Chapter 5 - The Fallout at Marconi Tower
By evening, the news had begun to ripple through the upper echelons of Chicago's financial and political districts, though not a single word of it would ever appear in the Chicago Tribune.
In the penthouse suite, the atmosphere was warm and peaceful. Mrs. Gable had prepared a lavish dinner of roasted chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, and honey-glazed carrots. Natalie sat at the large dining table, her mouth stained with gravy, swinging her legs happily as she told Mrs. Gable all about her new purple-laced sneakers.
Claire sat nearby, sipping a glass of iced water, watching her daughter with a look of wonder that still hadn't faded.
The private elevator chime sounded.
Levi stepped into the suite. He had changed out of his suit into a dark turtleneck and trousers, looking less like an underworld kingpin and more like an exhausted man returning from a long journey.
Natalie spotted him immediately. She hopped off her chair, ran across the Persian rug, and stopped a foot away, looking up at him with her big grey-blue eyes.
"Did the bad doctor go away?" she asked seriously.
Levi knelt down—just as he had in the muddy alley—and rested one hand on her shoulder.
"Yes, Natalie," Levi said, a faint, genuine smile touching his lips for the first time in years. "The bad doctor is gone. And he won't be bothering anyone ever again."
Natalie let out a long sigh of relief, as if a heavy weight had finally lifted from her small shoulders. "Good. Because my mom was worried we'd have to move back by the laundromat."
"You're not moving anywhere," Levi said, looking up as Claire walked over, her hands trembling slightly.
"Mr. Marconi..." Claire started, her voice catching. "I don't know how to thank you. Sal told us... he told us what happened today. You risked your life walking into that office."
"Your daughter risked her life first," Levi corrected gently, standing up to face her. "She stood in an alley in the freezing cold and warned a stranger because she knew it was right. In my world, that makes her braver than anyone on my payroll."
He reached into his pocket and placed a sleek, black-keyed leather folder on the dining table.
"Inside is the deed to a three-bedroom house in Naperville," Levi said quietly. "Along with a trust fund set up in Natalie’s name that will cover her education through university. You won't ever have to pick through hospital trash again, Claire. You have my word."
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Claire stared at the folder, tears streaming freely down her face. She didn't try to refuse it. She knew better than to argue with a man like Levi Marconi. Instead, she reached out and grasped his hand, her grip tight and fierce.
"Thank you," she whispered. "God bless you, Levi."
