Chapter 1 - THE DEAD MAN'S SECRET
The door handle began to turn.
I was lying on a freezing steel table beside Gabriel Falcone, the most feared man in Chicago, trying desperately not to breathe too loudly.
His fingers had moved beneath my hand.
I'd felt them.
I knew I hadn't imagined it.
But Gabriel's eyes remained closed, his skin was almost colorless, and his chest barely moved beneath the white sheet.
Outside, Carmine Bellucci spoke again.
"Open the door, Doctor."
Dr. Mercer hesitated.
"There's no reason to rush this."
"He's dead. The family wants the body removed before sunrise."
"And I want another examination."
A terrible silence followed.
Then Carmine said something that made my blood turn to ice.
"Do you want to join him?"
The doctor stopped arguing.
I pressed my cheek against Gabriel's chest.
"Please," I whispered into his ear. "If you can hear me, stay still."
The door opened.
A narrow beam of light crossed the floor.
Carmine entered first, dressed in a black suit, his silver watch glinting beneath the overhead lights. Dr. Mercer followed with a black body bag.
Carmine stopped beside the steel table.
"What's this?"
My heart nearly burst through my ribs.
He stared at my arm, which was wrapped around Gabriel's waist.
Then he looked at my face.
"Matilda Higgins?"
I forced myself to sit up.
"I came to say goodbye, sir."
"At two in the morning?"
"I couldn't sleep."
He stared at me for several seconds.
Then he laughed without humor.
"You servants really do develop strange attachments to the people who sign your paychecks."
I lowered my eyes.
"I'm sorry. I'll leave."
I tried to slide off the table, but Carmine caught my wrist.
His fingers tightened painfully.
"Did you hear anything while you were here?"
"No."
"Did you see anyone?"
"No, sir."
He studied me.
Then his gaze dropped to Gabriel's hand.
The fingers were motionless now.
"Good," Carmine said. "Because the dead don't have secrets, Matilda. And I don't appreciate people inventing them."
He released me.
I climbed down, my knees trembling.
Dr. Mercer approached Gabriel with the body bag.
"Wait," I blurted.
Both men turned.
I swallowed.
"Shouldn't you check his identification bracelet before moving him?"
Carmine's expression sharpened.
"Why?"
"Hospital procedure. I thought—"
"He's not in a hospital, girl. He's in his own medical wing."
He stepped closer.
"And you are a maid."
The words struck harder than they should have.
For years, I'd been reminded that I was insignificant. I cleaned up after powerful people. I carried their trays, polished their floors, and pretended not to hear conversations that could get someone killed.
But I had never felt as helpless as I did standing beside a man who might still be alive.
"Yes, sir," I whispered.
Carmine turned to the doctor.
"Get the bag ready."
Dr. Mercer unzipped it.
Then Gabriel's chest rose.
Only slightly.
So slightly that someone who wasn't watching carefully might have missed it.
I saw it.
Dr. Mercer saw it, too.
His hand froze.
Carmine frowned.
"What?"
The doctor recovered quickly.
"Residual movement. It's common after death."
"Then finish."
The doctor looked down.
For one terrifying moment, I thought he would obey.
Instead, he reached for his stethoscope.
Carmine grabbed his arm.
"I said finish."
The doctor's face had gone gray.
"Let go of me."
Carmine stared at him.
Then he released his grip.
"Fine. But if you waste my time, you'll regret it."
He walked toward the door.
Before leaving, he turned to me.
"Go back to the servants' quarters. Don't speak about tonight to anyone."
I nodded.
The door closed.
I waited until their footsteps faded before rushing back to Gabriel.
"Mr. Falcone?"
Nothing.
I pressed two fingers against his neck, remembering the basic first-aid training I'd received years ago.
For several seconds, I felt nothing.
Then—
A pulse.
Weak.
But unmistakable.
I nearly collapsed.
"Oh, thank God."
I grabbed the emergency telephone.
Before I could dial, a hand closed around my wrist.
I screamed.
Gabriel's eyes opened.
They were unfocused, dark, and terrifyingly alive.
His lips moved.
I leaned closer.
"Don't call anyone," he whispered.
His voice was barely audible.
"Mr. Falcone, you're alive!"
"Not to them."
He tried to lift his head and immediately grimaced in pain.
"Listen to me, Matilda."
I froze.
He knew my name.
Of course he knew my name. He'd always remembered the names of the people who worked in his house.
But the way he looked at me now was different.
It was the look of a man who had discovered that the walls around him were full of enemies.
"Carmine poisoned me," he whispered.
My stomach dropped.
"Why?"
"Because he wants my empire."
"Then we have to call the police."
Gabriel gave a weak, bitter laugh.
"Some of them work for him."
I stared at the man who had once controlled half the city's criminal underworld.
He looked impossibly fragile beneath the cold lights.
"Then what do we do?"
His fingers tightened around mine.
"We make them believe I'm dead."
I shook my head.
"You need a hospital. Real doctors. Medicine."
His gaze held mine.
"There's a physician I trust. Dr. Elena Rossi. She's the only person who knows how to treat the toxin they used."
"Where is she?"
"Three blocks from here. In the old clinic on Halsted."
"How do I get her?"
He swallowed painfully.
"There's a service tunnel beneath the west garage. Take the kitchen entrance. Don't use the main gate."
I stared at him.
"You want me to sneak a supposedly dead mafia boss out of his own mansion?"
"Unless you'd prefer Carmine to put me in that bag."
I wanted to tell him this was madness.
I wanted to run to the nearest guard and scream for help.
Instead, I looked at his pale face and remembered the afternoon he had ordered Carmine to apologize to me.
Gabriel hadn't helped me because I was important.
He'd helped me because I was human.
And now he was asking me to do the same.
I nodded.
"All right."
His eyes closed.
"Matilda?"
"Yes?"
"If I don't survive this, don't trust anyone who offers you money."
I squeezed his hand.
"You're going to survive."
He gave the faintest smile.
"That's an order?"
"No, Mr. Falcone."
I leaned closer.
"That's a promise."
May you like
Then I ran into the darkness to save the man Chicago had already buried.
And I had no idea that before sunrise, the entire city would be hunting us both.
