The underground
Chapter 13
The Underground
Three weeks later, construction began.
Officially?
Queen Medical Center was expanding its storage facilities.
Unofficially?
An underground hospital was being built beneath downtown Chicago.
The difference mattered.
A lot.
?
Amara stood inside a hard hat and designer heels watching a small army of workers transform blueprints into reality.
The excavation alone was enormous.
Private surgical suites.
Recovery wards.
Independent generators.
Medical storage.
Secure elevators.
Everything hidden beneath the city.
Invisible.
Protected.
Perfect.
?
The realization pleased her.
Entirely too much.
?
Lorenzo noticed.
Of course he did.
?
"You love it."
?
Silence.
Immediate silence.
?
Amara looked at the construction site.
Then at him.
Then back at the construction site.
?
"No."
?
The lie was terrible.
Absolutely terrible.
?
Lorenzo laughed.
Immediately.
?
The traitor.
The complete traitor.
?
The mafia don stood beside her wearing a black overcoat.
No hard hat.
Because apparently safety regulations feared him too.
?
Interesting.
Very interesting.
?
The project manager approached.
Nervous.
Sweating.
Terrified.
?
Not because of Lorenzo.
Surprisingly.
?
Because of Amara.
?
"Dr. Queen?"
?
The man handed over updated plans.
?
Amara reviewed them.
Silently.
Carefully.
Dangerously.
?
Then frowned.
?
Immediately.
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The project manager visibly panicked.
?
Reasonably panicked.
?
"This wall."
?
She pointed.
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"It needs reinforcement."
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The man nodded rapidly.
?
"And this elevator."
?
Another point.
?
"Too slow."
?
More nodding.
?
"The emergency oxygen system."
?
Another point.
?
"Redesign it."
?
Silence.
?
The project manager looked exhausted.
?
The poor man had learned a difficult truth.
?
Perfectionists never stopped.
?
Ever.
?
Interesting.
Very interesting.
?
Lorenzo watched the exchange.
Amused.
?
Because somehow...
Amara had become the most feared person on the construction site.
?
Not through threats.
Not through intimidation.
?
Through standards.
?
The betrayal.
The competence betrayal.
Undefeated.
?
Several hours later, they retreated to her office.
?
The clinic above continued operating normally.
Patients arrived.
Doctors worked.
Nurses moved through hallways.
Life continued.
?
Nobody suspected what was being built beneath their feet.
?
Interesting.
Very interesting.
?
Amara sat behind her desk reviewing contracts.
?
Lorenzo occupied the chair across from her.
Again.
?
At this point she should've assigned him permanent seating.
?
The thought irritated her.
?
A little.
Maybe more than a little.
?
A knock interrupted the silence.
?
One of her nurses entered.
?
"Dr. Queen?"
?
Amara looked up.
?
"What?"
?
The nurse hesitated.
?
Then:
?
"There's a man asking for you."
?
Silence.
?
Immediate silence.
?
Lorenzo's expression changed.
Subtly.
Enough to matter.
?
Interesting.
Very interesting.
?
"Who?"
?
The nurse smiled.
?
"He says he's your boyfriend."
?
Silence.
Absolute silence.
?
The office froze.
?
The universe froze.
?
Reality itself paused.
?
Amara blinked.
Once.
Slowly.
?
Then:
?
"My what?"
?
The nurse looked confused.
?
"He said boyfriend."
?
Silence.
?
Lorenzo slowly leaned back.
?
Dangerously.
?
The room temperature dropped approximately fifteen degrees.
?
Interesting.
Very interesting.
?
Amara frowned.
?
"I don't have a boyfriend."
?
The nurse nodded.
?
"That's what I thought."
?
A pause.
Then:
?
"That's why security tackled him."
?
Silence.
Absolute silence.
?
Amara stood.
Immediately.
?
Lorenzo stood too.
Immediately.
?
The nurse took a strategic step backward.
?
Very smart.
?
Very, very smart.
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Five minutes later they reached the lobby.
?
Security surrounded a man lying face-first on the floor.
?
Interesting.
Very interesting.
?
The man looked familiar.
?
Unfortunately.
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Amara recognized him instantly.
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Marcus Hall.
?
Her ex.
?
The worst decision she'd ever made.
?
The realization ruined her entire afternoon.
Immediately.
?
Marcus spotted her.
?
Then smiled.
?
A terrible sign.
?
A very terrible sign.
?
"Amara!"
?
Silence.
Immediate silence.
?
The lobby collectively suffered.
?
Because the man sounded excited.
?
Which meant he didn't understand the situation.
?
At all.
?
Interesting.
Very interesting.
?
Marcus struggled upright.
?
Ignoring the security guards.
Ignoring common sense.
Ignoring survival instincts.
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The usual.
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"Baby—"
?
Silence.
Absolute silence.
?
The entire clinic froze.
?
Every nurse.
Every doctor.
Every patient.
Every security guard.
?
Even Lorenzo.
?
The mafia don didn't move.
?
Didn't speak.
?
Didn't blink.
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Which somehow made everything worse.
?
Much worse.
?
Amara stared at Marcus.
?
Then adjusted her glasses.
?
The movement was small.
Precise.
Dangerous.
?
Anyone who knew her would've fled.
Immediately.
?
Unfortunately...
Marcus knew absolutely nothing.
?
"Why are you here?"
?
The question came calmly.
?
Softly.
?
Professionally.
?
The way surgeons asked questions before delivering bad news.
?
Marcus smiled.
?
"I'm here to win you back."
?
Silence.
?
Absolute silence.
?
The lobby entered cardiac arrest.
?
Interesting.
Very interesting.
?
Because standing ten feet away...
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Lorenzo Vitale slowly smiled.
?
And for the first time since meeting him...
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Amara felt genuinely sorry for somebody.
End Chapter 13