Chapter 9 - The Betrayal InsideThe attack changed everything.
Simon moved the twins to a secure medical facility owned by none of the Gambino companies. Dr. Allen arranged a private room in a children’s hospital under a false name.
Natasha stayed with the babies.
Simon stationed guards outside the room but did not enter for several hours.
When he finally came in, he looked different.
Not calmer.
More decided.
“I found the traitor,” he said.
Natasha glanced up from the twins.
“Who?”
“Marco.”
His security chief.
The man who had first found the medical case.
Natasha remembered him. Broad shoulders. Quiet voice. A scar near his chin.
“What did he do?”
“He authorized the roof access.”
“Why?”
“Vincent has his daughter.”
Natasha looked toward the door.
“Is he still alive?”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to kill him.”
“I haven’t decided.”
“That means you already decided.”
Simon ignored the accusation.
“Marco says Vincent has been planning this for months. Elena discovered the medical records. She copied them and hid them somewhere in the penthouse.”
“Where?”
“Marco doesn’t know.”
“What about the voice recorder?”
“Hidden in the study.”
“Maybe the memory card is only part of the evidence.”
Simon sat beside the window.
For once, he looked tired rather than dangerous.
Natasha watched him.
“Why didn’t Elena tell you?”
“She did.”
“What?”
“She tried.”
He stared at the floor.
“She said Vincent was corrupt. I accused her of paranoia. I thought she was using again.”
Natasha said nothing.
“I told her I wouldn’t let her take the children,” Simon continued. “She said I was becoming exactly like my father.”
“What did you say?”
“I told her she was sick.”
The words hung between them.
“She died that night,” he said.
Natasha looked toward the babies.
“Regret doesn’t make you guilty.”
“No. But it makes you responsible for what you failed to see.”
Before she could answer, the hospital lights flickered.
The monitors began to beep.
Luca’s oxygen level dropped.
Natasha jumped up.
“Call Dr. Allen.”
Simon pressed the emergency button.
The room’s air suddenly smelled sweet.
Natasha froze.
“Close the vents.”
“What?”
“Close them!”
Simon understood immediately.
He grabbed a blanket and covered the nearest vent while Natasha moved the babies away from the wall.
A chemical fog had entered the room.
The monitors malfunctioned.
The hallway erupted with shouting.
Simon smashed the glass emergency panel and pulled out the fire alarm.
Sprinklers exploded overhead.
The mist thinned.
Dr. Allen and nurses rushed in wearing masks.
The twins were carried into the hall.
Natasha felt dizzy.
Simon grabbed her around the waist.
“Breathe.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not.”
He pulled her toward the emergency stairwell.
Behind them, the hospital room filled with smoke and water.
A man in a surgical mask appeared at the end of the corridor.
He raised a gun.
Simon pushed Natasha down.
The shot struck the wall.
Security returned fire.
Simon pulled Natasha behind a concrete pillar.
The masked man ran.
One of Simon’s guards chased him.
A moment later, the guard returned with a fallen wallet.
Inside was a hospital access card.
The name belonged to a nurse.
Natasha stared at it.
“Another person Vincent bought.”
Simon looked at her.
“Why does he keep coming after you?”
“Because I’m the only person close enough to the twins who doesn’t belong to him.”
Simon’s eyes darkened.
“That’s not the only reason.”
“What do you mean?”
“Vincent believes you know where Elena hid the evidence.”
“I don’t.”
“Maybe you do.”
Natasha shook her head.
Then she remembered the photograph in Elena’s coat.
The image had shown Elena standing beside the twins in the nursery.
Behind them was a painting.
A blue sailboat.
She had seen the same painting in Simon’s locked study.
“Your study,” Natasha said.
Simon turned toward her.
“What about it?”
“The painting.”
“What painting?”
“The blue sailboat.”
Simon’s face changed.
“That painting belonged to Elena.”
“Then we need to go back.”
“Vincent may be waiting.”
“Of course he is.”
Simon stared at her.
“You’re not afraid of anything.”
“I’m terrified.”
“Then why are you still here?”
Natasha looked through the glass at the twins being examined by doctors.
“Because somebody has to stay.”
May you like
Simon nodded once.
And for the first time, he took her hand without being asked.
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