Page 59 of Rio (Knight Empire #3)

We stare at the man who’s loomed so large in all our lives.

“Is he ...?” Zach begins to ask.

“Breathing, dude.” I gesture at the monitors, the steady beep of the heart rate, the slow rise and fall of his chest; every sign that he’s still alive.

“What the hell happened?”

The housekeeper and his private butler are outside, but they couldn’t tell us much. A doctor walks in, a few moments later.

“Mr. Knight experienced what we believe was a hypertensive crisis. His blood pressure spiked to dangerous levels, and it caused acute symptoms, like vomiting, confusion, and chest pain.”

The words settle over us, like a suffocating blanket. I can’t breathe. I can’t process what this means, because him? That old man lying in bed looking helpless, is something my brain was never prepared for.

“What happens now?” Jett asks.

“We’ve stabilized him for now. He’s resting.”

“Is he resting?” I ask.

Jett peers at him closely. “He’s keeping his eyes closed, but whether he’s asleep or just not talking… who knows?”

“His labs were concerning,” the doctor announces. “His kidney function is significantly impaired. This isn’t new—it’s likely been progressing for some time.”

A silence falls over the room.

“For some time? How long?” Enzo asks quietly.

Matteo frowns. “I would have thought he’d have regular checkups, all the top medical care and maintenance that money can buy.”

Dex scratches his chin. We all seem to have trouble grasping this. “Has he been hiding this?”

“Possibly.” The doctor looks at us. “But this level of damage doesn’t happen overnight. We’ll need to run more tests. CT, biopsy, renal panels. It’s too early to know the full picture, but…” She pauses.

“But what?” Zach asks, the tension in his voice giving away his worry.

“We’re likely looking at chronic kidney disease, at an advanced stage.”

We exchange glances, but no one speaks. We’re all trying to process what this means. I wonder if I’ve been too harsh. If what I did somehow set this off.

Then Zach pipes up again. “He’ll be okay, though, won’t he?”

The doctor pauses, pressing her lips together, before answering. “With treatment, monitoring, and lifestyle changes, possibly. But, he may eventually need dialysis, or a kidney transplant.”

“A kidney transplant?” The color drains from Zach’s face.

“Another kidney.” I can’t imagine the old man wanting anyone’s kidney.

“He won’t like that.” Jett swipes a hand over his forehead, staring at the ground.

“No,” I agree. “He won’t take any of this well.”

We all freeze in the silence, the gravity of this announcement settling heavy and hard on each of us as we try to wrap our heads around what this means.

How a man forged from stone, all hard edges and unrelenting, a man who’s ruled over us with a steel fist all our lives, can suddenly be brought to his feet.

It feels impossible. Unheard of. And until a few hours ago, it was.

“I’ll let you spend some time with him, but only five minutes. Your father needs his rest.” She closes the file, and leaves.

We stand around the bed, listening to the constant and steady beep of the monitor.

“I can’t believe this,” Dex says, looking like he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders. “Is this how it starts?

Matteo shoves his hands in his pockets, looking glum. “His body is turning on him. Fitting.”

“Don’t,” Zach snaps. “Not now. Have some empathy.”

“You mean like he does for us, for everyone else?” Matteo growls.

“Maybe he did bring this all on himself,” says Enzo quietly. “Years of control, pressure, stress. Power costs, in the end.”

I step forward and stare down at the old man. He looks gaunt and haggard. Nothing like the icy unfeeling magnate who’s ruled over us with an iron first for so long. The man before me looks fragile, almost breakable. I barely recognize the man who stared me down in the boardroom earlier.

A heavy silence settles in the room, pressing in on us, and daring me to feel something I swore I never would.

I wonder if this empire finally cost him something, and I wonder if the king is starting to fall. Instead of feeling triumphant, a heavy sadness settles over me. I feel numb.

I don’t hate him—not the way I thought I would. I don’t want him gone. I don’t want him dead. I just want… peace . For me. For all of us. Maybe even for him.

That’s the part that surprises me. This feels like a momentous event. He’s losing his grip, and we’re finding our strength. His empire, built on secrets and control, is one we can rebuild, with a conscience. With heart. With transparency.

He never believed these things were important, but I know they are.

Jett and Dex know they are.

Because of Dani.

Because of Cari.

Because of Raquel.

We’re finally choosing something different.

I don’t know what happens next. I don’t know if the old man makes it another five years, or if his health collapses like his moral compass.

But I do know this much; we’re no longer standing in the shadow of a tyrant.

We can build this company differently, with a different set of values.

We have the heart and moral courage he never possessed, and just because we share this man’s DNA, doesn’t mean we walk in his footsteps.