Chapter 4 - A Name That Brings Danger
Giovanni moved Lauren and Luca into a private floor of a secure Boston residence before sunset.
Lauren resisted until she saw the armed men outside her old apartment building.
Then she stopped arguing.
The residence was beautiful in the way wealthy places often were—too clean, too quiet, too expensive to feel real. But Giovanni had transformed one room into a nursery within hours.
A crib.
Soft blankets.
A rocking chair.
A stuffed gray elephant.
Lauren stood in the doorway, speechless.
“You did all this today?” she asked.
Giovanni looked uncomfortable. “I had help.”
“You bought him an entire room.”
“I missed seven months.”
The words were simple.
But they carried regret.
For two days, there were no new threats.
Luca slept.
Lauren watched Giovanni learn the awkward, tender mechanics of fatherhood.
He could intimidate a room full of politicians without blinking, but changing a diaper made him look like he was defusing a bomb.
He held Luca too carefully at first, as though the baby might break.
Then Luca laughed.
A bright, sudden laugh.
Giovanni stared at him as if he had been handed something sacred.
Lauren saw the man she had loved before fear turned him into a stranger.
That was the dangerous part.
Not the threats.
Not the guards.
Hope.
Then Giovanni’s closest adviser, Matteo Russo, arrived.
Matteo had been with Giovanni since before Lauren met him. He was charming, loyal-looking, and always knew too much.
“Boston is compromised,” Matteo said. “Someone accessed the hospital system. They knew Lauren’s name, Luca’s age, and the emergency-room location.”
Giovanni’s eyes sharpened. “Who?”
“We’re tracing it.”
Lauren felt sick. “Could it be one of your enemies?”
“Yes.”
“How many enemies do you have?”
Giovanni did not answer.
That was answer enough.
That night, Lauren found a sealed envelope beneath the residence door.
No guard had seen anyone enter.
Inside was a photograph of Luca asleep in his crib.
Taken that night.
Written across the bottom were the words:
YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME.
Lauren’s hands shook.
Giovanni read the note once.
Then he looked at Matteo.
“Find whoever did this.”
Matteo nodded.
But Lauren noticed something.
May you like
For half a second, Matteo did not look surprised.
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