The hospital continued to operate like a well-oiled machine, with staff moving through hallways illuminated by the cold glow of fluorescent lights.Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the hospital's routine.But for Katherine, a young nurse in her second year of service, the air had become heavy, almost unbreathable.Her heart pounded in her chest, her hands trembled, and her mind replayed the scene she had unintentionally witnessed over and over again.From her station at the nurses' desk, she had seen two men pushing a stretcher covered with a white sheet. It wouldn't have been unusual in a hospital… if it weren’t for the fact that she recognized the woman's shoes beneath the fabric.They were high heels—expensive, designer shoes, far too elegant to belong to just any patient.The woman under that sheet was Isabela Moretti. She realized it the moment she saw those shoes, as she had always admired Mrs. Moretti's eleg
The adrenaline of the moment started to fade, and Alejandro's body began to feel the symptoms of his recklessness.— Alejandro... love, are you okay?Isabela noticed the paleness in her husband's face despite the darkness in the car and the faint light filtering through the windows.— Boss, are you all right? — asked Ramiro.Alejandro remained silent.So, Isabela turned to him to embrace him, and unintentionally, her hand brushed against his wounded side, feeling a warm dampness seeping inside his trench coat.Looking at him in astonishment and concern, she exclaimed:— You're bleeding!— Ramiro, we need to get back to the hospital immediately! — Isabela ordered.Alejandro resisted the pain, keeping himself upright—an injured lion was still a proud and strong lion.The tension and worry filled the car.The two SUVs that had accompanied them for most of the trip to the ho
The morning sun filtered through the hospital room curtains, casting a soft light on Alejandro Moretti's face.His calm breathing and serene expression showed no traces of pain or the exhaustion from the previous night.Isabela was by his side, still holding his hand. She had fallen asleep there, unwilling to go rest in her room despite Miguel's insistence.When Alejandro opened his eyes, he looked at her with tenderness and concern upon noticing her tired face. She hadn’t let go of his hand all night.With a slight movement, Alejandro stroked her well-groomed hair.Isabela half-opened her eyes and looked at him with a small smile.—Good morning, my queen —he murmured in a hoarse voice.Isabela leaned in and placed a kiss on his forehead.—Good morning, my love. How do you feel?—I've had better days —he joked, but when he tried to sit up, a groan escaped his lips.—Don’t move too muc
The soft purring of the air ambulance's engines was almost hypnotic. From the stretcher, Alejandro watched the sky through the windows—an endless blue sky that seemed to promise the end of a bad chapter in his life and the beginning of a new one in his homeland. The sky was a magnificent spectacle that captured everyone’s attention, except Alejandro’s. What captured his attention were the small hands of his children intertwined with his. Mateo and Lucía had boarded the helicopter excitedly, their eyes shining with the thrill of going home. — "Daddy!" — Lucía exclaimed, sitting beside him. Katherine and Miguel tried to stop her, but Alejandro just laughed and caught her in an embrace. — "It's okay, let her be. I missed holding my princess." — he said, hugging his daughter tighter with his free arm. Lucía rested her head on Aleja
The roar of the engines of Damián Barragán's private jet echoed like a signal of power in the starry sky.His hatred for Isabela had driven him to board the plane with the intention of getting to the Aeroporto di Olbia-Costa Smeralda faster. In the city of Olbia, on the island of Sardinia.His movements were calculated, and the plan against the Moretti family had no flaws. He knew exactly the route the air ambulance carrying Alejandro Moretti and his family would take.Everything seemed perfect, but something still didn't sit right with him. The Morettis were no ordinary enemies, they were the head of a powerful organization, and Alejandro was known for his cunning and for staying one step ahead of death.The fact that he had survived being mortally wounded said a lot about Alejandro Moretti, and the way his wife had anticipated the attacks from his enemies made her a woman of danger.That was something he co
Everyone felt overwhelmed, not only by the number of armed people around them but also by the invisible presence of an enemy in the sky.The one most eager to leave Portugal was Alejandro. From his secure phone, he had already ordered a large sum of money to be transferred to the generals and all the immediate personnel handling his security and the private jet.Katherine, his nurse, helped him board the plane along with Isabela. Once he was placed in a seat reclined to resemble a stretcher, Isabela took care of the children, who couldn’t understand what was happening or why they were on another plane.Security was at its highest level, yet Alejandro's instincts told him they were still not safe.He and his family needed to get out of there as quickly as possible to reach Costa Esmeralda.Isabela looked at the children, who were beginning to grow restless.Lucía stared at the plane’s lights through the window, while Mat
The control tower at Santa María Airport had given landing clearance to the private jet with apparent cold calm. But inside, adrenaline made their hearts race like lightning striking the ground. — "What do we do, Commander?" —asked the air traffic controller. — "The usual. Nothing happened here." — "And if they ask questions?" —the operator insisted. — "About what?" —The Commander scanned them with his eyes—. "You don’t know anything… No one here has seen or heard anything!" —His energetic tone left no room for doubt. Nodding, they all returned to their posts, focused on the aircraft’s landing. The roar of the engines of Damián Barragán’s private jet tore through the night like thunder heralding a storm. The landing lights illuminated the Santa María airport runway, sliding over the deserted asphalt as if searching for something… or someone.
