Chapter 4 - The Snake in the Garden
The room went dead silent.
I clutched Leo closer to my chest, my blood turning to liquid ice. "Guardianship? He can't do that!"
"He can if he convinces the family council that Daniel is unstable," Marcus explained grimly. "Julian has recruited three of the five senior captains to his side. They’re claiming that Daniel brought an unvetted civilian nurse into the compound and is hiding key financial records."
Daniel stood up slowly from his chair. The tenderness he had shown moments ago was gone, swallowed whole by a cold, lethal aura that made the room feel ten degrees colder.
"Julian is pushing his hand because he knows Michael Jenkins is still alive," Daniel said quietly, walking to the door and retrieving his shoulder holster. He slid the heavy black pistol into place with practiced ease. "He knows we're getting closer to decrypting the shift-change logs."
"What are we going to do, Daniel?" I asked, standing up, my knees trembling.
Daniel turned to look at me. He walked back across the room, stopping right in front of me, placing his hands gently on my shoulders.
"Tomorrow morning, I go to the council meeting," Daniel said, his tone rock-solid. "I will handle Julian once and for all."
"It's a trap, Daniel!" I cried out softly. "He wants you in that room so he can provoke you! If you lose your temper or draw a weapon in front of the council, they'll give him everything he wants!"
"I won't lose my temper," Daniel promised, his thumb stroking my cheek. "Because I have something Julian doesn't have."
"What?"
"Proof."
At 8:00 AM the following morning, the compound was alive with tension. Heavy black sedans lined the driveway as senior syndicate members and corporate board directors arrived for the emergency summit in the main ballroom.
I remained upstairs in the nursery with Leo, guarded by four of Daniel’s most trusted men stationed outside the door. My brother Michael had been brought up from the guest house to stay with me for safety.
"Rachel, this is crazy," Michael paced nervously across the carpet, wringing his hands. "We should take the baby and run while they're all distracted downstairs! We can take my car—"
"There are thirty armed guards surrounding this property, Michael," I said firmly, keeping my voice steady as I prepared Leo’s bottle. "There is no running. We trust Daniel."
Michael stopped pacing, looking at me with a mixture of shock and concern. "Trust him? Rachel, he’s a mafia boss! His family kills people for a living!"
"He is protecting us!" I snapped back, my eyes flashing with unexpected heat. "He protected you when his cousin wanted to put a bullet in your head! He protected Leo when no one else knew how to save him!"
Michael stared at me, opening his mouth to argue, but the words died in his throat.
Suddenly, the lights in the nursery flickered and died.
The hum of the white-noise machine cut out instantly, leaving a heavy, eerie silence in the room.
CLICK.
The emergency backup generators failed to kick in.
Outside in the hallway, I heard the dull, suppressed thuds of muffled gunshots!
THUD. THUD.
"Rachel, get behind me!" Michael yelled, grabbing a heavy brass floor lamp from beside the armchair.
The nursery door swung open violently.
Standing in the doorway was not Julian, but Dr. Harrison—the chief pediatric physician from St. Jude’s Hospital, the man who had tried to sedate Leo three weeks ago. He wore a dark raincoat over a medical coat, holding a small silver briefcase in his left hand and a suppressed pistol in his right.
Behind him, Daniel’s four bodyguards lay motionless on the corridor carpet.
"Dr. Harrison?" I gasped, stepping backward until my spine hit the crib, shielding Leo with my body. "What are you doing here?!"
"I'm executing a medical transfer, Nurse Jenkins," Dr. Harrison said, his voice cold and devoid of all emotion. "Julian Russo has authorized the immediate relocation of Leo Russo to a private facility in Canada."
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"You're working for Julian," Michael realized, his face turning pale. "You were the one who leaked the medical records!"
"I was the one who ensured Camille Russo didn't survive the ambulance ride after the ambush," Harrison corrected smoothly, raising his pistol toward Michael's chest. "And now, I'm going to take the baby. Step away from the crib, Rachel."
