Chapter 5 - The Price of a Mother
Sarah insisted on going.
Gabriel refused.
They argued for twelve minutes.
It was the longest anyone had openly argued with Gabriel Moretti in years.
“She is my mother.”
“And you are the person they actually want.”
“You promised to bring her home.”
“I did not promise to deliver you in exchange.”
Sarah stepped closer.
“You don’t understand.”
Gabriel’s jaw tightened.
“I understand hostages.”
“No. You understand strategy.”
Her voice cracked.
“I understand sitting beside my mother while she forgets where she is. I understand feeding her when her hands shake. I understand working until two in the morning because the good facility costs more than I make.”
Gabriel said nothing.
“If she dies because I was hiding in your penthouse, I will never forgive myself.”
His anger faded.
“Then we go together.”
Arthur’s instructions led them to a decommissioned private terminal near the Hudson.
Gabriel appeared to arrive with Sarah alone.
He did not.
Marco’s people surrounded the property beyond visible range.
More importantly, Gabriel had contacted federal prosecutor Elena Brooks.
That decision stunned everyone around him.
Gabriel Moretti had spent his adult life avoiding federal law enforcement.
Now he was voluntarily handing them evidence.
“Arthur wants a criminal war,” Gabriel told Marco. “I’m giving him a courtroom.”
Inside the terminal, Rebecca sat restrained near an old luggage conveyor.
Arthur stood beside her.
Victoria was there too.
Sarah’s eyes narrowed.
“You hit me over champagne while your father was trying to steal my inheritance?”
Victoria smiled.
“The champagne had nothing to do with you.”
Sarah frowned.
Arthur answered.
“We knew Rebecca had started contacting attorneys.”
Gabriel understood.
“The restaurant incident was staged.”
Victoria shrugged.
“The idiot at the next table was supposed to make Sarah spill the bottle. I expected her to be fired.”
“And then?”
“People who lose jobs become desperate.”
Victoria looked at Sarah.
“Desperate people accept money to leave cities.”
Sarah stared at her.
“You planned all of that?”
Victoria’s smile disappeared.
“You were supposed to stay invisible.”
Arthur interrupted.
“Enough.”
He held up a document.
“Sarah signs away any claim to Collins Atlantic. Rebecca goes home.”
Sarah moved forward.
Gabriel caught her wrist gently.
“No.”
Arthur smiled.
“You don’t decide.”
Gabriel looked toward Rebecca.
“Mrs. Collins, are you injured?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Then he looked at Arthur.
“Your offer is rejected.”
Arthur produced a handgun.
Sarah froze.
Gabriel did not.
Victoria stepped backward.
“Daddy, what are you doing?”
“Fixing what you failed to fix.”
Arthur aimed at Sarah.
Gabriel immediately moved between them.
Sarah stared at his back.
“Gabriel.”
“Stay behind me.”
Arthur laughed.
“The terrifying Gabriel Moretti taking a bullet for a waitress.”
Gabriel’s voice remained calm.
“She stopped being just a waitress the moment you decided her life belonged to you.”
Arthur’s finger tightened.
Then police lights flooded the terminal windows.
Arthur spun around.
“What did you do?”
Gabriel removed his phone.
“Technology has improved since you murdered our fathers.”
Arthur’s face changed.
The entire conversation had been transmitted.
Victoria whispered, “Our?”
Sarah looked at Gabriel.
He had said it without thinking.
Our fathers.
Arthur grabbed Rebecca and pressed the gun against her neck.
Sarah screamed.
Gabriel’s men entered from one side.
Federal agents entered from another.
Everything became noise.
“Put it down!”
Arthur dragged Rebecca toward the rear exit.
Sarah moved instinctively.
Gabriel caught her.
“No!”
Rebecca suddenly drove her elbow backward.
Arthur stumbled.
The gun fired.
Sarah screamed.
Rebecca collapsed.
Gabriel crossed the room before Arthur could recover.
He struck Arthur’s wrist.
The weapon skidded across the floor.
Marco restrained Gabriel before he could do more.
“Boss!”
Gabriel looked toward Sarah.
She was already kneeling beside her mother.
Blood covered Rebecca’s blouse.
“I’m a nursing student,” Sarah said desperately. “Give me something clean!”
Gabriel tore off his tie and pressed folded fabric into her hand.
Sarah applied pressure.
“Mom. Look at me.”
Rebecca’s eyes fluttered.
“I’m here.”
“You’re going to be okay.”
Rebecca weakly touched Sarah’s face.
“You look like him.”
Sarah began crying.
“Save your strength.”
Rebecca smiled.
“Your father would have loved you.”
Paramedics rushed inside.
As they lifted Rebecca onto the stretcher, Victoria attempted to slip toward the door.
A federal agent stopped her.
“You’re not leaving.”
Victoria turned toward Gabriel.
“Tell them who I am.”
Gabriel stared at her.
“I think they know.”
“You cannot let them arrest me.”
“You kidnapped a sick woman.”
“My father did!”
“And you participated.”
Victoria’s composure shattered.
“I was going to be your wife!”
Gabriel looked at Sarah following her mother’s stretcher.
“No.”
His voice softened.
“You were going to be my mistake.”
The hospital surgery lasted three hours.
Sarah sat alone in the waiting room until Gabriel appeared with two coffees.
“You came.”
“I said I would.”
She accepted one.
“Arthur?”
“Federal custody.”
“Victoria?”
“Also.”
Sarah nodded.
Then she noticed blood on Gabriel’s cuff.
“You’re hurt.”
“Not mine.”
She looked away.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Finally Sarah whispered, “Why did you stand in front of me?”
Gabriel answered without hesitation.
“Because he was pointing a gun at you.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It is the only one I have.”
The surgeon appeared before Sarah could continue.
She stood immediately.
“Your mother survived surgery.”
Sarah covered her mouth.
“She’s stable.”
Her knees nearly gave out.
Gabriel caught her.
This time she did not pull away.
She buried her face against his chest and cried.
Gabriel held her awkwardly at first.
Then tightly.
Neither noticed the photographer across the street capturing them through the hospital window.
By sunrise, the photograph was everywhere.
May you like
And one headline threatened to destroy them both.
MAFIA KING FALLS FOR SECRET BILLIONAIRE HEIRESS.
