Chapter 3 - The Broken Syringe
By the fourth day of Stefano’s recovery, the hospital floor felt less like a medical ward and more like a high-stakes chess board.
I was working the night shift. At 2:15 a.m., the hallway was eerie and quiet. The two guards at the door were standing guard, but the heavy rain pounding against the window panes created a thick blanket of white noise.
Inside the room, Stefano was sleeping fitfully, his dark hair damp with sweat. Nero was curled up on a blanket near the foot of the bed, his ear twitching occasionally.
I was checking Stefano's chart near the small sink when the door handle turned softly.
It wasn't Danny. It wasn't one of the regular nurses.
It was Dr. Voss. He was wearing his white coat, carrying a stainless-steel tray covered with a blue towel. He looked pale, his eyes darting toward the sleeping dog before fixing on me.
"Nurse Brennan," Voss whispered, keeping his voice carefully modulated. "I need to administer a secondary dose of anticoagulant. Mr. Marchetti's lab work came back showing high risk for deep vein thrombosis."
I set my pen down slowly. "I pulled his blood work an hour ago, Dr. Voss. His D-dimer levels were completely normal. There’s no order for anticoagulants on his electronic chart."
Voss stepped deeper into the room, his jaw tightening. "I am his head physician. I don't need your approval to update an order."
"You do need to put it in the system," I said, moving around the bed to stand between him and Stefano’s IV port. "Show me the vial."
"Step aside, Alice," Voss commanded, his voice dropping its soft demeanor. He pulled a syringe from beneath the towel. The liquid inside was clear, but the barrel had no pre-printed hospital barcode.
Nero suddenly stood up. A low, vibrating growl rumbled from the depths of his chest.
"He knows," I said softly, my heart hammering against my ribs. "He knows what fear smells like, Dr. Voss. What is in that needle?"
"He’s fifty-two years old!" Voss hissed, his composure suddenly snapping. "He’s a mob boss! He’s destroyed hundreds of lives! Do you have any idea what Carmine promised me? My medical debts—cleared. My daughter's tuition—paid. All I had to do was let him slip away in the ambulance. And you ruined it!"
Voss lunged forward, trying to jab the needle directly into Stefano's central line port.
"No!" I yelled.
I grabbed Voss’s forearm with both hands, twisting his wrist away from the IV line. He was stronger than he looked, shoving me back against the heart monitor, which began to beep frantically.
Nero launched himself forward, his jaws snapping shut on the sleeve of Voss’s lab coat.
Voss screamed, dropping the syringe. It hit the hard floor and shattered, spilling clear liquid across the tiles.
The door burst open. Danny Falcone and two guards rushed in, guns drawn.
"What the hell?!" Danny shouted.
Nero had Voss pinned against the wall, his massive paws on the doctor's shoulders, his teeth inches from his throat. Voss was sobbing, his face pale with terror.
"Check the floor!" I gasped, clutching my bruised arm. "He tried to put something in his line! The syringe broke!"
Danny didn't hesitate. He grabbed Voss by his collar, dragging him away from the dog and slamming him into the hallway wall. "Get the sample kit!" Danny barked at a guard. "Scrape every drop of that liquid off the floor and send it to our private lab. Now!"
Stefano was awake now, his eyes dark with absolute fury as he took in the scene. He looked at the shattered glass, then at Voss, and finally at me.
"Alice," Stefano called out, his voice deathly quiet. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," I breathed, though my hands were shaking violently.
Stefano looked at Danny. "Take Voss to the warehouse in East Greenwich. Don't touch him until I get there. And find Carmine."
"Carmine isn't at his house, Boss," Danny said grimly, holding a cell phone. "His security detail vanished twenty minutes ago. He knew Voss was making his move tonight."
The room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence. The war within the Marchetti family was no longer a secret. It was open fire.
Stefano turned to me, his dark eyes filled with a mixture of rage and overwhelming concern. "You saved me again. And now Carmine knows it."
He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed despite the agonizing pull on his stitches.
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"Where are you going?" I demanded, stepping forward to stop him.
"We are leaving," Stefano said firmly, looking straight at me. "Carmine knows he failed. He’s going to burn down everything connected to me—and that includes you, Alice. You aren't safe in this hospital. You aren't safe at your apartment. You're coming with me."
