Chapter 7 - The Empty Blanket
We gave Marco a baby.
At least, that's what he thought.
Dr. Patel wrapped a medical warming doll in Ava’s yellow blanket.
From a distance, in darkness, it looked real.
Heavy enough.
The right size.
I hated even seeing that blanket around something that wasn't my daughter.
Ava remained with Dr. Patel inside a secured ambulance guarded by four men Rosa chose personally.
The unidentified infant boy from Bellhaven went with her.
I kissed Ava's forehead before leaving.
“I just got you back.”
Her tiny eyes opened.
Dark.
Nick’s eyes.
“I'm coming back.”
Rosa stood beside me.
“You don't have to do this.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Lorenzo would tell you not to.”
“Lorenzo says no to everything.”
Despite the circumstances, Rosa laughed.
It was the first time I'd heard it.
Then she became serious.
“If something goes wrong, run.”
“You're coming?”
“Of course.”
“You were shot at tonight.”
“So were you.”
“Fair.”
The ferry terminal had closed fifteen years earlier.
Rust covered the gates.
Weeds grew through cracked concrete.
Beyond the structure, Long Island Sound looked black beneath the moon.
Marco had chosen a place with several exits.
Boat access.
Road access.
Old service tunnels.
Smart.
Rosa explained that like she was discussing real estate.
Three of Lorenzo’s men positioned themselves farther away.
No visible weapons.
No obvious backup.
I carried the wrapped doll.
Every part of me hated it.
At 3:07 a.m., a light appeared inside the terminal.
Marco stepped forward.
He had Lorenzo with him.
My breath caught.
Lorenzo’s hands were bound.
Blood ran from his temple.
His jacket was gone.
But he was standing.
Alive.
His eyes found me.
Then the blanket.
His face changed.
He thought it was Ava.
“Hunter, no.”
Marco pressed a gun against his ribs.
“Quiet.”
I walked forward.
“Let him go.”
Marco smiled.
He looked completely different now that loyalty was gone.
Less human.
“You found your daughter. I return Lorenzo. Everyone wins.”
“You murdered Nick.”
His smile faded.
“Nicholas was warned.”
“You killed him.”
“He made choices.”
I wanted to hit him.
Instead, I kept walking.
Rosa followed several steps behind.
Marco looked at her.
“You should have retired ten years ago.”
“You should have learned gratitude twenty years ago.”
He laughed.
“Gratitude?”
“You came into my house with nothing.”
“I built Lorenzo’s security.”
“With Rossi money.”
“I protected your children.”
“You murdered one.”
His eyes hardened.
“Nicholas endangered all of us.”
“No,” Lorenzo said. “He endangered you.”
Marco struck him.
I stopped.
“Don't.”
Marco looked at me.
“Bring the baby.”
I moved closer.
Twenty feet.
Fifteen.
Ten.
Marco reached out.
“Give her to me.”
“Lorenzo first.”
“No.”
“You think I'm handing my daughter to you while you're holding a gun?”
“You don't have a choice.”
“Then shoot me.”
Lorenzo’s eyes widened.
“Hunter.”
Marco stared.
I meant it.
That was the terrifying part.
“Shoot me,” I repeated. “Then you have nobody who can prove Ava’s maternal bloodline.”
He laughed.
“I have the baby.”
“Do you?”
Something changed in his expression.
I continued.
“You need me too.”
“DNA is DNA.”
“And what court accepts a kidnapped infant’s DNA with no verified maternal chain?”
That wasn't something I knew.
I was guessing.
But Marco hesitated.
Good.
Rosa added, “She's right.”
Marco looked between us.
“You're bluffing.”
“So are you.”
I held the bundle tighter.
“Let Lorenzo walk.”
Marco thought.
Then cut Lorenzo’s restraints.
“Walk.”
Lorenzo moved toward us.
Slowly.
His eyes remained on the blanket.
“Hunter.”
“Keep walking.”
He reached me.
“What did you do?”
I whispered, “Trust me.”
His eyes dropped to the bundle.
Understanding flickered.
He almost smiled.
Then Marco said, “Baby.”
I stepped forward.
I extended the blanket.
He reached.
I threw it directly into his face.
Rosa fired.
Marco dove.
Gunshots erupted.
Lorenzo tackled me behind a concrete barrier.
“Where is Ava?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“With Patel.”
Relief flooded his face.
