Chapter 4

Dr. Conti was frantic by now, but he didn't dare defy my father.

"The hospital blood bank."

"Who's in charge of it?"

"Don, she doesn't have time for—"

"I asked who's in charge!"

Dr. Conti clenched his jaw.

"The supervisor on duty."

My father looked at my brother.

"Remember, the enemy has already breached our security once tonight.

"At a time like this, anything that comes near a member of this family gets checked first."

My brother stood there, slumped and looking like an empty shell.

"Dad, you're still trying to teach me a lesson? Even now?"

That only made my father angry.

"I'm trying to keep her safe!"

"What she needs right now is blood, Dad!"

"The estate keeps its own supply."

My father turned to one of his men.

"Go back and get it."

Dr. Conti stepped in front of him at once.

"That's a 40-minute round trip at least. She can't hold on that long."

My father frowned and waved him off impatiently.

"Tell them to drive faster. My daughter isn't that fragile."

"She might not even last ten minutes!"

My mother, Isabella Moretti, rushed into the clinic, having only just heard the news. Distraught, she grabbed my father by the front of his suit jacket.

"Vittorio, look at me. She's our daughter.

"She's suffered for Matteo all these years. Don't put her through any more!"

My father coldly pulled her hands away.

"It's because she's my daughter that I have to teach the future Don of the Moretti family how to protect her.

"And she needs to understand that for a Moretti princess, getting hurt comes with the territory. The sooner she gets used to it, the better."

Dr. Conti had gone white with panic.

"Every bag of blood is numbered and tested. We have a complete record for each one!

"The men who died on the south road tonight had our own radios on them too. Please, you don't have to worry."

But my father wouldn't hear it.

"I'm not taking that risk."

My eyes stayed closed. I was drifting further and further away.

Suddenly my brother stepped in front of my father.

"Use the hospital's blood."

"Move."

"I said use it!"

My father turned to face him, his expression hard.

"Are you giving me an order?"

My brother slowly clenched his fists.

"If I'm the heir you picked, then let me make one decision."

The hallway went quiet. My father stared at him, clearly displeased. A long moment passed before he gave in.

"Fine."

My brother was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.

Then my father went right back to lecturing.

"But remember this.

"If someone really has tampered with this blood, Elena's the one who dies."

My brother took one look at my father's calm, certain expression and went pale.

Matteo turned to look at me.

In that moment, I knew he'd lost his nerve. My father's arrogance had rattled him.

My father saw him hesitate, and his expression softened.

"That's what I'm trying to teach you.

"Someone else pays for every decision a Don makes."

My brother lowered his head and didn't say another word.

My father turned and gave his final order. "We wait for our own blood."

Suddenly the monitor started shrieking. Dr. Conti rushed back to my side.

"Her blood pressure's still dropping!"

My mother grabbed my hand.

"Elena, look at Mom. Stay awake."

I wanted to hold on to her, but my fingers had no strength left.

I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't.

At last, hurried footsteps sounded outside.

"Don! The blood's here!"

My father took the cooler.

"You checked where it came from?"

"We checked."

"Good."

He turned to my brother.

"Remember today. It's always better to be safe than sorry—"

A long, flat tone sounded from the operating room and cut his lecture short.

Dr. Conti began trying to revive me.

My mother was sobbing my name as a nurse pulled her away.

My brother froze where he stood.

But suddenly, I couldn't feel the pain anymore.

When I opened my eyes again, I was floating above the operating room.

Finally, Dr. Conti pulled off his gloves.

"Record the time of death."

My father stood outside the door, the picture of confidence, still lecturing.

"Matteo.

"If you'd faced those kidnappers on your own today, your sister wouldn't have been so lucky.

"You've still got a lot to learn from me."

He was still talking as he pushed open the operating room door, as calm and sure of himself as ever.