Chapter 5

Seven Years in Hell: Escaping the Don Chapter 05 

The moment consciousness returned, the freezing rush of water overwhelming my senses was gone. In its place was a steady, low hum. 

No maddening darkness of the water cell. No tearing agony of water flooding my lungs. 

I forced my eyes open. A cashmere blanket cocooned me, the EKG monitor beside the bed emitting a steady beep. 

The man in the plush leather seat across from me wasn’t a Moretti. It was Victor–head of my old North American syndicate, secretly summoned days ago via a burner stashed in my mattress. 

“You really brushed death this time, Boss.” Seeing me stir, Victor slid a steaming cup of tea toward me. His hardened features betrayed a mix of awe and lingering dread. 

“You won the bet. We intercepted your body bag at the estate morgue’s rear exit. As planned, we swapped you for a Jane Doe- shattered collarbone, face pulverized. The Moretti guards suspected nothing.”