Chapter 13 - The Nurse's Trail
In the days that followed the siege, Blackwood Manor was heavily fortified and ruthlessly scrubbed clean. The bodies were disposed of, Julian’s loyalists within the syndicate were systematically hunted down, and Silas solidified his absolute control over the city. No one dared whisper his name without a shudder.
But Silas couldn't rest. There was one loose end. The nurse who had delivered Elara to the gates.
"I found her," Dante announced, walking into the study three days later. "Her name is Evelyn Vance. Former surgical nurse. She fell off the grid two years ago, right around the time Julian established that black-site medical facility upstate. We tracked her burner phone to a motel in South Boston."
"Bring the car around," Silas ordered.
The motel was a rundown establishment on the edge of the docks, smelling of cheap bleach and saltwater. Silas kicked the door to room 104 open. A middle-aged woman shrieked, backing against the peeling wallpaper, clutching a modest suitcase.
Silas stepped inside, closing the door softly. "Evelyn Vance."
"Please," the woman cried, holding up her hands. "I did what she asked! I brought the baby to you! I didn't hurt her!"
"I am not here to kill you," Silas said gently, noticing the sheer terror in the woman's eyes. He pulled out a thick envelope containing fifty thousand dollars in cash and tossed it onto the bed. "I am here to thank you. You saved my daughter's life."
Evelyn stared at the money, then up at the terrifying mob boss, her breath hitching.
"I need to know," Silas said, his voice dropping to a painful whisper. "I need to know how my wife died."
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Evelyn swallowed hard, tears welling in her eyes. "She fought, Mr. Thorne. God, she fought so hard. She woke up from the coma, realized she was heavily pregnant, and knew your brother was going to kill her the second she delivered. She feigned weakness. She convinced the guards she couldn't walk. But when the labor started..."
Evelyn wiped a tear. "She overpowered a guard with a surgical scalpel. She locked us in the delivery wing. She forced me to swear on my life that I would take the baby to you. She bled out holding the door barricaded so I could escape through the fire exit."