Isabela gripped her phone tightly as the sound of the military jet's engine roared in the background. She knew that this call could be her last chance to ensure the safety of her family.Her heart raced, but her voice remained steady and authoritative.— Isabela? —Melina's voice on the line sounded incredulous, but she didn't hesitate to recognize her.— Melina, I need your help. Immediately.There was a brief silence on the line, only interrupted by a sigh from the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs.— Tell me what you need, and I'll make it happen.Isabela closed her eyes for a moment, weighing her words. She couldn’t afford any mistakes or beating around the bush.— I have a military private jet leaving Portugal with an uncertain destination. I can’t make it to Costa Esmeralda; Damián Barragán is on our tail. I need to land in Greece, without being detected by commercial radars or international agencies.
Moretti Mansion — 10:45 p.m.The sound of the engines fading away left an echo that refused to die. The flashing lights of the police vehicles still danced in the reflection of the windows, like a reminder of the unreal.A dense, suffocating stillness filled the entire house.Isabela slowly descended the marble staircase. The heel of her sandals echoed hollowly, funereally. She stopped on the last step, her gaze lost in the now-closed gate. The air seemed to weigh tons.—They took him... —she whispered, more to herself than to the servants and guards who pretended not to breathe behind the columns.She let the glass in her hand fall. There was no shatter. The crystal rolled and clinked softly, as if it too knew better than to break the silence.Then, the unthinkable happened.A dry, savage roar burst from her chest. She ripped off her silk coat and threw it to the ground. She stormed into the house as if h
The city trembled under the constant rain, as if trying to wash away its own conscience. But for Vittorio Salvi, the water cleansed nothing. Each drop was a reminder of his failure, of the impunity that rose with the face of a king and the perfume of a queen.Salvi’s office, usually a mess of papers and spilled coffee, had been transformed into a kind of war room. On the corkboard, photos pinned with red tacks drew lines toward names, locations, front businesses, legal aliases and street nicknames.Alejandro Moretti was at the center, of course, but the real challenge was the figure holding everything from the shadows: Isabela Moretti. But she was clean and untouchable.Salvi didn’t say it to anyone, but he had begun to fear her more than Alejandro himself.— That damn woman has steel teeth and lava in her veins instead of blood. Alejandro’s luckier than he thinks to have her as a wife…— I’d like to think my wife woul
The rain fell without strength, but with persistence, as if the sky refused to let the day dawn in peace.In an old shed on the outskirts of the city, hidden under a false name and documents bought with the urgency of fear, Ramiro tried to sleep with a pistol under his pillow and his conscience devouring his soul.He had done the unthinkable.He had talked.He had signed papers, handed over documents.He had sold out Alejandro Moretti.His former boss.The man to whom he had sworn loyalty.Now, he hoped the law would protect him from what was coming next.But the law didn’t know the whole picture.Alejandro Moretti wasn’t alone.A soft knock on the door made him sit up abruptly.Three knocks. Then silence.—“Who is it?” he shouted, his voice rough.—“It’s me, brother.” The voice on the other side of the door was warm. Familiar.Ramiro breathed out, approached the door w
Isabela’s kisses had calmed, for a moment, the whirlwind of thoughts assaulting his soul.Alejandro had always prided himself on staying one step ahead of his enemies, but he had never imagined the enemy would be living under his own roof.That he had unknowingly opened the doors of his home—and his heart—to him.Alejandro valued Ramiro. He considered him his greatest ally, a friend.— This damn business destroys loyalties and affections — he murmured to himself.Looking at Isabela sleeping beside him, Alejandro felt a hollow in his stomach.The room was dimly lit, illuminated only by the faint glow of the moon seeping through the linen curtains.Isabela slept deeply, wrapped in white sheets, her serene expression contrasting with the storm Alejandro carried inside.He had loved her body with desperation, like someone clinging to a last breath before drowning.But neither her skin, nor he
