Chapter 5

5

Rain slammed against Harbor Club’s glass doors.

Inside, Dante held his phone, his voice low.

“Ten times the price.”

“No. Tell them Marcelli can give anything they want.”

“Salvatore cannot die.”

Five minutes after I ended the call, engines sounded in the distance.

A line of black vehicles cut through the rain and stopped in front of Harbor Club. The door of the first car opened, and Lorenzo Moretti stepped out.

He had no umbrella.

Rain darkened his black coat, but his shoulders stayed straight. He stopped in front of me, his eyes moving over the blood on my knee, my soaked shirt, and my scraped palms.

He only said my name in a low voice.

“Aviana.”

Inside the glass doors, Isabella noticed the scene outside and screamed.

“Aviana? Are you people insane? Her name is Ava Lane. She’s just some doctor girl from a hospital.”

Lorenzo looked at her once and said nothing. Isabella’s voice cut off at once.

I held the car door and stood.

“My surgical case is inside.”

Lorenzo turned his head slightly. Moretti’s men pushed open the doors of Harbor Club.

I walked in myself.

My wet shoes stepped over the carpet, leaving a dark trail all the way to Enzo.

“My case.”

He looked at Dante.

I lifted my eyes.

“I won’t say it twice.”

The next second, the surgical case was handed back to me.

My medical license, exit papers, and old pocket watch were inside.

I closed the case.

Isabella lifted her skirt and walked over. Her face was pale, but she still smiled.

“Nice act.” She looked around the hall. “You hire a few black cars and a few men, and now you think you’re Moretti?”

I walked up to her.

She stepped back.

I raised my hand and slapped her across the face.

Isabella covered her cheek as tears filled her eyes.

“Dante.”

Dante did not move.

Enzo’s tablet had vibrated again.

[Second request declined.]

[Ghost Line system locked all Marcelli emergency access.]

One of Lorenzo’s men came in from outside, his voice steady.

“Miss Moretti, Pier 7 has stopped operating.”

“The anonymous Harbor Club account has been frozen.”

“Ghost Line refused Salvatore Marcelli’s second surgery request under your order.”

Dante’s eyes snapped to me.

“You’re Ghost Surgeon?”

Every eye in the hall pressed on me.

I held my surgical case steady.

“So what if I am?”

Dante took one step forward.

“Salvatore is my father. You knew that. Why won’t you save him?”

“Why can’t I refuse?” I said. “When you threw me out just now, you didn’t ask if I had a choice.”