Chapter 4 - The Ambush at Palmer House
At 8:15 p.m., the grand ballroom of the historic Palmer House Hotel was heavy with the smell of expensive cigars, aged bourbon, and looming violence.
Seated around a massive mahogany table were the heads of Chicago’s five major organized crime syndicates. At the far end sat Don Carmine Moretti—a fat, grey-haired man of sixty-five with small, cruel eyes and diamond rings glittering on every finger.
Sitting opposite him was Lorenzo Bolaro, flanked only by his legal counsel and two bodyguards.
"You're late, Lorenzo," Don Carmine sneered, swirling the amber whiskey in his glass. "I was beginning to think you had lost your nerve after losing your mind over a sick baby."
The other bosses at the table chuckled nervously, eyeing the dozen heavy-set Moretti enforcers standing along the perimeter walls.
Lorenzo didn't blink. He sat back in his leather chair, crossing one leg over his knee with total composure. "My son is perfectly healthy, Carmine. Which is why your little arrangement with Dr. Crane and Elena failed so miserably."
The laughter in the room stopped dead.
Don Carmine’s expression darkened. "I don't know what fairy tales your nurses are telling you, Bolaro. I called this meeting to discuss your illegal detention of Elena Rossi—a respected member of my family's social circle."
Lorenzo reached inside his leather coat.
Instantly, twelve handguns were drawn and cocked by Moretti’s men.
"Relax," Lorenzo said smoothly, pulling a small silver USB drive from his pocket and tossing it onto the center of the mahogany table. "Inside that drive are the audio recordings of Dr. Crane’s full confession, along with the bank records showing three million dollars transferred from Moretti Holdings to Crane’s offshore account in the Cayman Islands."
The other four crime bosses immediately reached for the drive, plugging it into a portable laptop sitting on the table. Within seconds, Dr. Crane’s frantic, groveling voice echoed through the ballroom speakers, admitting to poisoning Nico under Don Carmine’s direct orders.
The elder boss of the West Side syndicate, Don Vincente, stood up, slamming his heavy fist onto the table. "Carmine! You targeted a newborn child?! A blood heir?!"
"That is against the sacred law of the Commission!" another boss yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Moretti. "We do not touch wives, and we do not touch babies! You brought shame upon all of us!"
Don Carmine’s face turned purple with rage. Seeing his political support disintegrate in seconds, he slammed his glass down, shattering it against the wood.
"To hell with the Commission!" Don Carmine screamed. "Kill them all!"
Muzzle flashes exploded across the ballroom.
Lorenzo had already moved. The second Carmine gave the order, Lorenzo flipped the heavy mahogany table onto its side, creating an instant bulletproof barrier. Bullets splintered the thick wood above his head as his bodyguards opened fire, dropping three Moretti enforcers in quick succession.
"Move! To the rear exit!" Lorenzo barked, pulling his own custom white-gold Kimber .45 pistol and firing two precise shots over the edge of the table, hitting Carmine’s chief enforcer squarely in the chest.
Chaos erupted throughout the hotel corridor. Automatic gunfire shattered the crystal chandeliers, sending showers of glass down on the screaming mobsters. Lorenzo pushed through the smoke and fire, his mind racing not with the battle around him, but with a sudden, terrifying realization.
Don Carmine hadn't looked surprised when Lorenzo produced the USB drive.
He had looked like a man waiting for a clock to strike.
Lorenzo pulled out his encrypted satellite phone, his fingers flying across the keypad as he sprinted down the fire escape toward his armored SUV.
"Marco! Pick up!" Lorenzo roared into the phone.
Static buzzed over the line, followed by the distant sound of heavy explosions echoing through the receiver.
"Boss!" Marco’s frantic voice screamed through the speaker over the deafening roar of automatic gunfire. "It’s an assault! They cut the main power! Three garbage trucks crashed through the front security gates! They're inside the house!"
Lorenzo’s heart leaped into his throat. "Nico! Where is Nico?!"
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"Nurse Ellis has him in the safe room on the third floor!" Marco yelled, the sound of a grenade blast shaking the audio feed. "We're falling back, but there are too many of them! They have tactical gear! Boss, they came for the baby!"
"I’m five minutes away!" Lorenzo screamed, diving into the back seat of his armored SUV as his driver slammed the accelerator, tires screaming against the wet asphalt. "Tell Maya if anyone touches that door... blow the whole floor to hell!"
