good?”
Vincent looked at her.
“It means he’s not reckless.”
Dominic’s voice hardened.
“What’s the bad news?”
“He sent someone.”
Lena instinctively reached toward Ethan’s bassinet.
Dominic noticed.
“Who?”
“Attorney named Samuel Price.”
Rachel blinked.
“An attorney?”
Vincent nodded.
“He’s downstairs.”
Dominic gave a humorless smile.
“Bellini wants to talk.”
“Apparently.”
Lena stared between them.
“Why would a mafia rival send a lawyer to a maternity ward?”
Dominic looked at her.
“Because bullets attract police.”
“And lawyers don’t.”
“Exactly.”
Vincent pulled an envelope from his coat.
“He sent this.”
Dominic took it.
Lena watched him open it.
Inside was a single photograph.
Dominic’s expression changed.
“What?”
He did not answer.
Lena held out her hand.
“Let me see.”
“No.”
“Dominic.”
“Lena.”
“If this concerns my son, I see it.”
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Dominic handed her the photograph.
It showed the front of Rachel’s house.
Taken weeks earlier.
Lena stood on the porch, one hand supporting her pregnant stomach.
Rachel was beside her.
Lena’s face drained of color.
“He knew where I was.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
Dominic looked at Vincent.
Vincent answered.
“At least three weeks.”
Lena stared at the picture.
“Your men were watching me.”
Dominic nodded.
“So were his.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t know.”
Lena looked up sharply.
“You didn’t know?”
Dominic’s anger flashed.
Not at her.
At himself.
“No.”
Rachel whispered, “That means Bellini could have done something anytime.”
Dominic turned toward her.
“But he didn’t.”
Vincent understood first.
“He was waiting.”
“For what?” Lena asked.
Dominic looked at Ethan.
“For him.”
The room became silent.
Lena’s arms tightened around herself.
“What does he want?”
Dominic read the note beneath the photograph.
“Meeting tonight.”
“With you?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Old freight terminal near the river.”
Vincent shook his head.
“Obviously a trap.”
“Obviously.”
Lena stared at Dominic.
“You’re not going.”
He looked at her.
“I am.”
“No.”
“Lena.”
“You just told me it’s a trap.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re still going?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Dominic held up the photograph.
“Because he knows where you were. He knows about Ethan. Until I understand how much else he knows, none of you are safe.”
Lena felt anger rise again.
“You cannot fix everything with violence.”
“No.”
“Then what are you planning?”
“To make him stop.”
“That sounds exactly like violence.”
Dominic came closer.
“Bellini understands leverage.”
“Then give him something else.”
“There is nothing else he wants more than hurting me.”
Lena stared at him.
“You say that like your life doesn’t matter.”
“It matters.”
“To whom?”
The question escaped before she could stop it.
Dominic looked at her.
For the first time since entering the hospital, he seemed uncertain.
“To you?”
Lena said nothing.
He nodded slowly.
“I thought so.”
He turned toward Vincent.
“We leave at eight.”
At 7:46 p.m., Lena found Dominic standing alone outside her room.
He had changed into a dark suit.
No tie.
His tattoos disappeared beneath his collar except for the small black design visible along his neck.
He looked like the man she had once loved.
And the man she had run from.
Both at once.
“You’re really going.”
“Yes.”
Rachel had taken Ethan for a brief check with the nurse.
For the first time, Lena and Dominic were alone.
She folded her arms.
“What happens if you don’t come back?”
Dominic studied her.
“Vincent gets you out of Chicago.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“I know.”
“What happens to Ethan?”
“My accounts are already being changed.”
Her face hardened.
“I don’t want your money.”
“It isn’t for you.”
“That’s insulting.”
“It’s practical.”
“You think money can replace a father?”
Dominic looked away.
“No.”
The answer came quietly.
Lena stepped closer.
“Then don’t walk into an obvious trap.”
“I have to.”
“No. You want to.”
He looked back.
“There’s a difference.”
“Then explain it.”
