Chapter 7 - Fractured Loyalties
The world seemed to stop spinning. The fluorescent lights overhead buzzed violently, casting a sickly pallor over Luca’s face. For three seconds, Luca Moretti did not breathe. The sheer agony that contorted his features was so raw that Nina felt a physical ache in her own chest.
“Where?” Luca’s voice was barely a whisper, but it carried the destructive force of an oncoming hurricane.
“Petrov’s primary grain silo at the Calumet River docks,” Gus said, his hand shaking. “He sent a video feed to your private tablet. He gave you ninety minutes to show up alone, sign over the port access deeds, and take Tommy’s place. If you bring police or men, he... he said he’ll throw Sophie into the industrial shredder.”
Luca didn't scream. He didn't smash the furniture. He simply closed his eyes, took one long, shuddering breath, and reached into his jacket for his phone. When he opened his eyes, they were dead. The man who had sat beside Nina talking about redemption was gone, replaced by a ruthless warlord preparing for a suicide mission.
“Assemble the perimeter team outside the docks,” Luca commanded Gus, his voice devoid of all human emotion. “Do not enter. Do not engage until you hear my signal. If I don't come out in forty minutes, burn the entire facility to the ground.”
“Boss, it’s a trap! He’ll kill you the second you sign!” Gus pleaded.
“Then I die!” Luca roared, his composure finally shattering. “She is my daughter! I gave up twelve years of watching her grow up just so she would be safe from this life! If she dies because of my sins, I have no reason to draw another breath on this earth!”
He turned on his heel to leave, but Nina stepped directly in front of the door, blocking his exit.
“Move, Nina,” Luca warned, his jaw set like iron.
“No,” Nina said fiercely, standing tall despite being a foot shorter than him. “You’re walking into an execution. You think like a mob boss, but Petrov isn't playing by mob rules anymore. He’s insane, Luca! If you go in there with guns blazing or sign those papers alone, he will kill Sophie in front of you just to break your spirit!”
“What choice do I have?” Luca demanded, towering over her, his eyes wild with grief. “Tell me, Nina! What other choice do I have?”
“Use me,” Nina said firmly.
Luca recoiled as if she had struck him. “Have you lost your mind? I won't drag you into this slaughterhouse!”
“Listen to me!” Nina grabbed the lapels of his black shirt, forcing him to look at her. “Petrov’s men know I’m an ER nurse who saved Tommy. They saw me in the hospital. If I go in as a ‘hostage’ you brought to treat Sophie—claiming she was injured during the kidnapping—we can bypass their exterior search. Lakefront Mercy has high-grade medical transport cases that are shielded with lead for portable radiography equipment. We can smuggle Gus’s breach charges inside my trauma bag.”
Luca stared at her, horrified by the suggestion. “You’re asking to walk directly into the clutches of a sadistic madman.”
“I’m Henry Kowalski’s daughter,” Nina fired back, her chin raised with unyielding Polish stubbornness. “My dad didn't raise a coward. And I am not going to let a twelve-year-old girl die because two crime syndicates couldn't share the Chicago docks. You saved my life tonight on Belmont Avenue, Luca. Now let me help you save hers.”
Luca looked at her, searching her hazel eyes for any sign of hesitation, any flicker of fear. He found nothing but iron resolve. For the first time in his life, Luca Moretti felt humbled.
He reached out, his large, rough hand cupping the side of her face. His thumb brushed against her cheekbone with unbelievable gentleness.
May you like
“If anything happens to you, Nina,” Luca whispered, his voice thick with emotion, “I will burn this entire city to ash.”
“Nothing is going to happen to me,” Nina answered softly, leaning into his touch for a split second. “We’re bringing your little girl home.”
