Chapter 151

Maya’s POVI woke to the sound of steady beeping.For a moment, I didn’t know where I was. The ceiling above me was too white, the air too cold. Then the smell of antiseptic settled into my lungs and everything rushed back in a single, crushing wave.Hospital.Gunshot.Luca.I pushed myself upright on the narrow couch in the office room. My neck ached from the awkward angle I had slept in. From the intensity of the sunlight, I guessed it was already mid afternoonI stood up immediately and went to him, he looked like he hadn’t moved.The machines were still breathing for him. His chest rose and fell in a rhythm that wasn’t entirely his own.I moved closer to the bed and touched his hand. “Good morning,” I said softly.My voice sounded steadier than I felt.“You’re missing the sunrise,” I said, glancing toward the window. “It’s quiet. You’d like it.”He didn’t stir, not even a flicker of his eyelids. I brushed my fingers over his knuckles, careful of the IV lines taped to his skin.“Yo

Chapter 152

Maya’s POVTwo days had passed.It's been two full days of machines breathing for him.Two days of waking up in the middle of the night because I thought I heard my phone ring.Two days of pretending in front of Nico that I wasn’t unraveling.By the third morning, the hospital no longer felt unfamiliar. It felt like a second address.When we turned into the hospital road, I saw them.Cameras.Vans with satellite dishes.Reporters clustered near the main entrance like birds circling something wounded.My stomach tightened.“They found out,” Nico said quietly from the back seat.“Yes,” I said.Security had warned us earlier. The statement Rod made had been enough to spark interest. “Private security incident” was apparently more attractive than honesty.We didn’t use the main gate.The car curved around to the back entrance where two guards were already waiting. They opened the doors quickly and shielded us as we stepped out.“Keep your head down, ma’am,” one of them said.Flashes still

Chapter 153

Maya’s POVEveryone remained in their positions for a while just staring at the stranger who called himself Damien.The kitchen still smelled of garlic and simmering tomatoes, but the warmth had shifted. It felt thinner now, strained.Damien stood there like he belonged there, like it was his right to remain in the house.I studied his face more carefully.The resemblance was subtle but undeniable. The same sharp cheekbones. The same steady, assessing gaze. But where Luca’s eyes held depth and restraint, Damien’s gleamed with something lighter. “He never mentioned you,” I said before I could stop myself.Damien’s brow arched slightly.“Oh?” he said smoothly. “That hurt me.”Nico frowned up at him.“I’ve never seen you,” Nico said bluntly.Damien’s gaze dropped to him, and his smile widened.“I travel,” he said. “Frequently.”“That doesn’t answer the question,” Tanya muttered.I shot her a brief glance, but I was thinking the same thing.“I’m going to call security,” I said quietly.D

Chapter 154

Maya’s POVThe music was too loud. It always began that way.Heavy bass shaking the walls. Coloured lights flashing through the entire club, cutting through smoke thick enough to choke on. The smell of sweat and alcohol and something metallic underneath it.I knew where I was, I was in the club. The same place I have been trying to forget.Hands grabbed at me again. Roughly.The floor felt cold beneath my knees. My wrists burned where they had been tied before. Laughter echoed around me, warped and distorted like it was underwater.“Look at her,” someone said.I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn’t obey. My heart beat so loudly I thought it might split my ribs.Then, gunshots and the doors burst open.I saw him.Luca.He stepped through the chaos like a saviour, His jaw tightened and his eyes blazed red.“Maya!” he shouted.I felt relief instantly, he moved to the men and began hitting them, fighting each one of them separately. He would hit their jaws and fall them down, soon all th

Chapter 155

Damien’s POVI have always been a morning person, it has become a habit.When you grow up fighting for scraps of attention in a house obsessed with legacy, you learned to wake before everyone else. To think before the noise begins. To plan before someone else did.The house was quiet when I stepped into the hallway.Luca had always preferred movements, meetings, calls, guards rotating shifts. Even in stillness, his homes carried luxury.I went down the staircase slowly, trailing my fingers along the polished railways. The craftsmanship was flawless. Imported wood. Custom design.Of course it was. Luca had always liked things done properly.The door opened into the living room, sunlight just beginning to stretch across the marble floors. The scale of the place was deliberate. Wealth that didn’t shout, but didn’t hide either.He had done well. Better than well.I walked through the rooms slowly, with my hands in my pockets, taking everything in. Art pieces mounted with careful spacing.

Chapter 156

The hospital room smelled faintly of antiseptic and something artificially clean.It was becoming familiar.I sat beside Luca’s bed, my fingers threaded carefully through his. His skin was warm, solid beneath mine, but there was no answering pressure.“I need your opinion,” I said softly.The monitor answered with its steady rhythm.“I let Damien stay.”Saying it aloud inside this room made it feel heavier.“I didn’t know what else to do,” I continued. “He said he came for you. James doesn’t trust him. I don’t know if I should.”I searched his face for any flicker. Any twitch.But there was nothing.“He looks like you,” I admitted quietly. “It’s unsettling.”The machines hummed around us.“I keep thinking about what you’d want,” I said. “You care about your family. Even when it hurts you.”My thumb brushed lightly across his knuckles.“If I made the wrong choice, you’re going to have to wake up and tell me.”The door clicked softly, and two doctors entered with a nurse trailing behind