Chapter 6 - Laughter in the Shadows
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Adeline did not flinch. She set her medical bag down on a side table, pulled out her stethoscope, and stepped up to the edge of the bed.
"I'm only afraid of people who can still stand up and chase me," Adeline said calmly, checking the flow rate on his oxygen concentrator. "You're lying in bed, you're in pain, and you're cranky. That doesn't scare me at all."
Alfonso stared at her, his thick eyebrows knitting together in disbelief. For several long seconds, the room was completely silent except for the rhythmic humming of the oxygen machine.
Then, Alfonso’s chest began to heave, and a dry, rusty sound escaped his throat. He was laughing.
The laughter quickly turned into a harsh coughing fit, but Adeline moved instantly. With practiced, gentle efficiency, she raised his pillows, elevated his shoulders, and held a small glass of warm water to his lips until his airway cleared.
"You have a terrible bedside manner, child," Alfonso wheezed when he caught his breath, though his eyes held a rare spark of amusement.
"And you are a terrible patient," Adeline countered gently, wiping his forehead with a cool cloth. "Now hold still so I can take your blood pressure."
Outside in the hallway, Marisol stood frozen with a stack of clean linens in her arms. She hadn't heard the old man laugh in over two years.
A few feet down the corridor, concealed in the deep shadows near the archway, stood Enzo Marquetti.
He watched through the half-open door as the small nurse in blue scrubs adjusted his grandfather's blankets with painstaking care. She spoke to the feared mafia Don as if he were simply a tired grandfather who needed rest.
May you like
Enzo’s hand drifted into his coat pocket, his fingers wrapping around the cool, smooth edges of his brass compass. He did not step into the room, nor did he make a sound.
He simply stood there in the dark, watching her work until the first light of dawn began to creep through the high windows.
