Chapter 4 - The Poison
Lucia ripped the IV line out of her arm.
A small trail of blood dripped down her wrist, but she did not care.
“I am not letting him take my daughter,” Lucia hissed, forcing her legs over the edge of the bed.
The pain from the C-section incision was agonizing, blinding white heat tearing across her stomach.
Michael caught her arms before she could collapse onto the floor.
“You cannot walk, Lucia,” Michael warned.
“Watch me,” she growled, using his broad shoulders to pull herself upright.
Gerald rushed forward with a wheelchair he grabbed from the hallway.
“Sit down before you tear your stitches,” the lawyer pleaded.
Lucia dropped into the chair, clutching her bleeding abdomen.
“Take me to the NICU,” she ordered.
Michael pushed the chair out into the quiet, dimly lit corridor.
The hospital felt entirely abandoned at three in the morning.
They reached the heavy double doors of the neonatal unit.
Through the glass, Lucia could see rows of plastic incubators glowing under soft blue lights.
A single nurse was standing over an incubator in the far corner.
As Michael pushed the wheelchair closer, the nurse pulled a syringe from her pocket.
She did not reach for the baby.
She reached for the IV bag feeding into the tiny infant’s arm.
“Stop her!” Lucia screamed, her maternal instinct overriding all physical pain.
Michael sprinted across the room faster than a human being of his size should be able to move.
He tackled the nurse to the linoleum floor before the needle could pierce the IV line.
The syringe clattered across the room, spilling a clear liquid onto the tiles.
The nurse fought wildly, scratching at Michael’s face.
Michael pinned her arms beneath his knees and pulled his weapon.
“Who sent you?” Michael demanded.
The nurse stopped struggling and looked up at Lucia with a cold, terrifying smile.
“Dante sends his regards,” the woman whispered.
Then, she bit down hard on something hidden inside her own mouth.
Within seconds, the woman began to convulse violently.
Foam spilled from her lips as a cyanide capsule took effect.
Michael cursed and backed away from the dying woman.
Lucia stared at the syringe on the floor, her entire world shattering into a million pieces.
Dante did not just want to take their daughter.
He wanted to erase her completely.
Lucia looked up at Michael and Gerald, her eyes hardening into absolute ice.
“Hand me your phone,” Lucia commanded.
“Who are you calling?” Gerald asked nervously.
“I am calling the only man in Chicago who has enough guns to stop my husband.”
May you like
She dialed the number from memory.
Salvatore Romano answered on the first ring.
