(Amelia's POV)

The weekend passed in a haze of pain and restless sleep. Come Monday morning, my leg still throbbed with every step, but I showed up at the Valenti family's main compound at precisely 8:55 AM. The grand, intimidating building, a monument to Lorenzo's power, felt more like a prison than ever.

The compound was a fortress disguised as luxury. Armed men in tailored suits patrolled the perimeter, their eyes missing nothing. The main hall echoed with the sounds of hushed conversations in Italian, the clinking of glasses, and the underlying tension that permeated every Valenti operation. I moved through the familiar corridors, receiving nods from soldiers and accountants alike—all of them aware of my position, yet none of them knowing the truth of what I was to their Don.

I moved through my morning routine on autopilot. Coffee—black, two sugars, just how he took his first cup. Sorting the mail, flagging the urgent contracts, clearing his schedule for the 10 AM meeting with the Lombardi family. It was a crucial negotiation, one I'd spent weeks preparing the briefs for. The Lombardis controlled the port access Lorenzo needed for his new shipping line. Annoying them was not an option.

As I organized the documents, Marco, Lorenzo's chief enforcer, approached my desk. His expression was grim. "The Lombardi crew arrived early. They're already in the meeting room, and they brought extra men. Fifteen, by my count. More than agreed."

I felt a chill. This was a show of force, a test. "Notify Don Valenti. And double our security in the hallway. Discreetly."

Marco nodded, his respect evident. In this world, I was known for my calm under pressure, my ability to anticipate threats before they materialized. Little did they know that skill was born from years of navigating the much more personal threat of Lorenzo's mercurial heart.

At 9:50, I gathered the necessary files and walked towards his office. The door to his private study was slightly ajar. I paused, my hand raised to knock, and through the gap, I saw them.

Isabella was perched on the edge of his massive oak desk, swinging a bare foot. She was wearing one of his dress shirts, the sleeves rolled up, the collar open. It was a blatant claim of ownership that made my stomach clench.

Lorenzo was seated in his high-backed leather chair, but he was turned towards her, his body angled in a way I'd never seen during business hours. She was feeding him a piece of a croissant, her fingers lingering near his lips. He ate it from her hand, a small, indulgent smile playing on his usually stern mouth.

"You mentioned craving these yesterday," I heard him say, his voice softer, more intimate than the one he used with me. "I had one of our men wait in line for an hour at that French patisserie you like."

"They're perfect, just as flaky as I remember," Isabella cooed, leaning forward to brush a crumb from his lower lip. "But Lorenzo, you're the Don. You shouldn't be sending your men to fetch pastries. That's what assistants are for."

His smile widened slightly. He reached out and took her hand, kissing her fingertips. "Anything for you, I handle myself. I don't delegate what matters."

The sight was a physical blow, knocking the air from my lungs. My chest constricted, a familiar, sour ache spreading through me. I looked down at my own hands, clenched so tightly around the manila folders that my knuckles were white and bloodless. The sharp edge of a staple bit into my palm, a tiny, focused pain to distract from the one tearing me apart inside.

I stood there, frozen, for a full minute, watching a version of Lorenzo I had only ever dreamed of. A version that was gentle, attentive, openly affectionate.

The clock on the wall ticked to 9:58. The meeting. The Lombardis were notoriously punctual and proud.

I forced air into my lungs, smoothed my expression into one of professional neutrality, and knocked firmly on the door.

"Mr. Valenti, the meeting with the Lombardis is starting."

Inside, the cozy scene shattered. Lorenzo straightened up, his Don's mask slipping back into place. He began to rise, but Isabella's hand shot out, wrapping around his forearm.

"No, don't go," she pouted, her voice a syrup-sweet whine. "Stay with me a little longer. I'm bored."

He hesitated, his gaze flicking from her pleading face to the door where I stood.

"Postpone the meeting," he said, his voice regaining its usual command, but directed at me now. "Two hours."

I felt a jolt of alarm. "Mr. Valenti, the Lombardi, Rossi, and Ferrara Dons are already in the meeting room. This negotiation is critical for the southern expansion..."

