Chapter 34
M y head feels like it's stuffed with cotton when I open my eyes. The ceiling above me spins slightly and I blink several times, trying to orient myself. The last thing I remember is Leo's face, his cold voice saying, "I killed our father."
"Melania."
Alessio's voice comes from off to my right. The mattress dips as he sits beside me, his weight familiar and grounding. When I turn my head the room tilts sickeningly, and I close my eyes again.
"What happened?" I whisper, my throat dry and scratchy.
His calloused fingers brush hair from my forehead, the touch gentle despite his lethal hands. "You collapsed after Leonardo told you about Antonio."
Fragments of memory flash through my mind—Leo holding the USB drive, his cold eyes, his confession, my knees giving way. I force my eyes open again, finding Alessio's face hovering above mine, brows drawn together in concern.
"How did I get here?" I ask, trying to sit up. My limbs feel impossibly heavy.
Alessio's hand presses lightly on my shoulder, keeping me down. "Easy, piccola . I carried you. Damiano's doctor gave you something to help you sleep."
"You drugged me?" The words come out slurred, confirming his statement.
"You were trembling so badly we couldn't calm you down." His thumb draws circles on my shoulder. "You went into shock. The doctor said it was essential that you rest."
I twist my mother's ring around my finger, the familiar motion anchoring me as the room continues to swim. "Leo killed him," I whisper, the reality of it hitting me again. "My father is dead."
Alessio nods, his expression unreadable. "Yes."
"I should feel something," I say, searching my heart for grief, for relief, for anything. "Why don't I feel anything?"
"The medication," he says, but we both know that's not the reality.
I reach for Alessio's hand, needing something solid to hold onto as my world continues to crumble. His fingers intertwine with mine immediately, his grip firm and steady.
"Where's Leo now?" I ask.
"Downstairs with Damiano. They're going through the drive."
I nod, trying to process everything through the fog in my mind. "The evidence... will it be enough?"
"More than enough," Alessio says. "Your brother was thorough."
I close my eyes again, feeling tears leak from the corners. Not for Antonio—I can't summon grief for the man he was—but for Leo, for what he must have felt when he discovered the truth, for what he was forced to become.
"Stay with me," I whisper, tightening my grip on Alessio's hand.
He leans down, pressing his lips to my forehead. "I'm not going anywhere, bella. Rest."
I drift into darkness, my mind receding beneath heavy waves of sedation. The edges of consciousness blur, and suddenly I'm somewhere else—a cold, sterile room with harsh fluorescent lights that make everything look sickly green.
People in hospital gowns huddle against walls, their faces hollow with terror. A woman with matted hair reaches for me, her eyes wild with desperation. "Please help us," she begs, tears streaming down her gaunt face. "They're coming back."
I try to speak, but no sound comes out. More faces appear—a teenage boy clutching his side where bandages are soaked through with blood, an elderly man rocking back and forth, mumbling prayers.
The scene shifts. My father and Raymond stand in what looks like a luxurious office, crystal glasses of amber liquid in their hands. They're laughing, the sound echoing unnaturally loud.
"The younger ones fetch the highest prices," Raymond says, his smile revealing too many teeth. "Especially the girls."
My father nods, raising his glass. "To profitable partnerships."
I try to scream, to run, but I'm frozen in place, forced to watch as they toast over people's lives.
The scene warps again. I'm alone in a dark corridor. Footsteps echo behind me—getting closer, faster. I finally find my legs and run, my heart pounding against my ribs.
"Melania," Raymond's voice slithers through the darkness. "Did you really think you could escape?"
I glance back and see him gaining on me, a scalpel glinting in his hand.
"Your kidneys will fetch a good price," he calls, his voice almost playful. "Such a healthy young specimen."
I run faster, my lungs burning, doors appearing and disappearing along the endless hallway. I grab one handle, then another—all locked.
Finally, a door gives way. I yank it open?—
I wake up screaming, my body jackknifing upright. Strong arms immediately envelop me, pulling me against a solid chest.
