LOGINThe facility gates were already locked down when I arrived. Security was tight… too tight for a place meant to heal, not cage. That’s when I saw them. Luca was standing a few feet from the gate, hands in his pockets, jaw tight. A lady was beside him, arms crossed, her eyes fixed on the building like she could will Nina awake through concrete walls. “They were not allowed in,” one of the guards said quietly behind me. “I know,” I replied. Luca noticed me first. His body stiffened instantly. Not with fear or anger. Readiness. Like he’d been waiting for this moment without knowing it. I had never seen her before. That was the part that hit me hardest. She didn’t look like Santoro. No sharp arrogance. No calculated stare. She looked… young. Worn. Like someone who’d been holding herself together with willpower alone. “This is Gia,” Luca said, briefly. So this was her. This was the girl Nina had risked everything for. Gia met my eyes. She didn’t flinch. Didn’t
ENZO’S POV It had been three days. Three days of seeing this machines breathing for her, staring at a chest that rose because something else told it to. Three days of learning how loud silence could be. “Just say it already, Bruno.” He stood by the window, hands clasped behind his back. He hadn’t slept either. I could tell. Bruno never hid exhaustion well… he just carried it like duty. “Sir,” he said carefully, “I need to go back to Milan. Something important. It’s… urgent.” I didn’t look at him. My eyes were still on the door to Nina’s room, like it might open if I watched hard enough. “Just go,” I said. “Brief Marco and the men before you leave.” Relief flickered across his face, quick and gone. “Thank you, sir.” He hesitated. “Sir…” I exhaled slowly. “What again, Bruno.” “Nonno has asked for you,” he said. “He demands to see you. Now.” “He can wait.” There was a pause. Then Bruno spoke again, softer this time. “Sir… I think it’s best you go. Then take so
LUCA's POV The house was too quiet when I walked in. Gia was already there. She stood up the second she saw me, phone still in her hand, worry written all over her face like she’d been holding it for hours. “I’ve been trying to reach you,” she said quickly. “Luca… what happened?” I dropped my keys on the table, the sound too loud in the silence. My chest felt tight, like my lungs had forgotten how to work properly. “I’m sorry,” I said. My voice cracked immediately. “Gia, I’m so sorry. I—” The words tangled in my mouth and refused to come out right. I dragged a hand through my hair, pacing once before stopping in front of her. “I don’t even know how to say this.” Her hands came up to my face, warm, groundi
I felt my chest heavier than before. “Push harder and don't stop until there is a sign,” I said. “Move” I added No one did. So I did. I placed my hand over the center of her chest, right where her heart should be beating. “I’m not done with you,” I whispered fiercely. “You don’t get to leave me. Not like this.” I broke her. And I will burn the world if she dies. I drove my fist down. Once and Hard. The sound was hollow. Like something cracking inside my own body. Someone gasped. For a second, then— A blip. Then Another. The monitor stuttered. “A pulse,” someone said, stunned. “We’ve got a pulse!” The room exploded into motion again. I drooped forward, forehead pressing to hers, and a broken laugh came out of my chest as tears finally spilled down my face. “There you are,” I whispered. “There you are… don’t ever do that to me again.” Hands gently but firmly pulled me back. “She’s back,” the doctor said urgently. “Move him out. Now.” They dragged m
“Stay with me,” I said again, my voice breaking openly now. “Please. Stay with me.” She didn’t answer. For a split second, the world tilted. That sharp, terrifying silence, the kind of silence that doesn’t just exist in your ears but creeps into your chest and starts crushing things. “Nina,” I said, louder now. “Nina, look at me please.” Nothing. My heart slammed so hard it hurt. “She’s still breathing,” Luca said quickly beside me, his voice tight, controlled in that way that meant he was barely holding it together. “Enzo. She’s still here.” Barely. I lifted my head, swallowing hard, forcing myself to focus. This wasn’t the time to fall apart. Falling apart was a luxury for men who weren’t carrying a bleeding woman in their arms. “Move,” I ordered. The car door was already open. Bruno was on the phone, speaking fast, clipped. “We’re five minutes out. Gunshot wound. Female. Severe blood loss.” He didn’t need to say her name. They should know. The underground
Enzo’s POV I shouldn’t have left her. The moment I stepped into the corridor, that truth lodged in my chest like shrapnel. Every instinct I had screamed to stay. To chain myself to the floor beside her if that’s what it took. But Luca needed cover, and time was bleeding out faster than we were. Gunfire echoed somewhere deeper in the compound. I moved on muscle memory alone, turn, fire, advance, cover. My body knew how to survive even when my mind refused to leave that room. Every second stretched too long. Every sound felt wrong. I took down two men in the hall. A third ran. The gunshot burst the night open. This wasn't close, it was from outside. Bruno. My head snapped up instinctively, every muscle going taut. The sound wasn’t wild it was a signal more than an attack. My men were in. Relief hit hard and fast, sharp enough to almost buckle me. We weren’t alone anymore. I turned toward Luca just as he was already moving. “That was Bruno,” I said. He nodded
“I said one week.” His voice was flat. Cold. No emotion.“No, Enzo.” I took a step toward him. “No more weeks. No more deals. No more of this. I’m done.”“The arrangements aren’t complete.”“I don’t care about the arrangements!” My voice rose. “I don’t care about Lorenzo or protection or any of it.
ENZO’s POV Virgin. She was a virgin. I… I had no idea. Made her fall apart. Been seconds away from— Cristo. I paced my room, hands fisted in my hair. The scent of her still clung to my sheets.
NINA’s POV I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. The conversation with Nico had helped. A little. But not enough to quiet the storm in my head. I closed my eyes. Tried to will myself to sleep. Then my phon
The day passed in a strange limbo. Dr. White checked on me every few hours. Maids brought meals I barely touched. Guards rotated shifts outside whatever room I occupied. And Enzo stayed away. I should have been relieved. Should have been grateful for the space. Instead, I felt his absence l







