Page 152 of Scorned Beauty

Fuck yeah.

Sloane

“Paolo De Lucci?”

Dom, Carlotta, and Lucy all rushed toward the surgeon who’d been in charge of Paulie’s surgery.

De Lucci soldiers and Arrows were scattered around the hospital and guarding the perimeter. Cesar arrived a few hours ago. I was standing with Bianca, Sera, and Ivy and hovered while the surgeon delivered the news.

“He’s going to be fine. The heart sustained bruising, but no bleeding is detected. We installed a window in case of recurrentpericardium effusion. We’d like to keep him for a few days for observation.”

“When can we see him?” Carlotta asked.

“He’s in recovery. The nurse will let you know when he’s been transferred to a private suite.”

“That’s good news.” Ivy breathed a sigh of relief that everyone was feeling. She gave my arm a squeeze and headed toward Nico, who was huddled with his dad. Matteo was with them.

My focus was on Dom. He had one arm around his mother and another around Lucy.

“You think Carlotta and Lucy will be okay?” I asked Sera.

“Lucy is going to have Zio Paulie’s best interest at heart—no pun intended—so she won’t want to upset her dad while he’s recovering,” Sera said. “We’ll have peace indefinitely.”

Carlotta pushed away from Dom and met my eyes with her teary ones.

“Shit,” I muttered.

She said something to Dom and headed my way.

“Sera, will you give Sloane and me a minute?”

“Sure,Zia.” She gave Carlotta a brief arm squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.

I escorted Dom’s mom to a less crowded hallway where we could speak in private.

“I’m glad Paulie is okay,” I ventured.

She sniffled. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“No need to thank me.”

Carlotta held my eyes. “But you risked everything.”

“And I would do it again, knowing that I’d increased Paulie’s chances for survival.”

Her face crumpled. “I am consumed with shame,” she sobbed. “Forgive me. I almost lost Paulie because of my prejudice. It’s like a wake-up call after over fifty-six years ofnever really getting it. At this point, I don’t care about anything. The money, the prestige. I could lose them all, but not my husband. As long as I have Paulie and my children.” She swiped the tears from her eyes. “Paulie calls me a hypocrite. I thought it was said with fondness. Now I think it’s a rebuke or an insult.”

“Paulie would never insult you. He adores you.”

“I don’t deserve him,” she hiccupped. “I’ve caused him so much pain.”

“Listen. Don’t tell me this. Tell it to Paulie.” I paused. “When he gets better, of course.”

Despite her misery, Carlotta detected my wary tone. “He’ll really be okay, right?”

I wasn’t acquainted with the intricacies of cardiac contusions and I’d reached my daily quota for dispensing medical advice or care.

“I’ll defer to the surgeon and your cardiologist for advice.” He’d have to be monitored for a while with an EKG to make sure the heart rhythm was normal and be on meds. Barring any complications, it would take a couple of weeks to months before Paulie would be back to normal. I was optimistic.