"I've got you," Alessio's voice cuts through my panic. "You're safe, piccola . You're safe."
My fingers clutch at his shirt, twisting the fabric as I gasp for air. My skin is slick with sweat, hair plastered to my face and neck.
"Raymond," I choke out, still half-trapped in the nightmare. "He was coming for me?—"
"He can't touch you," Alessio says fiercely, one hand cradling the back of my head. "I won't let him near you."
I press my face against his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat until my breathing slows. The room gradually comes back into focus—Alessio's bedroom at the Feretti estate, not the nightmare hospital corridor.
"I need to talk to Leo," I say when I can finally speak without my voice shaking. "Please. I need to see him."
Alessio pulls back slightly, studying my face. "Are you sure? You should rest more?—"
"I can't go back to sleep," I interrupt, the remnants of the nightmare still clinging to me. "Please, Alessio. I need to talk to my brother."
I study Melania's face, pale against the dark bedsheet. The sedative has worn off, leaving her eyes clear but haunted. Part of me wants to keep her here, safe and protected, but I know better than to deny her this.
"Okay," I concede, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Stay here. I'll get him."
She nods, twisting her mother's ring anxiously as I rise from the bed. I pause at the door, looking back at her small form propped against the pillows. Something fierce and possessive surges through me at the sight.
I make my way downstairs, my footsteps heavy. The house is quiet except for the low murmur of voices coming from Damiano's office. When I push open the door three heads turn toward me.
Leonardo sits at Damiano's desk, his tie loosened and sleeves rolled up. Dark circles shadow his eyes, making him look older than his twenty-five years. Matteo leans against the wall, while Damiano stands behind Leonardo, examining something on a laptop screen.
"She's awake," I announce, my voice cutting through the tense atmosphere. "She wants to see you."
Leonardo straightens immediately, his eyes—so like Melania's—fixing on me with intensity. "How is she?"
"Ruminating," I say simply. "The sedative's worn off."
Leonardo smooths a hand over his perfectly-styled hair, messing it up at last. "I shouldn't have told her so bluntly. I wasn't thinking clearly."
"None of us were," Damiano interjects, his voice carrying the weight of authority even in this moment of uncertainty.
I look at Matteo. "Take him upstairs to my room. She's waiting."
Matteo nods, pushing off the wall. "This way."
Leonardo hesitates, glancing at the scattered papers and the laptop. "The evidence?—"
"Will still be here," Damiano says firmly. "Your sister needs you now."
Something passes between them—an understanding that transcends the circumstances of their meeting. For all their differences, both men know what it means to bear the weight of family legacy.
Leonardo stands, squaring his shoulders as if preparing for battle. Before following Matteo he pauses beside me.
"Thank you," he says quietly, "for taking care of her."
I give him a single nod, watching as Matteo leads him from the room. When they're gone Damiano turns to me, his expression unreadable.
"Raymond Stone will come for both of them now," he says, not a question but a statement of fact.
My mind is already shifting to our next move. "That's why we need to act now. Raymond won't wait long."
Damiano's eyes darken. "Raymond's already lost his partner. He can't find him and Leonardo will say that he doesn't know where he is. He'll be desperate, unpredictable."
"Good," I growl. "Let him make mistakes."
"We'll spread the evidence worldwide within the next few hours," Damiano decides, his voice taking on the cold precision that's made him feared throughout the city.
"Noah's team is standing by. Major news outlets, law enforcement agencies, international organizations.
Once it's out there even Raymond's connections won't save him. "
I nod, already planning the security we'll need. "I want Matteo and Enzo with Melania while she works. Nobody gets within a hundred feet of her."
"And Leonardo?"
"He's a wild card," I admit, considering the man who executed his own father. "But he's her brother, and he chose her over Antonio. That counts for something."
Damiano studies me for a moment. "You trust her completely with this."
It's not a question, but I answer anyway. "With my life."
He holds my gaze, then nods once. "Then let's burn Raymond's world to the ground."