"Ugh, Lorenzo, your assistant is so tedious!" Isabella interrupted, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Does she have to be such a killjoy? Can't she take a hint?"

His expression, which had been momentarily conflicted, hardened as he looked at me. "I said, postpone it for two hours. No family business is more important than Isabella's happiness."

The words were a betrayal that went beyond the personal. He was jeopardizing a multi-million dollar deal, risking a war with three powerful families, all for a woman's whim. This was the man I had loved? The strategic genius I had admired? He was throwing it all away for a pretty smile and a pout.

But I was just the assistant. I nodded once, a tight, jerky motion. "Understood."

I closed the door softly and turned away, my shoulders slumping under an invisible weight. I walked to the meeting room, my heels clicking a hollow rhythm on the polished floor.

The walk felt like a death march. Each step echoed the dying beat of my hope. He had chosen. Not just between her and me, but between his responsibility and her caprice. And I, and the entire Valenti organization, had lost.

Inside, the three crime lords sat around the mahogany table. Enzo Lombardi, a bull of a man with thick gold rings on his fingers, tapped his watch impatiently.

"Where is he?" he grunted, his voice a low rumble.

I forced a calm I didn't feel. "My apologies, gentlemen. Mr. Valenti has been unavoidably detained. He requests we reschedule the meeting for two hours from now."

The air in the room turned cold. Marco Rossi, a slim, elegant man who was far more dangerous than he looked, leaned back in his chair, a thin smile on his lips. "Detained? By what, a more pressing engagement?"

I kept my gaze level. "A private matter, sir."

It was the wrong thing to say. One of Lombardi's underlings, a hulking brute named Riccardo whom I'd seen break a man's arm for spilling his drink, stepped forward. Before I could react, his open hand connected with my face. The sound cracked through the room.

Pain exploded in my cheek, my head snapping to the side. I tasted blood.

"A private matter?" Enzo Lombardi snarled, his voice dripping with contempt. He stood, leaning his massive fists on the table. "We clear our schedules for him, and he's off tending to 'private matters'? This is an insult! Does he think we are his errand boys?"

Riccardo drew back his hand again. I flinched, bracing for another blow. "Perhaps we should send a clearer message," he growled.

For the next two hours, I stood there and absorbed their fury. They didn't dare insult Lorenzo directly, so their anger, their condescension, their thinly-veiled threats, were all aimed at me. I endured the sting on my cheek, the humiliation of being used as a punching bag for their offended pride.

I thought of the seven years I had given Lorenzo, the loyalty, the love. This public shaming was the final payment. I was paying my debt in blood and shame.

When Lorenzo finally swept into the meeting room at noon, fresh and composed, the atmosphere shifted instantly. The other Dons swallowed their anger, their expressions becoming carefully neutral.

"I apologize for the delay, gentlemen," Lorenzo said, his voice smooth and commanding as he took his seat at the head of the table. "Shall we begin?"

His eyes scanned the room, briefly passing over me. Did they pause for a fraction of a second on my reddened cheek? If they did, he gave no sign. He didn't ask what had happened. He didn't care. The message was clear: I was disposable.

I slipped out, my head bowed not just to hide my bruised cheek, but to hide the cold, hard certainty that was finally solidifying in my heart.

"Amelia!"

Isabella's voice, sharp and clear, cut through the hallway. I stopped and turned.

She was walking towards me, a smug little smile on her face. "I heard from Lorenzo you make a decent cup of coffee. The men seem sluggish today. Be a dear and make a round for everyone in the main hall. My usual must be hand-ground, the beans measured to within half a gram."

She knew about the Lombardi meeting. She knew what had just transpired. She was rubbing my nose in my new reality: from trusted confidante to coffee servant.

I didn't dare refuse. "Of course."

The kitchen in the compound was state-of-the-art, but it wasn't designed for one person to make coffee for an entire hall of over a hundred family members and associates. It took me nearly two hours. Grinding the beans to her exact specification, brewing pot after pot, finding enough clean mugs, carefully preparing her specific handcrafted coffee.

My injured leg screamed in protest from the constant standing. The cut on my forehead, hidden under my bangs, throbbed in time with my heartbeat. But the physical pain was a welcome distraction from the deeper, more profound ache in my chest.

