Chapter 15 - The Inside Man
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The war raged in the shadows of Chicago for three days. Lorenzo’s men systematically dismantled the Thorne family’s operations in the city, striking with brutal efficiency. Lorenzo barely slept, spending his nights in the basement command center and his days pacing the estate.
Despite the lockdown, Elvira tried to maintain a sense of normalcy for the children. She baked cookies with them in the massive kitchen, carefully avoiding Marco, whose presence made her increasingly uneasy.
On Thursday afternoon, Lorenzo was pulled away to deal with a crisis at one of the downtown shipping yards. He kissed Elvira deeply before he left, promising to be back before dinner.
An hour after Lorenzo’s convoy pulled out of the gates, Elvira was sitting in the sunroom when Marco approached her. He looked uncharacteristically panicked.
“Miss Vance,” Marco gasped, wringing his hands in his apron. “I am so sorry to disturb you, but there is an emergency phone call for you on the kitchen landline.”
Elvira frowned, standing up. “For me? Nobody knows I’m here.”
“The caller said it was Northwestern Memorial Hospital,” Marco urged, his eyes wide. “They said it was about your mother. Her heart monitors dropped. They said you need to come immediately.”
Elvira’s entire world stopped spinning. Her mother. The experimental treatments were supposed to be working.
She didn't think. Panic completely overrode her logic. She sprinted toward the kitchen, grabbing the heavy black receiver off the wall mount.
“Hello? Is my mother okay?” Elvira demanded breathlessly.
The line was completely dead. Just a hollow, humming dial tone.
Elvira frowned, tapping the receiver. “Hello?”
She turned around to ask Marco what extension the call had come through on, but Marco wasn't standing in the kitchen anymore.
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He was standing directly behind her, holding a damp, foul-smelling rag.
Before Elvira could even scream, Marco clamped the rag violently over her nose and mouth. She kicked wildly, her nails clawing at his arms, but he was too strong. The bitter, chemical smell of chloroform flooded her lungs. The bright lights of the kitchen blurred into darkness, and the world slipped away.
