INICIAR SESIÓNADRIANA’S POVI left Luca’s room with a lighter heart than I had carried in days. He had smiled when he saw me, asked for his father, then asked for another drawing pad, and drifted back toward sleep looking stronger than the morning before. The nurse at the station took my order for Alessandro’s food and promised it would reach the room within twenty minutes. I walked the quiet corridor back toward his door with the simple plan of sitting beside him until the tray arrived.Voices drifted through the half-open doorway before I reached it. Rocco’s low tone mixed with Alessandro’s sharper one. I stopped short of the threshold and stayed in the shadow of the wall, not meaning to eavesdrop at first, yet the words pulled me closer. “Boss, this is everything I could gather on the doctor, Cassian Vale,” Rocco said as rustled papers followed next. “His medical license, hospital records, and family history. On the surface he looks clean, a dedicated pediatric cardiologist with a solid reputat
ALESSANDRO’S POVThe minutes stretched longer than they should have. Adriana had said she would find food and return shortly, yet the corridor outside stayed empty and the quiet inside the room pressed against my ears. My gut had never lied to me. Something was wrong. I felt it the same way I felt a gun aimed at my back in a dark alley. I tore the tape from my arm and pulled the intravenous needle free. Blood beaded at the site, but I didn’t care. The heart monitor leads followed. A nurse standing near the door stepped forward at once. “Signore Orsini, you cannot remove those,” she said, fear dripping from her voice. “You are still recovering. Please return to the bed.”I rose to my full height and looked down at her. “Get the fuck out of my face if you still want you tongue in your mouth.” Color drained from her cheeks as she scrambled backward and fled the room without another word. The door swung shut behind her. I walked into the hallway on bare feet, hospital gown hanging open
ADRIANA’S POVI stood near the window and watched the change settle over Alessandro the moment Rocco spoke Cassian’s name. His jaw tightened. The warmth that had lingered after Garcia and Liora left instantly drained away, replaced by the cold focus I had seen on him in darker rooms and blood hunting situations. He said nothing at first. He only stared at the closed door as if the answer was already waiting on the other side. My mind began sorting through every person who had known the surgery schedule. I knew about his surgery, yet I had contacted no one outside these walls. Why would I? Rocco knew about it, and betrayal from him was unthinkable. The hospital staff knew, but they had no reason to connect me to the De Santis family and even less courage to risk the Orsini name. Alessandro’s security team lived by loyalty; snitching on their own boss would end them faster than any rival. Garcia and Liora had learned of the surgery only after the surgery, they had known because they co
ALESSANDRO’S POVI woke up with a jolt and found the room too quiet. The afternoon light had shifted across the floor, and the chair beside my bed sat empty. Adriana was gone, Rocco was gone, Garcia was gone. Only Liora was in the room, standing near the window as she scrolled through her phone. I instantly felt fear hit me harder than the residual pain in my chest. I pushed myself upright, ignoring the pull of the stitches. “Where is Adriana?” I asked, my voice dripping with panic. Liora looked up, her brows raised. “What?” “Where is Rosa?” I repeated, my voice rougher than I intended. She set the phone aside and gave me a patient look. “Relax, Aless. You were right here when she left with Mama to see Luca. They have not come back yet.” That was correct. I remembered they left together to the pediatric unit, I was awake before whatever that nurse gave me knocked me out cold. But still the absence stretched longer than it should have, and unease began to settle under my ribs. Th
ADRIANA’S POV“You.” That single word hung in the air like a blade. Garcia stared at me with pure contempt as fear locked my feet to the floor. I knew exactly why she looked at me that way. The memory rose without mercy and pulled me five years into the past.I had stood in her sitting room only days before the wedding to Roman De Santis. The Rossi and Orsini families had never approved of Alessandro and me. When our relationship became public they tried to force a separation, but we refused and continued dating in secret. Garcia had fought hardest against it, she was always approaching me because she could not move her stepson to break up with me. By the time I went to her that final time five years ago she had begun to soften, accepting that Alessandro found peace with me.But I destroyed that fragile acceptance with deliberate cruelty. I told her I had never loved him. I claimed I had used him for protection and status while my heart belonged to Roman. I said the wedding would fi
ALESSANDRO’S POVThe image of the scorched club and the painted message still burned behind my eyes as Rocco lowered the tablet. Anger coiled tight in my chest, sharp and familiar. The De Santis family had crossed a line that demanded blood in return. I had never been the kind of man who absorbed an insult and stayed quiet. Years ago weakness had cost me my father, but that version of me no longer existed.Adriana remained beside the bed, her hand still resting near mine. Her presence made the conversation I needed impossible. Rocco would never speak freely while she listened. I kept my expression neutral and waited. She studied my face for a long moment and seemed to understand. “I should check on Luca,” she said quietly. “Stay in bed, Alessandro. Do not do anything drastic.”“I will not leave this bed, Sunshine,” I answered with a smile.The promise tasted false even as I spoke it. She leaned in, brushed a soft kiss against my cheek, and left the room. The door closed behind her wi
ADRIANA’S POV My breath caught in my throat. Alessandro’s question hung between us like a challenge.“Tell me something, Rosa,” he murmured close to my ear. “How wet are you under your panties?”Heat rushed to my face. The ballroom seemed to disappear, the guests, the music, and the whispers. Ever
ALESSANDRO’S POVI strode down the dimly lit west wing corridor, my footsteps echoing against the marble like distant gunshots. The meeting with my capos had stretched well into the night, leaving a sour taste in my mouth that no amount of whiskey could wash away. “Don, the evidence is clear, Vale
ADRIANA’S POVI followed Alessandro out of the club on legs that felt like they belonged to someone else. The rain had slowed to a miserable drizzle, but my clothes remained cold and heavy, plastered against my skin like a second layer of shame. The words I had spoken earlier still echoed in my mi
ALESSANDRO’S POV“Looks like the ground is crumbling faster than you expected,” I said quietly, my voice echoing across the deserted space. “Now tell me, Adriana. Are you ready to reconsider my offer?”I watched her spin around in the middle of the empty club floor like a broken doll caught in a st







