004: No Place Left

ADRIANA’S POV

I shoved through the club’s back door and ran straight into the pouring rain without looking back. My heart hammered wildly as Alessandro’s cruel words replayed in my mind with every splash of my heels through puddles. The way he had stared at me with such hatred, the degrading offer to become his paid mistress, and the casual mention of his engagement to Vaelina, my stepsister.

The betrayal cut deeper than I expected. I raised my hand desperately and a cab finally stopped. I climbed in, soaked to the bone, and gave the driver the hospital address with a shaky voice.

My phone burned in my palm. I opened the message again even though I already knew what it said. Doctor Cassian had texted during the worst moment in that VIP room. Luca had taken a dangerous turn. His heart was struggling badly and they needed me there right away. Tears mixed with the rain on my face as the cab wove through dark streets.

I had gone back to this city for Alessandro, the only man who could save our son. Yet the moment I finally saw him, he looked at me like I was dirt beneath his shoes. How was I supposed to tell him about Luca now? How could I explain anything when he believed I had thrown away our love for power and another man’s bed?

The hospital lights appeared through the rain-streaked window. I paid the driver and rushed inside, my wet clothes clinging to my skin and leaving a trail on the floor. Nurses took one look at me and led me to the ICU waiting area. I paced the narrow corridor for what felt like hours, my arms wrapped tightly around myself, until Doctor Cassian finally came out. His expression told me everything before he spoke.

“Miss Rossi,” he said gently, guiding me to a quiet corner. “We managed to stabilize Luca again, but his hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is advancing quickly. The muscle thickening is restricting blood flow more than before. We need the biological father’s genetic profile and possible direct involvement for targeted treatment. Without that, we are running out of realistic options. Time is critical now.”

I nodded slowly, my throat closing up. “I understand. I’m still trying to reach him. I really am.”

The doctor squeezed my shoulder with sympathy before he walked away. I sank onto a hard plastic chair and stared at the white wall until it blurred. Alessandro’s steel-gray eyes haunted me. The disgust in his voice when he called me a whore still echoed. He wanted to punish me, to own me as revenge while he built a life with Vaelina. Yet that same man carried the only blood that might save Luca.

I sat there weighing every terrifying choice until the nurses assured me my son was resting as comfortably as possible for now. I needed dry clothes and something soft for Luca to eat when he woke. The thought of returning to our cramped apartment gave me enough strength to leave.

The cab ride back felt endless. When it finally stopped in front of my building, I paid quickly and stepped out into the heavy rain. My stomach dropped at the sight waiting for me. My landlord, Mr. Drew, and two other men were throwing our belongings out the front door into the street. Our clothes, Luca’s favorite stuffed bear, the few dishes we owned, everything landed in growing puddles.

“Stop!” I shouted, sprinting forward. Rain hammered down on me as I reached them. “What are you doing, Mr. Drew? I told you I would pay the rent in a couple of days. I explained about my son’s medical bills. You agreed to give me time.”

Mr. Drew barely spared me a glance. He kept tossing things out. A bag of Luca’s clothes hit the ground and water soaked through instantly. “I don’t want trouble with the man who owns this city,” he muttered. “Clear up your stuff and leave. My door's locked for you.”

Those words hit me like ice water. So this wasn’t about money, someone had ordered this. That means Roman must have found us. Panic clawed up my throat as I dropped to my knees in the rain and began gathering what I could. I stuffed wet clothes into a torn suitcase with shaking hands. Just when I thought the night couldn’t get any worse, here I am being evicted from my apartment with no other place to go.

A broken laugh escaped my lips, raw and hysterical, while tears poured down my face. The laughter grew louder and more desperate as I worked, mixing with sobs that wracked my entire body.

Everything I owned ruined was now in the street. The only two good things I had ever known, Alessandro and Luca, now felt like they would either destroy me or be ripped away. I laughed harder through the tears until my chest hurt, then zipped the ruined suitcase and dragged it behind me.

I had nowhere else to go. With the last of my energy I headed back toward the club. Marco still owed me money from tonight’s work, plus the triple pay to serve the VIP section. I would go ask for that money, I’ll explain about Luca and the eviction. Anything to buy us one more night.

I pushed through the back entrance dripping and desperate. Marco stood behind the bar counting cash under dim lights. He looked up and his face immediately closed off.

“Marco, please I need your help,” I said, my voice urgent. “Mr. Drew threw me out of my apartment and all my things are outside in the pouring rain. I have nowhere else to go right now, and you know my present struggle. I need the money for tonight and a little advance on my pay. I will work double shifts. I will do whatever you need.”

He shook his head before I finished speaking. “I’m sorry, Adriana. But from tonight you no longer work here. You have to clear out your locker and leave.”

The words knocked the air from my lungs. “Wait… what? Was it because of what happened in the VIP room? I didn’t start that. I need this job more than ever.”

“I don’t want trouble with the man who owns this city.” He repeated the exact phrase Mr. Drew had used and turned his back on me.

The same words. Cold understanding settled over me. Who the hell was tearing my life apart piece by piece to force my hand? Who owned the city? Was it Roman? Or was it… Alessandro? The realization made the broken laughter threaten to rise again. My world was collapsing from every side. Roman hunting me, Alessandro cornering me, and Luca fighting for every heartbeat in between. I stood frozen in the middle of the club with rain and tears still streaming down my face.

A deep, controlled voice spoke from behind me, calm and certain.

“Looks like the ground is crumbling faster than you expected.”

I spun around slowly. Alessandro stood just inside the entrance, rain droplets glistening on his black suit. His steel-gray eyes locked onto mine with quiet intensity. He took one measured step closer, voice low and steady.

“Now tell me something, Adriana. Are you ready to reconsider my offer?”