Chapter 6 - Someone Was Watching the Hospital
Luca moved Elena into the villa that night.
Technically, Elena did not agree.
Technically, Luca did not ask.
They argued for eleven minutes in the library while Matteo slept upstairs.
Then Signora Russo entered carrying Elena's overnight bag.
Elena stared.
"You went to my apartment?"
"One of Don Luca's men did."
"I haven't agreed to stay."
Signora Russo glanced toward Luca.
"Then I will leave the bag by the door while you continue pretending you have a choice."
Luca looked almost offended.
"I was giving her a choice."
"No," Elena said. "You were giving me two options you approved."
"That's still two."
Signora Russo left before Elena could laugh.
The problem was that Luca had a point.
Someone had photographed Elena outside the hospital and at the villa.
Her apartment was isolated.
The hospital's staff entrance was predictable.
And Bellini—or someone working for him—clearly had access to information.
So Elena stayed.
One night.
That became two.
Then three.
She still worked.
She still insisted on riding with only one driver.
She refused Luca's offers to take paid leave.
And every evening, Matteo waited near the entrance when she returned.
The routine formed without permission.
Dinner.
Homework.
Sometimes a movie.
Sometimes Matteo told stories about his mother.
Luca usually listened quietly.
Elena noticed he never interrupted.
She also noticed he never joined in unless Matteo directly asked.
"Papa, did Mama like strawberries?"
"She loved them."
"Did she like the sea?"
"More than anything."
"Did she love you?"
That question silenced the room.
Luca looked at his son.
"Yes."
"Did you love her?"
"Yes."
Matteo seemed satisfied.
Elena saw something more complicated in Luca's eyes.
One evening after Matteo went to bed, Elena found Luca on the terrace.
"You never visit Sofia's grave."
He looked at her.
"Matteo told you?"
"He notices more than you think."
Luca looked toward Palermo.
"I visited every Sunday for a year."
"What changed?"
"I realized I was speaking to stone."
"Maybe you weren't going for her."
He turned.
"For who, then?"
"Yourself."
Luca gave a humorless smile.
"Exactly."
"And you decided you didn't deserve that."
His expression sharpened.
"You're becoming very comfortable analyzing me."
"Nurses do it professionally."
"Nurses analyze symptoms."
"You're full of symptoms."
He actually laughed.
It was the first real laugh Elena had heard from him.
It changed his face.
Made him younger.
Warmer.
Then he stopped as if remembering himself.
Elena felt the shift.
"What happened to Sofia?"
Luca went still.
"You don't have to tell me."
"No."
A long pause.
"Car accident."
Elena waited.
"It was raining."
Her chest tightened.
Like the night Matteo nearly died.
"Was Matteo with her?"
"No."
"That explains why you reacted the way you did."
Luca looked down at his hands.
"I arrived after."
Elena suddenly understood pieces that had seemed unrelated.
The control.
The guards.
The panic hidden beneath orders.
"You couldn't save her."
"No."
"So now you try to control every possible danger around Matteo."
Luca looked directly at her.
"Wouldn't you?"
Elena thought about that.
"Probably."
That honesty surprised him.
"But control and safety aren't always the same."
"No."
"Sometimes control makes people run."
Luca closed his eyes briefly.
"I know."
The following morning at San Giovanni, Elena noticed a man standing near the cafeteria.
He wasn't hospital staff.
She was certain.
He wore a gray jacket and pretended to read his phone.
Elena continued walking.
At the next corridor, she turned.
He followed.
Her pulse increased.
She entered an elevator.
He accelerated.
The doors closed before he reached them.
Elena immediately called Luca's driver.
"Where are you?"
"Outside."
"Come inside."
"Signora?"
"Now."
When the elevator opened on another floor, Elena stepped out.
Then froze.
The man stood at the far end.
He had used the stairs.
Elena turned.
A hand caught her wrist.
She reacted instantly, driving her elbow backward.
The stranger grunted.
"Wait."
