Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Wanted Nothing
For several seconds, she stared at the money.
There had been nights when twenty dollars would have meant a hot meal, a laundromat, and enough coffee to keep herself awake somewhere safe until sunrise.
Lorenzo was offering thousands.
Maybe more.
Yet something about the way he held it made her stomach tighten.
Not because he was cruel.
Because he genuinely believed everyone had a price.
She looked past him.
The boy stood beside one of Lorenzo’s men, wrapped in a wool blanket. His frightened eyes remained fixed on her.
“What’s his name?”
Lorenzo lowered the money slightly.
“Matteo.”
She crouched in front of the boy.
“You did good tonight, Matteo.”
His lower lip trembled.
“You’re leaving?”
She hesitated.
“That was the plan.”
Matteo suddenly wrapped both arms around her neck.
The room froze.
She felt Lorenzo watching.
“You saved me,” Matteo whispered.
She closed her eyes briefly.
Then she gently loosened his arms and stood.
“My name is Evelyn Hart.”
Lorenzo repeated it quietly.
“Evelyn.”
She looked at the cash again.
“Keep it.”
His eyebrows shifted almost imperceptibly.
“You misunderstand.”
“No. I understand perfectly.”
“You need money.”
“I do.”
“Then take it.”
“I didn't bring your son back for money.”
For the first time since entering the church, Lorenzo seemed genuinely uncertain what to say.
Evelyn pulled her soaked coat tighter.
“Get him home. Get him warm. And have someone look at that cut on his hand.”
Lorenzo’s eyes sharpened.
“You’re a nurse?”
“Used to be.”
Something changed in his face.
Before he could ask another question, Evelyn walked toward the church doors.
“Wait.”
She stopped.
Lorenzo approached.
“Where are you going?”
“Back where you found me.”
His gaze moved over her wet clothes.
“You sleep outside?”
She almost laughed.
“That's usually what homeless means.”
Lorenzo’s jaw tightened.
“Come with us.”
“No.”
“That wasn't charity.”
“Then what was it?”
“My son trusts you.”
Matteo called from behind him.
“Papa.”
They both turned.
The boy looked pale.
Then his knees buckled.
Evelyn moved before anyone else.
She caught him.
“Matteo?”
His skin was burning.
She touched his neck, checked his pupils, then saw something behind his ear.
A tiny puncture.
Her blood turned cold.
“This isn't exposure.”
Lorenzo dropped beside her.
“What?”
“He was drugged.”
Within minutes they were racing through Boston.
Evelyn sat in the back of the SUV with Matteo’s head in her lap while Lorenzo barked instructions into his phone.
The Moretti residence was not what she expected.
It was an enormous stone mansion outside the city, but Evelyn barely saw it as she carried Matteo inside.
A private physician arrived within minutes.
Dr. Adrian Bell examined Matteo and confirmed Evelyn’s suspicion.
A sedative.
A dangerous amount for a child.
“He needs observation tonight,” Bell said.
Lorenzo nodded.
“Anything he needs.”
Matteo caught Evelyn’s hand.
“Stay.”
She looked at Lorenzo.
He looked back.
For once, neither spoke.
She stayed.
At three in the morning, Matteo finally slept peacefully.
Evelyn stepped into the hallway.
Lorenzo stood alone by a window.
“You saved him twice tonight,” he said.
“I noticed something.”
He turned.
“The men at the harbor.”
“What about them?”
“They weren't searching like kidnappers.”
His expression hardened.
“They were looking for Matteo.”
“Yes.”
“That's what kidnappers do.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No. They were terrified of you.”
Lorenzo went completely still.
She continued.
“One of them said you'd bury them if they didn't find him.”
His eyes became unreadable.
“You think they were mine.”
“I think whoever took your son knew enough about your people to make me believe they were.”
Silence stretched between them.
Then Lorenzo removed his phone.
“Describe them.”
Evelyn did.
When she mentioned a distinctive scar beneath one man's ear, Lorenzo stopped typing.
His face changed.
“You know him.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Lorenzo looked toward his sleeping son's room.
“My security captain.”
Evelyn felt the cold return.
The kidnapping had not come from outside the Moretti family.
May you like
Someone inside Lorenzo’s house had taken his son.
And now Evelyn had seen his face.
