Her Last Night in the City Chapter 05

As it turned out, Elena Volkov was not doing well. Not by a long shot.

“Why did you hurt my mom?” Luca looked up at Nico. “Give me one reason.”

“I’m sorry,” Nico said, his voice breaking. “I’m so sorry.”

“She kept your picture,” Luca said. “In her drawer, under her books. She’d look at it and cry.”

Nico’s vision blurred. “I don’t know what to say.”

“I used to ask her when you were coming back,” Luca went on. “She said you had your own family and we

shouldn’t bother you. So why were you hurting her?”

Nico had no answer. The guilt crushed him like a boulder.

A doctor came in. “Don Nico, your son’s room is ready. Surgery is scheduled for three days from now. We

need to run some tests.”

“Luca,” Nico said gently, “let’s get you settled first.”

“No! I want to stay with Mom!”

“The thing your mom wants most is for you to get better,” Nico said. “If you get well, she’ll be happy. If you

don’t, she’ll cry.”

Luca finally agreed.

After walking Luca to his room, Nico’s phone rang. The family attorney.

“Don, I looked into today’s situation. Ms. Reed didn’t arrive until midday. She couldn’t have taken the ring.”

Nico clenched his jaw. “Go on.”

“We also found the ring. It was in one of Ms. Volkov’s properties. She’s been seeing a developer from

Queens.”

Nico tightened his grip on the phone. “What else?”

“Footage from eight years ago shows Ms. Reed left with nothing. Those two days of footage disappeared

because Elena paid the head of security to delete the files.”

The betrayal hit Nico like a sledgehammer. Elena had framed Natalie from the very beginning. The supposed change of heart, the love story, all of it fabricated for money.

“Send me everything you have on Natalie,” Nico said.

The files loaded and he started scrolling.

Year one: Elena froze Natalie’s accounts. Natalie sold her jewelry, then her blood, just to rent a basement

apartment. She worked three jobs while carrying Luca on her back. Most of the money went to medical bills. Her shoes were always worn through. A neighbor gave her a few pairs of socks.

Year two: Luca was in and out of the hospital. Natalie took two more jobs. A pizza vendor stiffed her on wages. She fought back. They beat her and forced her to kneel and hand over the money. She knelt.

Later, she worked as a sparring partner for a boxer. She passed out once, took two aspirin, and showed up to wash dishes that same night.

Year eight: her clothes were all patched together. Every day, just bread and water. But she never quit.

Nico’s tears hit the screen. He couldn’t keep reading.

His phone buzzed. The attorney again. “Confirmed. Elena hired a cleaner tonight to stage an accident. Both Natalie and Luca are targets.”

The grief inside Nico turned to ice-cold rage in an instant.

“Elena,” he said quietly. “You really just touched my son?”

He drove home. Elena was waiting in the living room.

“Baby!” She rushed over. “How are Luca and Natalie?”

“Why do you ask?” Nico caught her wrist. “You wanted them dead, didn’t you?”