Dominic took a slow breath.
“Bellini has spent years testing my organization. He couldn’t break me financially. He couldn’t force my men to turn. He couldn’t get close enough to kill me.”
“And now he knows about us.”
“Yes.”
“Then send us away.”
“He’ll follow you.”
“Not if you make him think you don’t care.”
Dominic almost laughed.
“He already knows I do.”
“How?”
He pointed to the photograph.
“Because I had people watching you for months.”
Lena realized something.
“You exposed us by protecting us.”
“Yes.”
The admission was immediate.
No excuse.
No argument.
Dominic looked toward the hospital room.
“I keep making the same mistake with you.”
“What mistake?”
“Thinking protection and control are the same thing.”
Lena stared at him.
He continued.
“They aren’t.”
Something in her expression softened.
Not forgiveness.
But recognition.
“What are you going to do tonight?”
“Talk first.”
“And after that?”
“That depends on him.”
Lena stepped closer.
“If you come back covered in someone else’s blood, Dominic, I cannot raise Ethan around that.”
His jaw tightened.
“I understand.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
He looked directly at her.
“I saw your face that night in the garage. I never want my son looking at me that way.”
Lena’s eyes burned.
Dominic turned to leave.
“Wait.”
He stopped.
Lena hesitated.
Then she hugged him.
He froze.
For several seconds, Dominic did not move at all.
Then his arms came carefully around her.
No force.
No possession.
Just warmth.
Lena whispered, “Come back.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“I will.”
The freight terminal was nearly empty.
Rain had begun falling over the river.
Dominic entered with Vincent and two trusted men.
Salvatore Bellini waited beside an abandoned loading platform.
He was in his late forties, silver-haired, elegant, and smiling.
“Congratulations.”
Dominic stopped ten feet away.
“You know why I’m here.”
Bellini spread his hands.
“You had a son.”
“Stay away from them.”
“I sent a photograph, Dominic. Not a bullet.”
“You want credit?”
“I want conversation.”
Dominic’s expression remained flat.
“Talk.”
Bellini smiled.
“Give me the Cicero distribution routes.”
“No.”
“Two warehouses.”
“No.”
“Then maybe I continue collecting photographs.”
Vincent shifted.
Dominic raised one hand, stopping him.
Bellini continued.
“Your weakness is fascinating.”
“My family is not a weakness.”
“Everything you love becomes leverage.”
Dominic stared at him.
“That’s how men like us think.”
Bellini’s smile widened.
Dominic added, “That’s why men like us end up alone.”
The smile faded slightly.
Dominic stepped closer.
“I’m done negotiating over my family.”
“Then what are you offering?”
“A way out.”
Bellini laughed.
“You?”
“Yes.”
Dominic pulled a folder from inside his coat.
He tossed it onto a nearby table.
Bellini opened it.
His expression changed.
Bank records.
Shipping records.
Photographs.
Witness statements.
Enough evidence to destroy three of Bellini’s legitimate companies and possibly send him to prison.
Bellini looked up.
“You went to the police?”
“No.”
“Then what is this?”
“Insurance.”
Dominic’s voice remained calm.
“If Lena or Ethan is approached, followed, photographed, threatened, or even mentioned by one of your people, copies go to federal investigators, newspapers, and your partners.”
Bellini’s jaw tightened.
“You would destroy yourself too.”
“No.”
“You’re bluffing.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“I’ve spent nine months learning something you never understood.”
“What?”
“There are things more important than staying on top.”
Bellini stared at him.
Dominic lowered his voice.
“Stay away from my family.”
For once, no gun was drawn.
No blood was spilled.
And when Dominic walked out twenty minutes later, Salvatore Bellini remained alive.
That mattered.
Because when Dominic returned to the hospital shortly before midnight, Lena saw immediately that his white shirt was still clean.
No blood.
No bruises.
No gunshot wound.
She stood in the doorway.
“You came back.”
Dominic looked at her.
May you like
“I said I would.”
For the first time, Lena believed one of his promises again.
