Chapter 14 - The Letter from Baltimore
Ellie tore open the envelope with trembling fingers, her eyes scanning the official letterhead of the Johns Hopkins Neurosurgery Department. The words leaped off the page with a clarity that made her breath catch:
Dear Dr. Vance,
We are pleased to inform you that your brother, Leo Vance, has successfully passed his pre-surgical neurological screening. The multi-tiered funding grant provided by the Moretti Philanthropic Trust has been verified and cleared by our financial office in full. Surgery is officially scheduled for Monday, October 12th, under the direct supervision of Chief of Neurosurgery Dr. Alan Sterling...
She read the paragraph twice, her vision blurring slightly with tears of pure, unadulterated joy. For two years, she had lived in the shadow of impending loss, watching her brother fade piece by piece as medical bills piled up and institutional doors slammed shut in her face. Now, the impossible had happened. The debt was gone, the doctors were ready, and Leo was going to live.
"He's going to be okay," Ellie whispered, her voice cracking as she looked up at Damien.
"I told you he would be," Damien said quietly, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly against his chest. "You carried that burden entirely by yourself for too long, Ellie. You don't have to carry it anymore."
"I didn't do it alone this time," she murmured, burying her face against his shoulder.
May you like
"No," Damien agreed, kissing the top of her head. "You had a little help from the Outfit."
They stood together in the quiet warmth of the penthouse as the afternoon sun dipped lower toward the western horizon, painting the Chicago skyline in brilliant shades of copper and violet. For Ellie, the transformation was complete. The frightened, desperate sister who had first walked into the Moretti estate asking for mercy was gone. In her place stood a woman who had faced down an empire, held a syndicate at bay, and earned her place beside the most dangerous man in the city.