Villa Moretti woke up under an overcast sky. The sea, which usually roared with poetic strength, seemed unusually silent that morning. As if it too sensed that something ominous was coming.Alejandro had been awake since before dawn. He hadn’t slept well since Salvi’s name reappeared on his radar.He checked every message, every email, every file, as if he could catch a ghost before it slipped through his walls.Sitting in front of the large window in his study, his eyes were fixed on the fog over the cliff. In his lap, the Protocollo Nero dossier lay open.A map of connections, allies, enemies, possible traitors, and dormant accounts in tax havens. Each page, a piece of his empire. Each red mark, a target.—Did you get any sleep? —asked Isabela, walking in with a silk coat and her hair still damp.Alejandro closed the dossier and slid it back into the safe.—Sleep is for those without enemies at cour
The Moretti villa in Costa Esmeralda looked like something out of a painting. The sea crashed elegantly against the cliffs, bougainvillea hung from the balconies, and the Italian sun bathed the stone façade as if blessing every inch of the property.But Alejandro didn’t trust perfect places. Nor did he trust weeks that were too quiet. His instinct told him he couldn’t rely on the apparent calm. An enemy could appear from anywhere.Since his return to Italy, he had followed the protocol: reappear as a businessman, cleanse his image in society through charity events, discreet visits to his lawyers, and zero contact with the past.A resurrected ghost in Italian suits and diplomatic manners.And yet, something felt… off. Something in the air unsettled him, as if the wind was warning of a storm, even though the sun reigned high in the sky.—"What’s worrying you, Alejandro?"—Isabela asked, approaching him as he stood on the
The journey back to Italy was as pleasant as it was safe.On a private jet, Alejandro and his family returned without setbacks, leaving behind Greece and a person they had grown to appreciate very much.Miguel.He had decided to stay in Greece with his woman, who was expecting his child.At first, Alejandro didn’t like the idea. Miguel had served him since he was very young, loyally by his side for years.But convinced by Isabela, Alejandro let Miguel go so he could marry Katherine, his former nurse, and start his family in Greece.Miguel would not serve Nikos; his loyalty was only to Alejandro.Melina, at her son Nikos’s request, got him a job at the Italian embassy. Miguel was now an honorable citizen with no criminal past.Grateful to Melina, Isabela left a friend behind—free from the hell she herself wished to escape.While Alejandro and his family arrived at their mansion in Cos
The sun slowly descended over the Greek horizon, tinting the columns of the Mikelos mansion in gold, as if time wished to linger a few more sacred seconds in that twilight moment.Isabela sat on the upper terrace, the one that opened directly to the Aegean Sea, where the sea breeze carried echoes of her childhood among ruins, bougainvilleas, and memories that hurt and caressed all at once.The air smelled of jasmine and hot stone, of history and broken promises. Her father’s mansion stood tall, surrounded by vineyards that stretched across the hills, as if the past tried to hold her tight.And yet, despite being surrounded by people who had watched her grow and appreciated her, despite her last name and her story, Isabela no longer felt at home—she felt like a guest in that enormous mansion.Her brother Nikos laughed in the music room, accompanied by his fiancée and by Alejandro and his children, Mateo and sweet little Lucía.
In the discussion between the Mikelos sisters, there was an involuntary witness. Nikos.He hadn't meant to overhear, he had returned to the mansion with the intention of talking to Isabela and asking her some questions.His fiancée was in agreement. She was having a good time with Isabela's children. Nikos's fiancée was a school teacher, she loved children and found Mateo and Lucía fascinating.Although he heard everything, he didn't mention a word to anyone about what he'd overheard.That night, he dined with Alejandro, whom he liked very much, and the entire Moretti family. Fífi was not invited to the dinner.The morning light broke through the windows of the house, tinting the linen curtains in golden tones.Nikos had woken up early and was watching the sea horizon from his room. His fiancée was still asleep, but he had spent the night awake, torn between the ghosts of the past and the urgent need to act.Hi