No Nurse Lasted a Week with the Ruthless Mafia Boss — Until the Poor Nurse Broke the Rules
Chapter 9
Adrian turned off the flashlight.
Mia held her breath.
Footsteps climbed the stairs.
Slow.
Careful.
One step.
Then another.
Adrian whispered:
“Stay behind me.”
Mia shook her head.
“Not happening.”
He looked at her.
“Mia.”
“I told you.”
Another step.
“Stop trying to protect me.”
The footsteps stopped.
A man’s voice came from below.
“Adrian.”
Adrian’s face hardened.
“Samuel.”
Silence.
Then an elderly man stepped into view.
His hair was gray.
His face was thinner than the photograph.
But the eyes were the same.
Samuel Cross.
Mia stared.
“You’re alive.”
Samuel smiled bitterly.
“Apparently.”
Adrian raised his gun.
“Why did you fake your death?”
“Because your uncle wanted me dead.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew the truth.”
“What truth?”
Samuel looked at Mia.
“Your father discovered the organization was laundering money through hospitals.”
Mia’s expression changed.
“Through hospitals?”
Samuel nodded.
“Medical suppliers. Fake contracts. Insurance fraud. Patient records. Everything.”
Adrian stared.
“And my father?”
“He wanted out.”
“That’s why they killed him.”
Samuel nodded.
“But Gabriel wasn’t the only one.”
“Who else?”
Samuel handed him a folder.
Inside were names.
Victor.
Several businessmen.
And one name that made Adrian go silent.
Lucian Bellini.
His older brother.
Mia looked at him.
“Your brother?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
Samuel continued.
“Lucian took over after Gabriel died.”
Adrian’s hands tightened.
“My brother is dead.”
Samuel shook his head.
“No.”
The room seemed to stop.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because he knows you’re searching.”
A gunshot echoed from below.
Samuel fell.
Mia rushed toward him.
Adrian pulled her back.
“Don’t!”
“I have to help him!”
Samuel was still breathing.
The bullet had grazed his shoulder.
Mia treated the wound.
Samuel whispered:
“Your brother is coming.”
Adrian stared down the stairs.
“Why?”
Samuel looked at him.
“Because you found the last piece.”
“What piece?”
Samuel pointed toward the box.
“The recording.”
Inside the box was a small digital recorder.
Adrian pressed play.
His father’s voice filled the lighthouse.
“If you’re hearing this, Gabriel has found out.”
A pause.
Then:
“Adrian, I’m sorry.”
Mia looked at him.
The recording continued.
“I hid the evidence where nobody would think to search.”
Then came the final words.
“Trust the nurse.”
Adrian froze.
Mia stared at him.
“What?”
The recording clicked off.
Neither understood why Adrian’s father had mentioned a nurse.
Until they returned to the mansion.
And found every medical file Mia had ever touched scattered across her bed.
