Chapter 2: The Medicine Under the Table
The dining room at the Moretti mansion had a table large enough to seat twenty people.
That night, only one small girl sat at it.
Lily's legs dangled above the floor.
A bowl of chicken soup steamed in front of her. Beside it sat a grilled cheese sandwich, a glass of milk, and a small plate of strawberries.
She stared at the food as if she wasn't sure she was allowed to touch it.
Mrs. Bennett placed a folded napkin beside her bowl.
“Go ahead, sweetheart.””
Lily looked up.
“Is it really for me?””
The older woman smiled.
“Every bite.””
Lily picked up her spoon.
She took one mouthful.
Then another.
Within minutes, she was eating so quickly that Mrs. Bennett gently reminded her to slow down.
“There's plenty more,” she said.
Lily paused.
“Can I take some home for my mommy?””
Mrs. Bennett's expression softened.
“Of course.””
Across the hallway, Lucas Moretti sat in his private study while Dr. Harris examined him again.
The room smelled of leather, expensive cigars, and the faint antiseptic scent of the doctor's medical kit.
Lucas's face was still pale.
But his eyes were sharp.
“Tell me exactly what you found,” he said.
Dr. Harris placed the black inhaler on the desk.
“I examined the device. It was functional. There was medication inside.””
Lucas looked at it.
“Then why didn't I use it?””
“That's what I wanted to establish.””
Dr. Harris removed a small plastic component from his medical bag.
“The mouthpiece had been obstructed. Not damaged accidentally. Someone had deliberately placed a foreign substance inside it.””
Lucas's fingers curled against the desk.
“Someone wanted me unable to breathe.””
“Yes.””
“And Victor knew?””
“I can't prove that yet.””
Lucas leaned back.
He remembered the meeting that afternoon.
Victor had brought him a drink.
Victor had insisted that he personally arrange the security for the evening.
Victor had been the last person to handle his medical case.
“Who else had access to my inhaler?””
“Your security team. Victor. And anyone who entered your office.””
Lucas stared at the black device.
For twelve years, Victor had been more than his lieutenant.
He had been the man who stood beside him during the bloodiest nights of his rise to power.
Lucas had trusted him with his money.
His secrets.
His life.
And apparently, that trust had almost killed him.
“Get Marco.””
Dr. Harris hesitated.
“Lucas, I want you resting.””
“Get. Marco.””
A few minutes later, Marco entered the study.
“Boss?””
“Lock down the security recordings from the last forty-eight hours. Every camera. Every entrance. Nobody deletes anything.””
Marco nodded.
“Understood.””
“And bring Victor to the east office.””
“He's already being held in the security room.””
Lucas's eyes narrowed.
“Good. Don't question him without me.””
Marco turned to leave.
“Marco.””
The guard stopped.
“Yes?””
“Find out everything you can about Anna Carter.””
Marco frowned.
“The cleaning employee?””
“Yes.””
“And her daughter?””
Lucas glanced toward the dining room.
“Especially her daughter.””
Twenty minutes later, Lucas walked into the dining room.
Lily was carefully wrapping half her sandwich in a paper napkin.
When she noticed him, she quickly pushed the food beneath her plate.
“I'm sorry,” she said.
Lucas stopped.
“For what?””
“I wasn't supposed to take food.””
“Who told you that?””
Lily looked at her hands.
“Mommy says we shouldn't take things that don't belong to us.””
Lucas pulled out the chair opposite her.
“Then your mother raised you well.””
He nodded toward the sandwich.
“But I told you that food was yours.””
Lily slowly brought it back.
“Can I really take it home?””
“Yes.””
She smiled.
It was small and cautious, as if she had forgotten how to do it.
Lucas sat down.
“Lily, I need to ask you something.””
Her smile disappeared.
“Am I in trouble?””
“No.””
“Because I touched your medicine?””
“No.””
“Because I came inside?””
Lucas looked at her for a moment.
“No, sweetheart. You're not in trouble.””
