Chapter 5 - The Glass Half Full
Dominic stopped instantly, ten feet away. His rifle hung at his side, held by a single hand.
“She isn't a bastard,” Dominic said softly, his voice trembling with a terrifying blend of rage and devotion. “She is my daughter. Lily Moretti.”
Vincenzo laughed nervously, his fingers twitching over the fragile glass container. “It doesn't matter what her name is! The syndicate will never accept a child born from a traitor’s bloodline! Clara’s father was the head of the rival family! You broke the code by loving her, Dominic! If the Capos find out Lily exists, they’ll execute all three of you!”
“Let them try,” Dominic spat.
Suddenly, a weak voice echoed from the shadowed hallway behind Vincenzo.
“He… he didn't break the code, Vincenzo.”
Vincenzo spun around. Standing at the top of the stairs, pale as marble and leaning heavily against the wall with an IV drip still attached to her arm, was my mother.
“Mommy!” I cried out from behind the monitor, though she couldn't hear me.
Clara’s bare feet were bleeding from the broken glass on the carpet, but her eyes burned with an fierce, unyielding light. In her right hand, she held a small, black remote control.
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“Clara?” Dominic gasped, his heart breaking at the sight of her weak frame. “Get back! He has the antidote!”
“He doesn't have the antidote, Dominic,” Clara said, her voice shaking but clear. “That vial in his hand is just blue dye and saline. The real antidote was hidden inside Lily’s stuffed rabbit three years ago.”
