Chapter 4 - SHADOWS OF THE PAST
The transfer was immediate.
Within two hours, I was moved into a private suite on the top floor of the hospital. Doctors who had previously given me brief five-minute consultations were now spending hours analyzing my charts, speaking in hushed, respectful tones whenever Damian Russo walked into the room.
Maisie was given a private room next door with toys, hot meals, and Dottie watching over her.
Yet, despite the luxury, I couldn't sleep.
The shadow of the Russo family was long and dangerous. I knew that Damian was attempting to legitimize his empire, but legitimizing decades of blood and crime meant creating powerful enemies.
Late that evening, as the rain drummed against the windowpane, Damian entered my room alone. He carried two cups of coffee, placing one on my bedside table.
"You should be resting," he said gently.
"I can't," I replied, looking at him. "Why are you doing this, Damian? It wasn't just my name your mother mentioned, was it?"
Damian walked to the window, staring out at the glowing city lights reflected in the wet streets.
"Victor didn't just frame you, Clara," Damian admitted softly. "He used your name to siphon three million dollars out of my mother's personal trust fund before she died. He set up an offshore account in your name using a stolen copy of your identity documents. When you disappeared, he claimed you fled with the money and the necklace."
I felt my breath catch in my throat. "Three million dollars? I lived in a damp basement apartment eating canned soup!"
"I know," Damian said turning around. "Victor spent that money funding a splinter faction within our family business—a faction that didn't want the empire to go legal. When Victor died three years ago, that faction went underground. But last week... those same accounts became active again."
The room went dead silent save for the steady beep of the heart monitor.
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"Someone is using my name again?" I asked, horror dawning on me.
"Yes," Damian said coldly. "Someone inside my organization is trying to finish what Victor started. And finding you here today wasn't a coincidence, Clara. It means they know where you are."