Lily relaxed slightly.
Lucas continued.
“You said you saw Victor move my inhaler. Tell me exactly what happened.””
Lily put down her spoon.
“He was standing behind the doctor.””
“And then?””
“He looked at you.””
“What did he do?””
“He kicked something.””
“Did you see what it was?””
Lily nodded.
“The black medicine thing.””
Lucas leaned forward.
“Did he say anything?””
Lily frowned, trying to remember.
“He said something before you fell down.””
Lucas went still.
“What?””
“He said, 'It's almost finished.''”
Lucas's eyes narrowed.
“Are you sure?””
Lily nodded.
“Then he put the medicine under the table.””
Lucas exchanged a glance with Mrs. Bennett.
“Did you tell anyone else?””
“No.””
“Why not?””
Lily's fingers tightened around the spoon.
“Because he looked scary.””
Lucas understood.
He had spent most of his adult life making people afraid of him.
Yet this little girl had been brave enough to stand between him and death.
He lowered his voice.
“Lily, if someone scares you, you can tell me.””
She studied his face.
“Even if they're bigger than me?””
“Especially then.””
For a moment, Lily said nothing.
Then she asked a question that made Lucas's chest tighten.
“Are you a good man?””
The room became very quiet.
Mrs. Bennett glanced at Lucas.
Nobody asked him questions like that.
Not his soldiers.
Not his business partners.
Not even the people who claimed to love him.
Lucas looked at the child.
“I don't know,” he answered honestly.
Lily considered that.
“My mommy says good people help when someone is hurting.””
Lucas glanced at the turquoise inhaler sitting beside her plate.
“Your mother sounds wise.””
“She is.””
Lily smiled again.
Then her face changed.
“Can you help my mommy?””
Lucas straightened.
“What happened to her?””
Lily looked down.
“She coughs a lot. Sometimes she can't get out of bed. She says it's just because she's tired.””
“Does she have a doctor?””
Lily shook her head.
“She doesn't like hospitals.””
“Why?””
“Because she says she doesn't have enough money.””
Lucas looked toward Dr. Harris, who had entered quietly behind him.
“Can you arrange a medical examination for Anna Carter?””
“Of course.””
“And don't tell her it comes from me unless she asks.””
Lily's eyes widened.
“Really?””
“Yes.””
She reached into the pocket of her pink sweater and pulled out a small folded piece of paper.
“Can I give you something?””
Lucas accepted it.
The paper had been folded so many times that its edges were soft.
Inside was a child's drawing.
A blue house.
A woman holding a little girl's hand.
And a black-haired man lying on the ground.
Above the drawing, in uneven letters, Lily had written:
THANK YOU FOR BREATHING.
Lucas stared at it.
Something inside him shifted.
He carefully folded the drawing and placed it inside his jacket.
“I'm keeping this.””
Lily nodded.
“Okay.””
Then the little girl looked toward the hallway.
“Can I see my mommy now?””
Lucas checked the clock.
“Of course. Marco will take you home.””
He stood.
But before Lily could leave, the study door opened.
Marco entered holding a tablet.
“Boss, we recovered the footage.””
Lucas's expression changed.
“What did you find?””
Marco placed the tablet on the table.
The security recording showed the grand entrance hall.
Lucas was standing near the staircase.
Victor approached him with a black leather case.
They spoke briefly.
Then Victor removed the inhaler.
He looked toward the nearest camera.
And smiled.
Lucas watched the recording twice.
“Zoom in.””
Marco enlarged the image.
Victor's lips moved.
There was no audio.
But the camera captured his hand placing something inside the inhaler's mouthpiece.
Lucas felt his stomach turn.
“Where is he?””
“Security room.””
“Bring him.””
Marco hesitated.
“There's something else, boss.””
Lucas looked up.
“What?””
Marco turned the tablet around.
The footage showed Victor walking through the mansion's rear corridor twenty minutes before Lucas collapsed.
He stopped outside the staff entrance.