“You brought a doll?”
“Yes.”
“You're insane.”
“You're welcome.”
Bullets struck concrete above us.
Rosa fired from behind a column.
Lorenzo grabbed a fallen weapon.
“Stay down.”
“Don't say—”
“I know. You hate that.”
He fired toward Marco.
Someone screamed.
Then silence.
Too much silence.
Lorenzo looked around the barrier.
“Marco!”
No answer.
Rosa moved carefully.
“He's gone.”
A rear door stood open.
Beyond it, darkness.
One guard began following.
Lorenzo stopped him.
“No.”
“He'll escape.”
“He wants us moving.”
He was right.
Seconds later, an explosion ripped through the rear corridor.
The guard would have died.
Lorenzo stared at the flames.
“Same method as Sophia.”
My skin went cold.
Marco had used an explosion to kill her too.
Rosa approached.
“You believe me now?”
Lorenzo looked at his mother.
“I believe Marco betrayed me.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Their eyes held.
“No.”
Rosa's face fell.
“I still don't know what you did.”
“Then perhaps it's time.”
She reached inside her coat and removed a small key.
Old-fashioned.
Brass.
She handed it to him.
“What is this?”
“Nicholas gave it to me.”
“Why?”
“He said if he died, I had to wait until Hunter and Ava were safe.”
I stared.
“What does it open?”
“A box.”
“Where?”
Rosa looked toward the water.
“Under your father’s mausoleum.”
Of course.
Because apparently normal families used bank safes.
We returned to the mansion before dawn.
Ava was safe.
Leo had eaten again from milk I'd pumped before leaving.
For the first time, both babies slept beneath the same roof.
Lorenzo arranged for DNA tests.
Not because any of us doubted Ava was mine.
Because we needed documentation no one could erase.
By sunrise, police had been informed about Bellhaven through attorneys.
Federal agents were quietly contacted.
Lorenzo was cautious.
Men in his world didn't voluntarily invite federal investigators into their homes.
But the stolen babies changed something.
“These families deserve their children,” he said.
It was the first time I heard him speak like a father instead of a boss.
At eight in the morning, we went to the family cemetery.
Rosa.
Lorenzo.
Me.
Two guards.
Rows of stone monuments stood beneath old trees.
Nicholas Rossi had no grave there.
“He refused the family plot,” Rosa said.
That hurt for reasons I couldn't explain.
Lorenzo stopped beside a large marble mausoleum.
His father's name was carved above the entrance.
VINCENT ROSSI.
Rosa unlocked the gate.
Inside, Lorenzo found a small metal compartment beneath a stone bench.
The brass key fit.
Inside was a black box.
Lorenzo opened it.
A flash drive.
A handwritten letter.
An envelope marked:
FOR HUNTER.
My hands shook.
I opened it.
Nick’s handwriting.
Hunter, if you're reading this, I failed to come home.
I stopped.
Tears blurred everything.
Lorenzo touched my shoulder gently.
I continued.
There are things I should have told you sooner. My name. My family. The danger. I thought hiding them would protect you.
I laughed through tears.
“Idiot.”
Rosa wiped her eyes.
If our daughter is born, name her Ava like we planned. Don't let anyone make her ashamed of being mine or afraid of being yours.
My chest broke.
I pressed the letter to my mouth.
Then I read the next sentence.
Rebecca is not your enemy.
I froze.
She made terrible choices because she thought she was protecting you. If she disappears, find her before Marco does.
Below that was an address.
Queens.
Lorenzo looked at me.
“That's where Rebecca is.”
I nodded.
Then we heard tires outside the cemetery.
A car skidded to a stop.
One of Lorenzo’s guards shouted.
A woman stumbled through the gate.
Gray hair.
Blood on her blouse.
Rebecca.
The woman who raised me.
She saw me.
“Hunter.”
I couldn't move.
She collapsed into my arms.
“Mom?”
The word came automatically.
Her hand grabbed my coat.
“Marco knows about the ledger.”
“We know.”
“No.”
Her eyes widened.
“You don't understand.”
She looked at Lorenzo.
“The ledger isn't about your father.”
“Then who?”
Rebecca turned toward Rosa.
Rosa went white.
“Don't.”
Rebecca’s voice broke.
“The person who started everything is still alive.”
Lorenzo stared.
“Who?”
May you like
Rebecca pointed at Rosa Rossi.
“Her.”
