I had watched Nova sleep for just a few minutes. We both let out a sigh of relief that the other hadn’t been thrown in jail.

“Here, you better take these.” She reached behind my mother’s back and pulled out the envelopes that I’d needed so badly. “The hospital might throw them away or lose them.”

“Joan told me what you did,” I said.

“When did you see her?”

“She was in the hospital lobby when I arrived after giving the police my statement. FYI Donald will live.” I rolled my eyes.

“Well, that’s good. You didn’t want to kill anyone.” She didn’t know what he’d said about my mother. Nova had no idea how much I wanted to kill him and Dante. Perhaps even I didn’t want to admit how much I wanted to kill them. But the law was involved now, so any dreams of vigilante justice were squashed. That was probably for the best as Nova had hinted.

“Joan had been quietly and stealthily collecting information on Dante since I was sent away. She’d made several attempts to talk with my mother, always hitting a brick wall because of Dante or Donald.” I told her how I was still able to access the accounts and shareholder information even after my incarceration. It was all due to Joan.

“She said she never trusted Dante.” I shook my head. “But what could she do? She needed her job. She didn’t want to cross him. So when Mom was being seen less and less she started keeping notes. You can’t make this kind of stuff up.”

“See? You had a guardian angel looking out for you after all.” Nova smiled so sweetly. The nurse had given her a set of scrubs to change into shortly after I arrived. She left and I stayed with my mother, holding her hand and praying she’d see me just one more time. I’d never been a religious man but I begged God to spare her. If I had to go back to jail I would. But I just wanted her to know the truth and know she’d raised me to be an honest, decent businessman like my father.

I squeezed my mother’s hand and, as if on cue, she squeezed it back. When I looked at her face, I could see her blue eyes clear and sad.

“Mom? Mommy?” I stuttered. She smiled and held my hand tightly. “Don’t say anything. You’ve been through so much. Just relax; these guys are going to get you fixed right up.”

“Alexander. I heard a voice. A woman’s voice and I followed it. It led me to you,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”

“Mom, please. Don’t wear yourself out,” I begged. Without thinking I reached for the remote to call a nurse. “You need to get better and then we’ll worry about apologies. Because I’ve got a long, long list of them.” I sniffled as my eyes filled with tears.

“No. You tried to tell me. I was a fool.”

“You were in love. And you were alone. We all do stupid things when we are in love, Mom. And when we are lonely we don’t always think things through.” I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. “But I’ve got something for you. I’ve got the papers that will nail Dante to the wall. He won’t get away with what he’s done. I promise.”

“You look just like your father.” She squeezed my hand again.

My mother smiled at me and I could tell she was struggling to stay awake. As if she hadn’t been in a daze for long enough.

“I’m going to get the doctor. Just sit tight. I’ll be right back.” I stood up and pulled the curtain aside. There were a couple of nurses at the station in the middle of the huge room and as I approached them, something moving out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. It was something odd to see in a hospital: a person being pulled into a room. As I approached the hallway, I heard hurried steps and mumbling before I peered around the corner. The door to the stairwell was slowly closing as I walked carefully toward it. Before I pulled the door open, I saw on the ground something that looked familiar. It was nothing more than a simple brown pouch with a strap half hanging off. It was Nova’s purse.

My stomach felt as if it had dropped to my feet. He had her again. Carefully, I crept up to the door and peered through the small, square window. I didn’t see anything. Holding my breath as I turned the doorknob, I waited for the latch to click. It sounded like a gong going off even though in reality it was just a small click. The door swooshed open silently and I leaned my head in to listen.

There was a flurry of whispers coming from down the steps. With my back pressed against the wall, I inched my way to the landing and looked. That was when I saw him.

Dante looked like he’d gone mad. His eyes were wide and his hair, usually so neat and slick, was pointing in several different directions. His hands were dirty and so was his suit. It was like he’d crawled through the sewers to get here.

“Where are those papers?” he hissed, holding one hand tightly around Nova’s waist and the other around her nose and mouth.

“Mom has it. She knows everything.” I didn’t raise my voice but instead took a step forward. “She’s awake and quite lucid. In fact, she’s already alerted the staff that you are a danger and to be apprehended if you show your face,” I lied. Bluffing was all I had. He might have had a gun or a knife. Hell, he might have found some dynamite and strapped it to himself. He looked crazed enough to do it. But I was hoping the notion of being trapped like an animal would be enough to get him to let Nova go.

“You sent me up the river, Dante, for what you’d done.” I took another step. “Did you think I was just going to forget about it? You showed me what you’d done to my mother. Did you think I would do nothing?” I smirked. “You were wrong.”

“I don’t care,” Dante countered back. “Who is going to believe you? You have a record. You’ve got your fingerprints on a gun. Donald will testify you broke into the house, and once I show the authorities the little display you two did in the garage, they’ll believe you were both in on a plan to steal your mother’s money.”

“It won’t work.” I took another step. “Mother is awake. She’s talking. And she’s got a lot to say. Plus, what about your own indiscretions? I’ll bet I can scare up a dozen maybe two dozen women who will testify you abused your authority. I’m sure you’ve heard about what happens to those guys in Hollywood who just look at a starlet the wrong way. You can’t win this.” I smiled.

Nova was clawing at Dante’s hand. He was holding her nose and her mouth. If I made any sudden move, he’d probably snap her neck.

“Let her go, and you and I can handle this like men. Even if you kill me, you’ll never make it out of this hospital. You’ll be in a cage for the rest of your life.

That was when it happened. The light behind Dante’s eyes seemed to flicker as if there was a short. He began to mumble to himself, tugging Nova in one direction as she fought and scratched at his hand. I took another step closer.

Nova’s eyes were bulging as she thrashed her head, finally pulling his hand away for long enough to gasp for a breath of air. But just when I thought she was going to scream for help, she sunk her teeth into Dante’s hand.

He howled with pain. Now it was his turn to try and get her to let go of him. He released her waist just as she pulled her head back, head-butting him right smack center in the nose and sending him reeling backward. His arms swooped in circles as he tried to grab hold of the railing, his fingers just brushing past them. Before either one of us could make a move, Dante had lost his footing, his right foot landing awkwardly on half a step below him, allowing gravity to pull him over the railing.

He plummeted past two landings to what was the boiler room at the bottom, his neck snapping upon impact.

Nova gasped as she ran into my arms. It didn’t take long for several orderlies to arrive, after having heard Dante’s cry of pain when Nova bit him. The police arrived and we told them the unbelievable story that had both of us shaking our heads in disbelief it actually happened.

Finally, we were back in my mother’s room. She was asleep again. The police had gone. The hospital emergency room had settled as best an emergency room could. I held Nova in my arms as I sat next her. We were hopeful Mom would be all right. Only time would tell. That was when Nova looked at me. I couldn’t resist and kissed her lips.

“It is over, Alex?”

“No, Nova. It’s just beginning.