A woman in a gray cleaning uniform stood there.
She handed him a small envelope.
Lucas recognized her from the employee photographs.
Anna Carter.
Lily's mother.
Lucas's eyes hardened.
“What's she doing with Victor?””
Marco shook his head.
“We don't know.””
Then he tapped the screen.
The footage continued.
Victor leaned toward Anna and said something.
Anna immediately stepped backward.
She looked frightened.
Then she shook her head and walked away.
Lucas stared at the screen.
The woman whose daughter had just saved his life had apparently been meeting with the man who tried to kill him.
And there was one more detail.
The timestamp.
The meeting had happened less than an hour before Lily entered the mansion.
A black SUV pulled up outside a modest apartment building in Harlem.
Marco opened the rear door.
Lily stepped out, holding a paper bag filled with food.
“Thank you,” she said.
Marco nodded.
“Go straight upstairs. Don't stop for anyone.””
Lily looked at him.
“Are you coming with me?””
“Not tonight.””
She nodded and hurried toward the entrance.
But before Marco could close the car door, the building's front door swung open.
A woman rushed out.
Her hair was disheveled, and she wore a faded cardigan over her cleaning uniform.
“Lily!””
“Mommy!””
Anna dropped to her knees and wrapped both arms around her daughter.
“Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere!””
Lily hugged her tightly.
“I'm sorry, Mommy.””
Anna pulled back and examined her face.
“Are you hurt?””
“No.””
“Did someone touch you?””
Lily shook her head.
Then she looked toward the black SUV.
“Mommy, I helped a man today.””
Anna went completely still.
“What man?””
“The man who couldn't breathe.””
Anna's face drained of color.
“Lily…”
“He was lying on the floor, and I gave him my inhaler.””
Anna grabbed her daughter's shoulders.
“Where?””
“In the big house.””
Anna's hands began shaking.
“What big house?””
Lily pointed toward the SUV.
“Mr. Moretti's house.””
Anna closed her eyes.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then she whispered:
“Oh, God.””
Marco watched from beside the car.
He recognized fear when he saw it.
And this wasn't ordinary fear.
It was the kind that came from knowing a terrible secret had finally caught up with you.
Anna suddenly noticed Marco standing there.
“Who are you?””
“Marco. I work for Mr. Moretti.””
Anna pulled Lily closer.
“Please. My daughter has nothing to do with him.””
Marco kept his hands visible.
“Mr. Moretti only wanted to make sure she got home safely.””
Anna looked at him.
Then she asked the question that made Marco's expression change.
“Is Lucas alive?””
“Yes.””
Anna's knees nearly gave way.
She held the doorframe.
“Thank God.””
Marco frowned.
“You seem to know him.””
Anna shook her head.
“No. I don't.””
But Lily looked up at her mother.
“Mommy, why are you crying?””
Anna brushed her daughter's hair away from her forehead.
“I'm just tired, sweetheart.””
Then she hurried Lily inside and locked the door.
Marco returned to the SUV.
His phone rang almost immediately.
Lucas.
“Did you get the girl home?””
“Yes, boss.””
“And her mother?””
Marco looked toward the apartment window.
“She knows you survived.””
There was a pause.
“Anything else?””
Marco hesitated.
“She looked terrified when Lily mentioned your name.””
Lucas's voice became colder.
“Bring me the employee records on Anna Carter.””
“Already requested.””
“And Marco?””
“Yes, boss?””
“Find out why she met Victor.””
Lucas ended the call.
Across the city, in the security room beneath the mansion, Victor Hale sat alone.
A guard had left his phone on the table.
The screen lit up.
One new message.
*UNKNOWN NUMBER: SHE KNOWS ABOUT THE GIRL. TAKE CARE OF ANNA BEFORE LUCAS FINDS OUT WHO HER FATHER IS.*
Victor stared at the message.
May you like
Then he slowly smiled.
Because Lucas Moretti had no idea that the little girl who saved his life might be the one person capable of destroying his entire empire.
