Chapter 2

Gianna's POV

I forced myself to remain calm, swallowing the nausea rising in my throat. The bitter taste of bile coated my tongue, but I did my level best to keep my facial expression schooled. After inhaling and exhaling, I tightened my fingers around the box containing the so-called cold medicine that Enzo had asked for.

Pressing my lips together, I grabbed it and walked towards him, making sure not to let anything slip or tip him off.

Enzo was now leaned against the hospital bed, with his shirt unbuttoned, and Lena clinging to him like a second skin. Another wave of nausea rose at the back of my throat as she ran her fingers over his abs, but I got a grip on myself.

The duo laughed, and it did nothing but make me feel worse than ever. Beads of sweat lined my forehead and it didn't take me too long to realize that the AC was down again. This was Lena's doing, she always enjoyed making me feel miserable and the stifling heat was just one of her many ways.

“Here.” I extended the box towards Enzo. I kept my voice steady, despite the storm raging inside me.

His gaze on me disappeared the moment the box fit into his palm, and it made my heart break. Just as his fingers brushed against mine for a brief moment, he added. “Good girl.”

Disgust rolled around me as he flipped the lid open. Inside, a row of foil-wrapped condoms gleamed under the hospital’s dim light.

Someone giggled, a sultry number, and I figured it was Lena. I watched and burned in silent rage as she traced a perfectly manicured finger across Enzo's abs. Her touch slid lower and lower, before disappearing into the deep V of Enzo's pants.

He didn't even seem the least bothered about it. Instead, his eyes hooded over, and when Lena leaned in to whisper something in his ear, his grin widened the more.

I couldn't breathe, and I was this close to passing out. This was what they wanted. To see the blind girl crumble and break, but I wasn't going to give them that satisfaction.

With my face still schooled into an unreadable mask, I forced myself to look elsewhere. My gaze landed on the medication table, and I caught sight of one of the drugs being administered to me.

I stared at the bottle, my mind momentarily blank, until it hit me.

The name of the pharmaceutical company printed on it wasn't a real one. It was the same as Enzo's family company.

An icy chill slithered down my back immediately.

Enzo’s family owned the hospital no doubt,and it wasn't as clear as they made it seem, but this, this was just plain diabolical. It wasn't money laundering or corruption, it was far more worse, and it made my head spin.

Without warning, my mind drifted back to that fateful night that changed everything. The loud screeching of tires buzzed in my ears, and I could make out the faint metallic taste I'd come to hate. I still felt the darkness that consumed me, like it was yesterday, and I felt my heart drop to my feet.

Had I really gone blind because of the accident? Or something else?

No, no. I pushed the thought out of my mind immediately. I'd come too close, just to mess it up at the last minute.

For now, I just had to keep pretending.

No one had noticed that I was slowly regaining my eyesight, and it wasn't the least bit surprising. Enzo and Lena were too wrapped up in their own little world to pay me any mind.

It also didn't help that my medical checkups only happened every two weeks, and during the last one, no one expected me to recover. Lena barely did her job, she was always in Enzo's arms , either whispering in his ears or giggling like a school child on the weekend.

Enzo wasn't any different either. His so-called duty was only for show. All he ever did was to stop by, mutter a few words, and spend the rest of the day on his phone, while he waited for Lena.

The mere thought of it all was enough to have pain spreading through my chest, and it helped me make a decision.

I needed to leave, but deep down I knew it wasn't that simple.

They were all watching me. I knew for a fact Lena's tests, her suspicious glances and the way she flaunted her affair, were just ways of keeping me in check and figuring out if I was still blind or not.

I couldn't also push aside the fact that Enzo's family was dangerous. If I so much as made the wrong move, not only would my mother lose her treatment, I could lose my life too.

Simply put, my life depended on them. If I walked away, then the outcome would be disastrous.

I spent the rest of my days in pretense, hoping and praying that an opportunity would present itself. With each day that passed, my urge to escape increased, and just when I was beginning to lose hope, it happened.

There was a blackout at the hospital.

It had come unexpectedly, but to me it couldn't have happened at a better time.

Gasps echoed in the hallway, followed by the frantic beeping of machines switching to emergency power. Darkness seeped into the rooms, as the nurses barked orders. The order of the day was confusion as patients muttered in the hallway, while some screamed their lungs out.

Enzo and Lena didn't seem bothered about it. To them, the blackout was just another opportunity to sneak away. I didn't miss their hurried footsteps as they snuck out of my ward. Their hushed whispers were filled with excitement, and it took everything in me to not hurl a vase at them as they scrambled out.

The moment they were out of my room, I took my chance.

My heart drummed loudly in my chest as I slipped into the hallway. I wasn't used to the dark yet, as my eyes were still getting used to everything, but I couldn't wait.

If I didn't act now, I wasn't sure when my next opportunity would come.

Slowly and steadily, I navigated the halls, but the hospital's emergency lights did nothing but cast eerie shadows along the walls, and it only made my journey harder. My fingers trailed along the cold metal railings, as I inched closer and closer towards my mother's room.

After what seemed like forever, I finally arrived, and I pushed open the door.

My pulse hammered as I stepped inside. Immediately, the scent of antiseptic and lavender hit me in the nose and I just knew I was in the right place. Lavender was my mother's favorite scent, and I'd asked the nurses to always use it in her room, just so she could feel at home and comfortable.

I blinked back a couple of times, and slowly, my eyes adjusted to the room. The shapes became sharper than before and I was able to make out objects more clearly now.

She laid on her bed, her breaths shallow and serene, and I couldn't help but compare it to the chaos outside. She was in here, relaxed and totally unaware of what was going on outside.

I reached for her. The plan was to wake her gently and get her out of here, but the moment my fingers grazed her skin, I paled.

Something was wrong.

Someone was lying on the bed, but it wasn't my mother.

His chest was firm, and with his broad shoulders, there was no way this could be my mother.

Panic clawed at my throat, but before I could react, a deep voice rumbled in the darkness.

“Going somewhere, Bella?” his voice was smooth but edged with danger, and I just knew I was in trouble.