Chapter 2
Isabella
Elders clustered around card games, their animated arguments mixing with the rich aroma of espresso and fresh-baked bread.
I took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the women's meeting room.
"Rosa Martinez, welcome!" A silver-haired matron beamed at me. "Come, come! We're discussing proper nutrition during pregnancy."
I smiled as I settled into a chair, my hand instinctively moving to my now obviously rounded belly.
Three months—it had been three months since I'd fled the FBI recall and hidden myself within the Salvatore family's protection zone.
"Thank you, Lucia," I responded.
Lucia patted my hand, warm brown eyes filled with maternal love: "You're safe now. The men here know how to protect women and children. Especially the Salvatores—they never let mothers in this community come to harm."
My chest tightened. These kind women would never imagine that the "poor girl fleeing an abusive husband" they were comforting was actually an FBI agent carrying evidence that could destroy their entire family.
"My husband..." I let my voice tremble. "He was violent. When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I had to run."
Sympathetic sighs rippled around the circle.
A young mother squeezed my other hand: "Here, no one will hurt you. The Salvatore men will make sure of that."
I nodded gratefully, while my mind coldly analyzed the situation. This community's loyalty to the Salvatore family exceeded my expectations.
Evening at Bella Vista supermarket, I browsed the baby section, selecting tiny clothes. Pink dresses, blue jackets—I imagined holding my baby in a few months, my lips curving into an involuntary smile.
Suddenly, the hair on my neck stood up.
Years of FBI training instantly alerted me to malevolent surveillance. I continued shopping casually while scanning the area with peripheral vision.
A red-haired man stood three aisles away, pretending to read nutrition labels, but his gaze was locked on me.
O'Connor family.
My heart raced as I gripped my cross pendant. The evidence inside absolutely could not fall into O'Connor hands.
The redhead—Kieran—began slowly approaching, maintaining his casual shopping facade.
Just as I prepared to retreat, three young men suddenly appeared beside me.
"Miss, these baby clothes are adorable, aren't they?" A dark-haired youth named Dante smiled, subtly positioning himself between me and Kieran.
The other two—Leo and Sal—quickly spread out, forming a protective circle.
I recognized them. Young Salvatore family members who normally handled community security patrols.
Kieran sensed trouble and stopped advancing.
Dante turned to face Kieran, his smile vanishing instantly: "Hey, Irish boy, this neighborhood doesn't welcome your kind."
"Just shopping, relax." Kieran smirked back, but his hand moved toward his jacket.
Leo stepped closer menacingly: "Shop somewhere else. Now."
Danger crackled in the air. I could see that if Kieran made any wrong move, these three would strike immediately.
Kieran assessed the situation. Starting a fight on Salvatore territory would trigger full-scale war. He cursed and reluctantly left.
Dante turned back, his smile returning: "Miss, you're safe now. In this community, we protect every mother and child."
I was profoundly shaken: "They're protecting me... even without knowing who I am."
11 PM in the Salvatore family headquarters basement.
Tony sat at his desk with only a table lamp illuminating stacks of documents. Organization charts and enemy analysis maps covered the walls.
"What did you find?" Tony asked his subordinate Vince as he entered.
"Boss, that accountant girl Isabella Torres disappeared." Vince placed a file down. "More importantly, we discovered some files missing from her work computer."
Tony's eyes narrowed. "What files?"
"Backup records of casino money laundering flows. Plus some politician payment receipts."
Tony's blood instantly froze. This evidence could destroy the entire family.
He asked, "Any trace of her?"
"Searched the whole city for three months, no leads. Like she vanished into thin air." Another subordinate Carlos shook his head.
Tony stood, pacing the room. Vincent's amnesia gave him the perfect opportunity to seize family control, but now there was a woman out there carrying deadly evidence—his greatest threat.
"Keep searching." Tony's voice was ominous. "She knows too much. With the Boss in his current state..."
He paused, ambition flashing in his eyes: "Maybe it's time for more clear-headed leadership."
Vince and Carlos exchanged glances. They both understood Tony's implication.
"Understood, Tony." Vince nodded. "We'll find her."
Tony sat back down, staring at the enemy analysis chart. He'd never imagine that the missing accountant was hiding in the very heart of the family's protection zone.
I sat in a rocking chair by my small apartment window, gently stroking my obviously rounded belly.
Warm folk songs drifted from a distant Italian restaurant, mixed with neighbors' laughter. This community radiated the warmth of home in the evening.
This was the first time in eighteen months of undercover work that I felt truly safe.
"Baby," I caressed my belly tenderly, "maybe this is our home. Your daddy may have forgotten us... but these people will protect us."
I imagined raising a child in this warm community. Teaching him Italian, letting him grow up in Lucia's arms, getting medical care at protected hospital...
But then rationality reasserted itself. I murmured, "Am I rationalizing this or have I really found belonging?"
I touched my cross pendant. The evidence inside still existed, capable of destroying this family that had given me warmth.
The contradiction tore at my heart.
I later discovered that while I was hiding in the Salvatore community, believing myself temporarily safe, a phone had buzzed in a black sedan parked outside Chicago General Hospital.
Kieran, Sean O'Connor's most dangerous enforcer, had answered on the second ring.
"Kieran."
"The accountant escaped from the hospital. Find her. She has something we need."
I learned afterward that Kieran had paused, scanning through hospital records on his tablet. "What about the Salvatore girl?"
"What Salvatore girl?"
"Hospital records show a pregnant woman was admitted with Vincent. Isabella Torres, listed as family emergency contact."
There had been silence on the line—the kind of deadly quiet that makes experienced killers nervous. Then Sean O'Connor's voice, cold as winter steel: "Kieran, I want that woman found. Tonight."
I only found out about this conversation weeks later, through intercepted communications. At that moment, I was completely unaware that the hunt had begun in earnest.
What I also didn't know was that in his hospital room just floors above where I'd given birth, Vincent was staring out at the Chicago skyline, fighting against a strange ache in his chest he couldn't explain.
Marcus later told me that Vincent had turned to him and said, "The woman who saved me. Find her."
So while the O'Connors were hunting me with deadly intent, Vincent—without his memories but driven by something deeper—was searching for me too. Two hunts, two very different motivations, and I was caught between them without even knowing it.