EVELYN

I woke up in the hospital. Monitors were beeping, IVs were hooked up to both of my arms, my headache was overwhelming, and my entire body ached. I didn't know what was happening to me. I looked around the room, but I could only see the medical staff rushing frantically around me—everyone in a hurry, everyone agitated. As soon as I woke up, a doctor asked me:

"Miss Sterling, how are you feeling?"

"Doctor, what happened to me? I have a terrible migraine, and I feel extremely weak."

"I am sorry to tell you this, but you have been poisoned with an unknown substance that is severely attacking your immune system. If we do not find the antidote within 24 hours, you will die."

"I want to speak with my father. Is that possible?"

"Of course, he is right outside and can't wait to see you."

My father entered the room hurriedly, terrified, accompanied by Dante. Both looked pale, worried, and exhausted.

"My dear," my father said, "we are still searching for information about this poison, but nobody knows anything. Even Damian has no details yet. He will arrive here shortly to try and help us together with the specialists from his lab."

"Where is my phone?" I asked.

"Why?"

"I have a message there that I received from an unknown number."

Dante pulled the phone from his pocket and handed it to me.

The message was gone from the phone. And nobody could have deleted it because only I knew the password. At that moment, I truly panicked. If Damian didn't find an antidote within 24 hours, my situation would be dire. My father, together with Dante, reinforced the security at the hospital and around my room.

Dante came over to my side, took my hand, and spoke softly:

"When did you start feeling ill?"

"This morning, after I arrived at the company."

"What did you eat? Where were you besides the office? Who did you meet and interact with? Did you shake hands with anyone, or did someone serve you something?"

"No, none of that. I made myself a coffee in the kitchenette. I made it all by myself. Does anyone else at the firm have a similar condition?"

"No, everyone else is fine."

"Then it must have been something on your desk. Your phone or your laptop."

Damian arrived with his specialists and got right to work.

Dante leaned down gently toward my ear and murmured:

"I am leaving now. Please hold on until I return, amore mio. I'm telling you this now, even though it isn't the right time and this isn't how I wanted it to happen: I cannot and will not live without you. These past four years have been very difficult for me, but at least I could see you, even if I couldn't be by your side. But now, in this situation, I implore you: hold on until I come back to you!"

To everyone's surprise, he kissed my forehead and left.

I alternated between moments of wakefulness and sleep.

Dusk fell. Through the large bedroom window, I could see the reddish sunset. I could barely feel my body anymore. My head still ached, but I could think clearly. My father had fallen asleep in the armchair, so I sent him home. Damian came in, took another saliva sample, and left quickly. I was left alone.

I was on the verge of falling asleep again when the room door opened, and before I could even turn my head, it closed again. I couldn't see much in the dim light of the room. A dark figure approached the bed and bent over me. Two eyes as black as obsidian locked onto mine from up close. A wide grin appeared on the thick lips set upon his masked face. I tried to pull back, but my body wouldn't obey me. A rough hand touched my cheek and forehead. A baritone voice whispered to me:

"Hello, little kitten. I couldn't wait to smell you and touch you. Up close, you are exactly as I imagined. From now on, you are mine. Nothing and no one will ever take you away from me. I've been waiting for you for three years. Moretti will weep tears of blood for as long as he has left to live."

I froze. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, could barely breathe.

What dangerous game had I walked into? What had I done wrong? I tried to move again, but I couldn't.

"Calm down, little kitten, I will give you the antidote as soon as we reach a safe place. A long journey awaits us."

A covered gurney was brought into the room. The man picked me up in his arms as easily as if I were a feather, but just as he was about to place me on the gurney, a deadly voice stopped him:

"Cavalcante, put her down. Now."

"Moretti, she is mine now. You lost. If I don't leave with her right now, she will die."

"You will die. Right now, Cavalcante. You know I have no mercy."

POP! The sound of a gunshot echoed, and the man holding me absorbed the hit with a jolt and a low groan, but he didn't let go of me. Two powerful arms snatched and freed me. As Dante took me into his arms, Cavalcante fled through the open door, covered by two of his men before Dante's team could stop them. Holding me in his arms, Dante gave me an injection in my arm and another in my neck, after which everything went black...

When I woke up, it was night. I was in a room I didn't recognize. Next to the bed, asleep in an armchair, sat Dante. The pain was gone, and I could move slightly. I reached out toward Dante's hand, but a gasp of pain escaped my throat. Dante woke up instantly and rushed to my side.

"Welcome back, cara mia! How are you feeling?"

A rasp came out of my throat.

"Better," I said. "Where am I?"

"At my house. It's a very secure, fortified place—a place Cavalcante cannot enter. I didn't manage to kill him. I only destroyed his lab and his house, and I retrieved the only antidote for you. Well, I wounded him a little too, but he will recover and try again. I know him very well. For now, until I resolve this problem, we will live here together. No arguments. I know you can have security and everything you need at your home as well, but I am much more at peace knowing you are beside me. I hope you will agree to this."

I looked at him.

"Dante, nothing and no one will ever make me hide again. I will continue my life exactly as before. I will go to the firm, I will go out, I will do whatever I want without restrictions. I will stay in my own home. And if Cavalcante wants to come again, I'll be waiting for him. But first, I want to know everything about him. Can you tell me?"

"Of course, amore mio!"

Stay tuned! I'll be back in two days. I look forward to seeing you! I write for you!