Chapter 3

When I finally came to, a group of private doctors was gathered around my bed. I tried to sit up, but one of them pushed me back onto the bed, saying, "You need to rest, Donna Russo."

Then, she moved deftly as she examined me. "If you had stayed in the water for another hour, you would have frozen to death. You're running a high fever. Do you feel any other pain or discomfort?"

"What about my baby?" I rasped.

The doctor's hands froze. "Your baby… didn't make it."

In a flash, my mind went blank. Her lips moved, but I couldn't hear a single thing. The words "didn't make it" echoed in my mind, each time hitting harder than before.

I threw the blanket aside and stumbled toward the door. The IV tore from my arm, blood streaming down the back of my hand.

"Donna Russo, you can't leave yet!"

Almost immediately, the soldati blocked the door and refused to budge. One of them said, "Don Russo ordered that you can't leave the estate until Ms. Conti's surgery is over."

I stared at the same soldati who once took orders only from me. Yet, now, they were standing in my way.

I let out a bitter chuckle. To protect Rosa, Salvatore didn't even know he had a child.

I dug my nails into my palms. A beat later, I dialed his number in front of everyone.

"Salvatore, I'm going to buy a burial plot for our child."

There was a brief silence on the line before he finally spoke, his voice soft. "Don't do this, principessa. We don't have a child. If you want me to believe you, at least come up with a more convincing lie.

"I can't let you go. We both know that the moment you walk out that door, Rosa won't live to see another day."

Everyone in the underworld knew I always settled the score.

At the door, the soldati's expressions hardened. They even leveled their guns at me. "Donna Russo, don't make this harder than it has to be."

I trembled as I yanked the heavy family signet ring from around my neck. I held it high and barked, "You all recognize this, don't you? Stand down!"

Small as it was, the signet ring carried the authority of generations of Dons. To see it was to face the Don himself. Hence, no one dared disobey.

Clutching the ring tightly, I walked toward the door, step by step.

Uncertainty flickered across the soldati's faces before they finally lowered their weapons and stepped aside.

…

At the gates of the estate, a black SUV stopped in front of me. The window rolled down, and the moment I saw it was one of my men, every ounce of strength drained from me. I collapsed onto the seat.

My assistant, Carlo Rossi, helped me into the backseat. Then, he tucked a blanket over me and asked, "Are we going to San Lorenzo Cemetery?"

That was where my father was buried. Over the years, I'd go there to talk to him whenever I was upset. And Salvatore always came to be with me.

But I never imagined that same cemetery would soon hold a headstone for my unborn child.

Before I could answer, a black armored vehicle swerved out from the side, cutting us off and forcing our car to stop. In an instant, black smoke billowed from under the hood.

Just then, Salvatore opened his car door and strode toward us.

"Principessa, get out of the car."

His voice came muffled through the glass, faint and distant. "You're still burning up. You need treatment. I've arranged for the best hospital. Come with me now. But your man stays here."

My head pounded. He was the one who had chosen to save Rosa and leave me in that freezing sea. He was the one who refused to believe I had carried his child. And now, he wanted to put on this show of affection in front of me?

Did he think I'd forgive him no matter what just because I loved him too openly?

"He's wrecked the car," Carlo said with a frown. "But Donna Russo, if you want to leave, I'll protect you with my life."

"Don't." I shook my head and opened the door.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I wiped them away with the back of my hand. "I'll go. I want to see just how far he's willing to go for Rosa."

…

Even after we arrived at the new hospital, it still felt like I was trapped in a nightmare.

Several attendants stood watch by my bed. The equipment was all state-of-the-art, and the blanket was impossibly soft.

But through the thin wall, Salvatore's gentle voice drifted in.

"Rosa, the doctor said your old wounds were properly treated. There's no risk of infection. You're going to be fine."

Rosa's voice choked with sobs as she replied, "Salvatore, Arianna only has a fever. But I was whipped until my body was covered in scars, and I nearly died. All because of you."

Salvatore was silent for a moment, then sighed. "You've suffered enough. Once you've recovered, I'll take you home.

"The Moretti family is under my control now. If Arianna behaves and doesn't come after you, she can still keep her title."

His voice dropped lower. "But if she doesn't…"

I couldn't hear the rest, but I didn't have to. I knew exactly what he meant.

I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, tears soaking my pillow. It was almost laughable. Bullets had never made me cry, but Salvatore did.

As the tears dried on my skin, I swore it would be the last time I ever cried for him.