Chapter 2 - The Bloody Escape
The pristine hospital hallway had instantly transformed into a terrifying, chaotic war zone.
Enzo grabbed my upper arm with a physical grip like iron, pulling me forcefully toward the hidden service elevator.
I aggressively snatched Logan up into my arms, pressing his small face deeply into my shoulder so he wouldn't witness the horrific violence.
Two of Alessandro's remaining men stood bravely by the shattered door, firing heavy automatic weapons to blindly cover our frantic escape.
The deafening, explosive sound of high-caliber bullets tearing through the drywall made my ears ring with sharp pain.
“Keep your head down and do not stop moving for any reason!” Enzo roared over the absolute chaos.
He was effortlessly carrying Alessandro over his massive, broad shoulder as if the ruthless mob boss weighed absolutely nothing.
Alessandro was bleeding heavily, leaving a dark trail on the linoleum, but his eyes were wide open, clinically analyzing every single threat.
We burst violently through the heavy metal doors of the service stairwell, plunging into the dim, flickering fluorescent light.
The familiar, overwhelming smell of cheap bleach and old garbage hit my nose, a cruel reminder of my miserable, minimum-wage cleaning shifts.
“Down the stairs, move quickly,” Alessandro ordered from Enzo's shoulder, his voice strained in agony but perfectly, unnervingly calm.
I ran down the concrete steps as fast as my cheap, worn-out sneakers would physically allow, clutching my crying son so tightly my arms ached.
My heart was hammering so violently against my ribs I thought it might completely shatter them.
I couldn't stop my mind from spinning out of control about David.
If he was actually alive, where had he been hiding for the last two agonizing years while we suffered?
While I was literally starving myself to pay for Logan's expensive asthma medication, was David living in absolute luxury?
We finally reached the dark, underground loading dock, where a sleek, heavily armored black SUV was waiting with the powerful engine roaring.
Enzo threw open the heavy reinforced steel doors and forcefully shoved me into the spacious back seat.
He carefully laid Alessandro across the opposite leather seats before jumping behind the steering wheel like a professional race driver.
The heavy tires screamed violently against the concrete as we sped out of the hospital parking garage and vanished into the dark Baltimore night.
I held Logan tightly in my lap, rocking him back and forth as he sobbed quietly into my stained work uniform.
“It’s okay, baby, Mommy has you, you are perfectly safe,” I whispered repeatedly, even though my own body was shaking with sheer terror.
I looked across the dark, moving vehicle at the ruthless, bleeding mafia boss who had just miraculously saved our lives.
Alessandro was pressing a dark, bloody towel firmly to his stomach, watching me with a strange, intense, and highly calculating curiosity.
“You really didn’t know anything,” he finally said, his deep voice noticeably softer and far less hostile than before.
“I honestly thought you were actively hiding his money and playing the victim.”
“I don't have a single thing in this world!” I cried out bitterly, angrily gesturing to my cheap, frayed clothes.
“I literally clean bloody hospital floors in the middle of the night for minimum wage just to keep the heat on!”
Alessandro’s sharp jaw clenched in a complex mixture of dark anger and deeply unexpected pity.
“Your husband cowardly left you to starve in the cold while he stole my entire empire.”
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“We are going to find him, Catherine.”
“And when we finally do, he will personally answer to both of us.”
