Chapter 6 - The Golden Cage
The compound sat behind towering wrought-iron gates on the wealthy shores of Lake Forest, completely hidden from the highway by dense, ancient oak trees.
To the outside world, it was an aristocratic estate belonging to a reclusive shipping heiress. But to anyone with eyes, the thermal cameras hidden in the birdbaths, the high-tensile security fencing, and the stone-faced men patrolling the grounds with Belgian Malinois attack dogs told a very different story.
Toby stared out the tinted window of the armored Maybach, utterly mesmerized. He had spent his entire life between our cramped walk-up in Pilsen and the sterile, depressing pediatric ward of the county hospital. He had never seen a house with a private fountain, let alone marble statues lining a driveway.
"Riley," he whispered, tugging on my sleeve. "Is this a castle? Are we visiting a queen?"
"Something like that, buddy," I whispered back, my stomach churning with anxiety.
The car stopped before a grand limestone entrance. Two footmen opened our doors, and Matteo guided us through massive double doors into an entrance hall with cathedral ceilings and gleaming herringbone parquet floors.
Waiting for us at the top of the grand staircase was Carmela Romano.
She was no longer the wounded, disheveled woman who had collapsed against my café pastry case. Today, she wore a pristine ivory pantsuit made of double-faced wool, tailored to perfection. Her dark hair was swept up into an elegant chignon, and diamonds glittered at her ears. She leaned slightly on a silver-headed cane—the only visible sign of the bullet wound I had cleaned with cheap saline just twelve hours earlier.
"Riley," Carmela said, her voice echoing warmly through the vast hall as she descended the stairs. "Welcome to my home."
She stopped before us, her eyes softening as they landed on Toby. She slowly crouched down, ignoring the stiffness in her wounded side, until she was at eye level with my brother.
"And you must be Toby," she smiled.
Toby shrank back against my legs for a second, then looked into her eyes. Children have an uncanny instinct for power and truth. He didn't see a mob boss; he saw someone who looked at him without pity.
"Are you the lady my sister saved?" Toby asked.
Carmela chuckled softly, a low, melodic sound. "Yes, little lion. Your sister stood between me and death. She is very brave. Which means you must be very brave, too."
She stood up and looked at a woman in white scrubs who had entered quietly behind her.
"Dr. Chen," Carmela commanded gently. "Take Toby up to the guest wing. He needs rest, and I want a full diagnostic panel run on his vitals immediately. Coordinate with Dr. Morrison at Northwestern. Every treatment, every specialized therapy he needs, begins today."
I stepped forward, panic flaring. "Wait. Dr. Morrison? He’s the top hematology specialist in the Midwest! His waiting list is three years long, and his clinic costs—"
Carmela raised a single, manicured hand, cutting me off.
"Dr. Morrison owes his entire pediatric research wing to the Romano Foundation," Carmela said smoothly. "And more importantly, he owes me his life. Toby will receive the best medical care on the North American continent. The bills have already been cleared."
My knees felt weak. "Why are you doing this? I patched a cut and lied to a thug. That doesn't buy a million-dollar medical miracle."
Carmela looked at Matteo, who bowed and stepped out of the room, leaving us alone in the massive foyer.
"You're right, Riley," Carmela said, her demeanor shifting from gracious host to calculating sovereign. "Nothing in this world is free. I saved your brother because I honor my debts. But I brought you here because you possess something I desperately need."
"What could I possibly have that a billionaire mafia queen needs?"
Carmela tapped the silver handle of her cane against the marble floor.
May you like
"The man who ambushed me in that alleyway wasn't a stranger. He knew my route. He knew my security detail was running on a shifted rotation. There is a traitor at my high table, Riley. And you saw the face of the man who led the ambush."
***
