Vitiel
hospital mattress, staring up at
It radiated from my lower back, sharp and biting, like broken glass grinding against my muscles with every breath. I refused
suddenly broken by the squeak o
h the thin walls. The bottom-tier staff in this private mob ho
heavily medicated woman inside was dead to the world. They didn't bother to lower their
use VIP suite?" the older nurse muttered, her voice drip
a Bia
nervous system. My breath hitched, and the
is practically sleeping in the chair next to her bed. He even yelled at Dr. Evans
led into tight fists. My fingernails bit so de
fia was the exact warmth he had system
elly. "The lawful wife is rotting down here in general admission. She d
a stranger's mouth sliced
insane. The Boss of the Chicago Outfit, c
retti is up there right now, personally spoon-feeding he
eized in a vice grip, squee
onal Italian broth. I had accidentally grabbed a boiling pot handle, suffering second-degree burns across my entire ri
irst Lady soon," the younger nurse chi
the corridor, leaving the cold,
, my eyes burned with a dry, intense heat. The suffocating grief had crossed
nd forced my upper b
my back felt like it was tearing open all over again. I locked my jaw to trap
ssed carelessly onto the bedside table. My phone was
cold sweat broke out on my forehead, sliding down my nose and splashing onto the whi
inkling plastic. I clamped my hand d
of control back into my system. I ripped the plastic
hem were from the Outfit's legitimate business managers and money launderers. Not a sin
l-encrypted contact list. As the family's shadow account
a contact with no name
urning my bridges to the ground. It meant betraying
ce in the operating room rang in my e
rning as cold and unforgiving as the Siberian tundra. The obedient wife
ear. The encrypted digital ringing pulsed against m
teps echoed in the hallway,
lanket, pressed my head back onto the pillow, and closed my eyes,
ew inches. A janitor peeked in, holding a mop. Seeing
rolled breath and pull
e slow, heavy, predatory breathing of a man who owned the w
of pain in my chest, and spoke a single,
uto." *The falc
rs ago in a dark alley, when I saved h
lf a second. Then, a low, dark chuckle vibrated th
nchoring myself to the monster
t to cash in
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