Elena twisted free.
He raised both hands.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
"Stay away."
"My name is Paolo Greco."
"I don't care."
"I worked for Bellini."
Elena stopped.
People moved in the corridor nearby.
"What do you want?"
"To warn Santoro."
"Call him."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because the people watching him are inside his house."
Elena's blood went cold.
"Who?"
Paolo looked around.
"I don't know anymore."
"Convenient."
"He recruited people years ago."
"Why tell me?"
"Because Bellini has changed."
Elena said nothing.
"He used to want Santoro's business."
"And now?"
"Now he wants revenge."
"For what?"
Paolo hesitated.
"Sofia."
The name hit Elena.
"What about her?"
Footsteps approached.
Luca's driver appeared.
Paolo immediately backed away.
"Ask Santoro about the night Sofia died."
Then he turned and vanished through a stairwell.
The driver reached Elena.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Who was that?"
"I don't know."
She lied automatically.
For the rest of her shift, one sentence repeated in her mind.
Ask Santoro about the night Sofia died.
That evening Luca was waiting in the library.
"You met someone."
Elena stopped.
"The driver told you?"
"He said a man approached you."
"Of course he did."
"Who?"
She considered lying again.
Then remembered what she'd told Luca about children filling silence with terrible explanations.
Adults did the same.
"Paolo Greco."
Luca's face changed.
"He worked for Bellini."
"I know."
"What did he say?"
Elena watched him carefully.
"He told me to ask you about Sofia."
Luca became absolutely still.
"Specifically, the night she died."
The silence stretched.
"What happened that night, Luca?"
He looked toward the fireplace.
"Nothing you need to know."
Elena's disappointment surprised her.
"That's your answer?"
"It's the only one I can give."
"So you want me living in your house because I'm in danger, but you won't tell me why that danger might exist?"
"It is not connected."
"Paolo thinks it is."
"Paolo Greco is a criminal."
Elena laughed once.
The sound contained no humor.
"You really want to use that argument?"
Luca's eyes darkened.
"Careful."
"Stop saying that."
"Elena—"
"No. You brought me into this house. You placed guards around me. You know my schedule, my address, my favorite food, probably my blood type."
"A positive."
She stared.
Luca immediately realized that had not helped.
"And yet I'm supposed to accept 'nothing you need to know'?"
His jaw tightened.
"Some information gets people killed."
"And ignorance nearly got Matteo killed."
The words struck.
Luca turned away.
Elena instantly regretted them.
But she did not take them back.
Finally Luca spoke.
"Sofia's accident may not have been an accident."
Elena's breath stopped.
Luca continued.
"Two weeks before she died, she told me someone inside my organization was moving information to a rival group."
"Bellini?"
"I didn't believe it was him."
"But she did?"
"She suspected him."
"And then she died."
"Yes."
"Why wasn't he arrested?"
Luca gave her a look.
Right.
Wrong world.
"You handled it internally."
"I investigated."
"What did you find?"
"Nothing conclusive."
"Until six months ago."
Luca nodded.
"When money began disappearing, the trail led back to Bellini."
Elena felt sick.
"You think he killed her."
"I think it's possible."
"And Matteo?"
Luca's face hardened.
"If Bellini wants to punish me, Matteo is the obvious target."
Elena whispered, "And now me."
Luca looked at her.
"Yes."
For several seconds, the truth hung between them.
Then a crash sounded upstairs.
Both ran.
They reached Matteo's bedroom.
The window was open.
Curtains moved in the night wind.
Matteo stood beside the bed holding something.
A small envelope.
Luca crossed the room.
"Where did you get that?"
"It was on my pillow."
Elena's skin went cold.
The villa was locked.
Guarded.
Secure.
Yet someone had entered a child's room.
Luca opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Sofia Santoro.
Across her face, someone had written three words.
Tell him why.
And suddenly Luca understood that Bellini was no longer trying merely to frighten him.
May you like
He was forcing the past back into the house.
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