She Translated for a Lost Italian Tourist—Unaware the Mafia Boss Was Testing Her Loyalty

She Translated for a Lost Italian Tourist—Unaware the Mafia Boss Was Testing Her Loyalty

The morning subway car smelled like coffee, wet umbrelies, and too many people crammed into too small a space. Elena Martinez gripped the overhead rail as the train lurched through the tunnel beneath Chicago, her worn canvas messenger bag pressed against her side. Inside were textbooks she couldn't afford to replace, a laptop held together with duct tape, and the remains of a breakfast she'd split with her little brother before school. Twenty-six years old, two jobs, night classes at community college, and still barely making rent. This was her life now.

Had been for three years, ever since their mother's cancer treatment bills had consumed everything. The medical debt collectors didn't care that Elena was fluent in five languages or that she'd once had a scholarship to Northwestern. They only cared about the fifteen thousand dollars she still owed. She checked her phone. Seven forty-two.

She had eighteen minutes to get from the Red Line to the language center in the Loop where she taught morning ESL classes. After that, a four-hour gap before her evening shift translating at Cook County Hospital. Just enough time to grab food and study for her certification exam. The train stopped at Chicago Avenue. Elena squeezed through the opening doors onto the platform, joining the river of commuters flowing toward the exits.

That's when she heard it. "Scusi, per favore. Dov'è Michigan Avenue? " The voice cut through the crowd noise, Italian accent thick, the words tumbling out with genuine confusion.

Elena's feet slowed automatically, her brain switching tracks before she'd consciously decided to stop. An older man stood near the station map, gesturing helplessly at the transit poster. He wore an expensive wool coat, silver hair slightly disheveled, the look of someone who'd been wandering for a while. His hands trembled slightly as he pointed at different colored lines on the map, clearly overwhelmed. Elena knew she should keep walking.

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