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I open my mouth to demand answers, but Daniele is already walking away. My throat locks up—no sound escapes. The world tilts violently. My skin turns clammy, my pulse erratic, poundingtoo fast, too loud. One step. Then another. My vision tunnels, black dots swallowing my sight. A gasp—Ginny’s voice warps into a distant echo. My knees buckle. The last thing I feel is weightless free fall. Then—nothing.

Fear doesn’t reach me. Pain doesn’t touch me. Only regret. I never told Matteo how much he means to me. And as the darkness swallows me whole, I wonder—did I wait too long?

22

MATTEO

This has to be a nightmare. Maria. Unconscious. Hospital. The words hammer into my skull, looping over and over like a curse I can’t escape.

Fresh off the plane, I had planned to surprise her. A nice dinner, just the two of us, where we could sit and talk—just be us.

She swore she’d rest, and take care of herself. So why the fuck is she behind those doors, fighting for her life?

“Matteo, you need to sit down.” Valerio has been trying to calm me for the past hour. “They are doing all that they can for her.”

“Don’t tell me to fucking calm down, my wife collapsed in the middle of the damn street and I don’t know why.” My eyes dart to a crying Ginny, who sits in her seat somberly. “Why did you even take her from the penthouse? What were you thinking?”

Ginny’s head snaps up, her eyes burning with fury, a storm raging behind them. “There is no way you are putting the blame on me for this one, Matteo. How about you take some damn accountability and ask yourself why your wife was even that sickin the first place? You didn’t even care to check on her or take her to the doctor.”

My fists clench at my sides, rage boiling through my veins. How dare she speak to me that way? I take a menacing step toward Ginny, but Valerio’s hand on my shoulder stops me.

“Boss,” he murmurs, “now’s not the time.”

I shake him off, my eyes never leaving Ginny’s defiant face. “You have no right to insinuate that I do not care about my wife,” I snarl. “You have no idea what I do or don’t do for her.”

Ginny stands, matching my aggressive stance. “I know enough. I know she’s been miserable, lonely, and apparently sick enough to collapse. Where were you, Matteo? Where have you been all this time?”

The words hit me like a physical blow.

I don’t respond. She is correct to some extent; there is a certain level of self-blame that I need to apply. I saw how pale Maria looked. Up until this point, I had been unkind to her. I acted like she didn’t exist in my life.

“I was only trying to get her some fresh air. You, as her husband, should have seen that she was unwell. And your idiot son didn’t make it any better, either.”

Valerio and I snap our heads in her direction.

“What did you say? Daniele was with you guys?”

She nods. “He came out of nowhere and basically told her a bunch of bullshit that didn’t even make sense. She was going to give him the middle finger when she fainted. It was weird and I think if he hadn’t said that shit, she may not have collapsed.”

My blood runs cold at the mention of Daniele. What the hell was he doing there? And what could he have possibly said to Maria to provoke such a reaction?

Would he have? No—he couldn’t have. Because if he did, then Ginny wouldn’t even be looking at me. She’s loyal to a fault, and I know she would take my wife’s side.

“Tell me exactly what happened,” I demand, my voice low and dangerous. “Every detail.”

“There isn’t much to it. He came to us after we left the cafe and then he started talking about how she looks near death and how her new name carries a lot of blood—even the blood of her family.”

That idiot. Daniele has taken it a step too far. My jaw clenches, rage coursing through me. Daniele has always been reckless, but this… this is obscene.

I turn to Valerio, my voice clinging to every ounce of rage I have. “Find him. Now.”

Valerio nods, already pulling out his phone as he steps away. I run a hand through my hair, my mind racing. This is exactly what I want to avoid. He could ignite a war and all for what?

I open my mouth to ask more questions when the door bursts open and out walks a doctor in scrubs. My heart lurches as the doctor approaches, his face unreadable. I step forward, my voice hoarse as I demand, “How is she?”

The doctor’s eyes flick between me and Ginny before settling on me. “Mr. Davacalli, your wife is stable now. We’ve managed to stop the internal bleeding and address the immediate concerns.”

Relief floods through me, but it’s short-lived as the doctor continues, his tone grave. “However, there are… complications we need to discuss. Perhaps in private?”