Chapter 5 - The Lawyer's Ledger
|
At 2:15 a.m., a landline phone rang on the mahogany nightstand of Carol Hartwell.
Carol woke instantly, sitting up in darkness. At sixty-two, she was one of Manhattan’s premier estate and criminal defense attorneys. She had silver-blond hair, sharp blue eyes, and a quiet demeanor that led arrogant men to foolishly underestimate her.
She answered on the second ring. "Hartwell."
"Carol, it’s Maya," Elena’s executive assistant whimpered over the phone. "I just got a call from a nurse at Bellevue. Elena is in the ICU. She’s unconscious. They said... they said it looks like a severe beating."
Carol didn't gasp. She didn't cry. Panic was a luxury she had unlearned thirty years ago.
"Is the baby alive?" Carol demanded, her voice cool and steady.
"Yes, but she’s critical. Matteo isn't there. His driver brought her in."
"Listen to me very carefully, Maya," Carol said, switching on her bedside lamp. "You tell no one else about this. Do not call Matteo. Do not call his lawyers. Stay at the hospital, but do not speak to any police officers until I arrive."
"Okay... okay."
Carol hung up. She swung her legs out of bed, reached for a legal notepad, and unscrewed her fountain pen. With precise, elegant handwriting, she wrote four words down the left side of the page:
Hospital.
Baby.
Clock.
Dante.
May you like
She stared at the last word for a long moment. Dante Bellarosa. Calling him meant opening a door she had hoped to keep shut forever. But protecting Elena against the full weight of the Moretti family required more than court orders and legal briefs.
It required teeth.
