I did not mention Dante Russo’s offer.
How could I explain something I could not understand myself?
“You sound weird,” she said, always too perceptive for her own good. “Is everything okay?”
I lied and said I was just tired from double shifts that week.
“You work too hard,” she said. “I can take out another loan.”
“Absolutely not. I’m fine. Focus on your studies.”
After we hung up, I sat on my worn sofa, staring at Dante’s business card. The silver embossing caught the light, winking at me like a dare.
Four days passed that way. I worked my shifts, came home to my empty apartment, turned the card over and over in my hands, and read and reread the contract. The deadline Dante had given me loomed larger with each passing day.
On the 5th day, I was filling a coffee urn at work when I overheard 2 doctors talking in hushed voices.
One said, “Russo’s kid is in the ER after falling off his bike or something.”
My hands froze on the coffee machine.
“Jesus,” the other doctor replied. “Is security notified?”
“Triple presence. Admin is freaking out. You know what happened last time one of those family members was here.”
I abandoned the coffee, yanking off my hairnet as I rushed toward the emergency room. I had no plan, no reason to insert myself into the situation, just a strange compulsion I could not ignore.
The ER was organized chaos, nurses and doctors moving efficiently between curtained areas. I spotted them immediately.
Nicholas stood rigidly by a curtained bed, with 2 men in suits flanking the area, their eyes constantly scanning.
There was no sign of Dante.
I approached cautiously, not sure if I would be recognized or stopped by security.
Nicholas saw me first, his eyebrows rising slightly.
“Ms. Morgan.”
“I heard Marco was hurt. I wanted to see if he was okay.”
I felt foolish. Something shifted in Nicholas’s expression. Surprise, perhaps, or reassessment. He nodded once and pulled back the curtain.
Marco sat on the edge of the bed, his small face tear-streaked but brave. His right arm was in a temporary splint, and a doctor was examining a scrape on his knee.
