Chapter 5 - The Night Elizabeth Stopped Running
Matteo stared at me.
“Pregnant?”
Alessandro didn’t move.
“That information leaves this room, you lose whatever protection Victor promised you.”
Matteo laughed.
“You think I’m afraid of you?”
“Yes.”
The answer came instantly.
Matteo’s smile faded.
Alessandro continued.
“Because if you weren’t afraid, you wouldn’t need Victor.”
Silence.
Then Liam suddenly stepped forward.
“Matteo?”
Everyone looked at him.
“You want the drive?”
Matteo nodded.
Liam pointed at the laptop.
“Take it.”
I stared at him.
“Liam!”
He looked at me.
“Trust me.”
Matteo walked toward the computer.
Marco shifted.
Alessandro subtly shook his head.
Matteo removed the flash drive.
“Smart man.”
Liam shrugged.
“Sometimes.”
Matteo left with the two guards.
The moment the door closed, I turned on Liam.
“What did you do?”
He pulled a second flash drive from his pocket.
“Your dad taught me something too.”
I stared.
“What?”
“Never trust one copy.”
Marco laughed.
Alessandro actually smiled.
“You duplicated it?”
“While you people were arguing about murder and family politics.”
I hugged Liam.
“I could kill you.”
“Get in line.”
Alessandro’s phone rang.
He answered.
“Yes?”
His expression hardened.
“Understood.”
He hung up.
“Matteo is heading to Sloane.”
Marco nodded.
“We follow?”
“No.”
I looked at Alessandro.
“Why not?”
“Because Victor expects that.”
He looked at Liam’s duplicate.
“We don’t need either of them.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Something my family should have done four years ago.”
He picked up the phone.
“Give everything to federal prosecutors.”
Marco stared at him.
“All of it?”
“All of it.”
“Some of those records implicate Vitali companies.”
“I know.”
“You could lose half the business.”
“I know.”
“Your father—”
“My father protected Elizabeth’s father because he wanted the truth exposed.”
Alessandro looked at me.
“I’m finishing what they started.”
For the first time since I had met him, I saw what existed beneath the Vitali name.
Not softness.
Choice.
“I’ll testify,” I said.
“No.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“You don’t need to.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Elizabeth—”
“My parents died because everyone was afraid of these men.”
“So did my father.”
“Then stop deciding for me.”
He fell silent.
“I spent four years hiding,” I continued. “Emma Hayes was useful. She kept me alive. But she was never supposed to become my whole life.”
Liam smiled faintly.
“Welcome back, Liz.”
I looked at Alessandro.
“I’m Elizabeth Mercer.”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
“And I’m testifying.”
A long pause.
“Then I’ll be beside you.”
“You can’t protect me from everything.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“But I can stand beside you while you protect yourself.”
That was the moment I trusted him.
Not at the gala.
Not in room 1520.
Not when he promised to protect our baby.
Then.
Because he finally understood that loving me—if that was where this was going—could never mean controlling me.
Three days later, federal investigators received the files.
Within a week, Matteo disappeared from Chicago’s social circles.
Sloane’s attorneys began issuing denials before charges were even announced.
And then, one rainy evening, Alessandro walked into the kitchen carrying an envelope.
“They found Matteo.”
I froze.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Talking?”
“Very much.”
“And Sloane?”
Alessandro handed me the envelope.
Inside was a federal indictment.
Victor Sloane’s name appeared first.
My hands began trembling.
Alessandro covered them with his.
“It’s over.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He frowned.
“It’s beginning.”
I placed his hand against my stomach.
His expression softened.
“This is beginning.”
For several seconds, the most feared mafia heir in Chicago couldn’t speak.
Then he whispered:
“I don’t know how to do this.”
“Neither do I.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
His thumb moved gently against my hand.
“What if I become my father?”
“Then remember the good parts.”
“And the bad?”
“Change them.”
He looked at me.
“And if I fail?”
I smiled.
“I’m a nursing student. I’ll resuscitate you.”
He laughed.
It was the first time I had ever heard him laugh without restraint.
Then Marco rushed into the kitchen.
“Alessandro.”
The laughter disappeared.
“What?”
May you like
“Sloane knows about the baby.”
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