Chapter Sixty-Four Ella
Chapter Sixty-Four
Ella
“Time of death, five twenty-two a.m.”
The words don’t make sense at first. They float in the air, detached, clinical, meant for someone else.
Not us.
Not him.
“No.”
The sound comes out of me thin and wrong, like it’s scraped its way up from somewhere too deep.
No.
I don’t scream it this time. I don’t have the breath. My chest locks, my lungs stuttering as if they’ve forgotten how to work. The room tilts, the floor rushing up too fast, and suddenly my legs aren’t there anymore.
Arms catch me.
Strong. Familiar.
Lex.
Another pair of hands is on my face, cool palms pressing gently against my cheeks.
“Ella. Look at me,” Rhia says, her voice close, steady, anchoring.
“Breathe with me. In… Out… That’s it. I’ve got you. Again…”
I try. God, I try. But my body doesn’t care what I want. Air rasps in and out of my lungs in short, panicked bursts, my heart hammering so hard it hurts. I clutch at my chest, convinced it’s about to split open.
Lex lifts me, mindful of my arm in the sling. The world blurs as we move, the harsh lights of the ICU fading into the softer glow of a waiting room. I’m lowered down, held upright, my face pressed into a solid chest that smells like soap and fabric and something grounding.
Rhia stays close, one hand firm between my shoulder blades, drawing soothing circles.
“I’m here,” she murmurs. “I’ve got you. You’re not falling.”
The sobs come then.
Ugly, wrenching, tearing out of me like something feral.
I don’t try to stop them. I don’t know how. I curl inward, folding against Lex as if I can disappear into him, as if hiding will undo what I just heard.
Hands continue to rub slow, steady circles down my back.
“Shhh,” Claudette whispers. “Shhh.”
Her voice cuts through the noise.
I lift my head, my vision swimming, and look at her kneeling in front of me. Her face is soft. Calm in a way that feels cruel.
“You… you said,” I choke, the words snagging on tears, “you said… it would… all be… alright.”
She reaches for me, her hand warm on my arm.
Something inside me snaps.
I shove her hand away, flinching when her fingers brush me again. Anger surges up, cutting through the numbness.
“You l…lied,” I say, my voice shaking but growing stronger with every word. “You lied to me.”
I twist toward her, my body trembling, and point a finger at her face.
“You don’t know shit about anything. About the future. About fate. About my life.”
The words pour out, messy and cruel and unfiltered.
“I believed you. I actually believed you. And you know just as much as I do… fuck all.”
Rhia’s grip tightens subtly, a silent warning, a grounding presence at my side. She doesn’t shush me. She doesn’t contradict me. She just stays.
Claudette doesn’t flinch.
“Darling,” she says gently, “I know this feels unbearable right now, but it will—”
“Don’t!” I shout, throwing my hand up between us. “Don’t you dare tell me it will all work out. Just… leave. I can’t even look at you right now.”
I turn away from her, burying my face against Lex’s chest, my sobs breaking free again. His arms come around me fully, holding me together when I can’t manage it myself.
Rhia shifts closer, her shoulder pressing into mine, her presence a solid wall at my side.
Claudette’s hand brushes my back again.
“Darling,” she says softly, “you need to focus on Peanut. She needs you.”
My hand moves instinctively to my stomach, cradling it protectively.
Peanut is the only thing I have left of him. The reality of it hits me like a second shock. I press my palm there, grounding myself in the small life growing inside me.
“Go away,” I mumble, not looking up.
“She doesn’t mean it. She’s upset,” I hear Rhia say.
But I do mean it.
“I know,” Claudette replies quietly. “I’ll leave her be. It’s time for me anyway.”
Moments later I hear the door close with a soft click.
I don’t look at it. I can’t.
The doctor who tended to Gualtiero steps into the room, his expression carefully neutral.
“Miss O’Neil.”
I straighten slowly, peeling myself out of Lex’s arms. My legs feel weak, but they hold. I draw in a breath and force my spine to straighten.
“I’m Dr. Carter. I’m very sorry for your loss. We did everything we could, but given the severity of your fiancé’s injuries, there was always a possibility he wouldn’t make it through the night.”
I nod, not trusting my voice.
Then I look at him more closely.
“I haven’t seen you before,” I say, suspicion threading through the fog. “Are you a doctor here? Where is the specialist who was flown in from Calgary?”
Too much has gone wrong. Too many things don’t add up anymore.
Lex steps in close, his arm going around me.
“I’ll look into it,” he murmurs, too softly for anyone else to hear. “I promise.”
The reassurance steadies me.
“He was called away to an emergency in New York,” the doctor says smoothly. “I flew in to take over in his absence.” His smile is sympathetic, practiced. “I’m truly sorry.”
Lex gives a short nod. “Thank you, Doctor. We appreciate everything you’ve done.”
The dismissal is gentle, polite. Final.
The doctor inclines his head once more and leaves.
In the corner of the room, Antonio pulls out his phone.
I hadn’t even realized he followed us in here. But why am I surprised? He’s probably not allowed to let me out of his sight.
“I will inform Don Mateo,” he says, already turning away.
“Don Mateo,” I echo with a hollow laugh. The name tastes bitter on my tongue.
“He’s not wasting time, is he?”
The door shuts behind Antonio, but he’s still looking in through the window, keeping an eye on me.
Lex steps closer, angling us away from the window and lowering his voice.
“Ella.”
I meet his eyes.
“We need to get you out of here,” he says quietly. “Now.”
My pulse spikes, fear and resolve tangling in my chest. I glance at Rhia. She nods once, her expression steady and unwavering.
Lex leans in, his mouth close to my ear.
“They’ll double down on guarding you and take you to Italy. You’re carrying the heir to their empire,” he murmurs. “Mateo won’t let you go. Not alive.”
My stomach drops.
“There’s only one way out,” he says, the words cold and final against my skin.
“You remember the details of our plan?”
I swallow hard, my hand tightening over my belly.
I nod.
He’s right. I need to get moving.
“Okay,” I whisper.
Nothing is keeping me here anymore.
For my baby, I will run. Again.
I can fall apart later.