As I worked, memories assaulted me. Lorenzo, early in our arrangement, finding me exhausted after a similar task for a large gathering. He hadn't said a word, but later that night, his hands had been surprisingly gentle as he massaged my sore shoulders.

"You don't have to prove anything to anyone," he'd murmured against my hair. The contradiction was staggering. Then, I was worthy of a secret tenderness. Now, I was worthy of nothing but scorn.

Finally, I began carrying the trays out, distributing the cups. When I brought Isabella hers, she was lounging in a guest chair in Lorenzo's outer office, scrolling through her phone.

She took the delicate porcelain cup, took a small, deliberate sip, and her face contorted in disgust.

"This is revolting!" she shrieked, her voice echoing.

Before I could react, she flung the contents of the cup directly into my face. The hot, brown liquid hit my skin and eyes, stinging and blinding me. I cried out, my hands flying to my face as I stumbled back and fell.

But Isabella wasn't done. Her rage was a performance for the entire office. "You useless bitch!" she screamed, snatching up another full mug from the cart. "Do you think I don't know what you are? What you were to him?" She hurled the second mug, the hot liquid splashing across my chest and arms. "You're nothing! A convenient whore he kept around!"

A third mug followed, shattering against the floor near my head, spraying my hair and face with ceramic shards and more coffee. I was drenched, my hair and clothes soaked through with lukewarm coffee.

The smell of coffee was everywhere, suffocating. The pain was sharp and stinging.

I curled into a tight ball, my arms protecting my head, my knees drawn to my chest, making myself as small a target as possible. I bit my lip to keep from screaming.

The entire hall had fallen silent. Dozens of family members watched, frozen. No one moved. No one spoke. They just stared, their faces a mixture of horror and morbid fascination. They had all thought I was the future Signora Valenti, the woman who held the Don's ear and his trust.

Now they saw the truth: I was just another casualty in the brutal game of power and passion, discarded and destroyed by the very man I had served so loyally.

The commotion finally drew Lorenzo out of the meeting room. He stood in the doorway, his eyes taking in the scene: the pooling coffee on the floor, the shattered cups, and me, curled and drenched on the floor like a drowned, wounded animal.

His brow furrowed. "What is going on here?"

In an instant, Isabella's fury vanished. Her face crumpled into a picture of perfect victimhood. Tears welled in her large eyes. "Lorenzo," she whimpered, her voice trembling, "I just asked your assistant for a simple cup of coffee. It was gritty, like she put sand in it! My throat is raw!"

She hugged her throat, looking genuinely pained.

Lorenzo's gaze snapped to me, his expression hardening from confusion to cold anger. "You've been with me for four years, and you can't even get a simple coffee order right? Or do you have a problem with Isabella and did this on purpose?"

I lifted my head, my vision blurred by the coffee and tears I refused to shed. "Mr. Valenti, I—"

He didn't let me finish. He called for his underboss. "Amelia has violated family conduct. Dock her this month's salary and her quarterly bonus. Issue a family-wide memo. She will make a formal, public apology at the next gathering."

Then, he turned his back. He took off his suit jacket and draped it over Isabella's shoulders. "Come, 'cuore mio'. Let's get you home. You need to rest."

And he led her away, past me, as if I were nothing more than a piece of inconvenient trash left on the floor for the cleaning crew to deal with. The last thing I heard was Isabella's soft, satisfied sigh as they stepped into the elevator.

I lay there for a long moment, the cold marble seeping through my wet clothes. The silence in the hall was absolute. No one came to help me up. I was untouchable now, tainted by the Don's displeasure.

Slowly, painfully, I pushed myself to my hands and knees, then to my feet. I didn't look at anyone as I walked away, my head held high despite the humiliation, each step a silent vow. This was the end. Lorenzo Valenti had killed the last of my love with his indifference. All that remained was the ghost, and soon, even that would be gone.

(Amelia's POV)

The days that followed were a study in silent endurance. I performed my duties with a robotic efficiency that seemed to unnerve Lorenzo. He would sometimes watch me from his office doorway, a faint line of confusion between his brows, as if trying to decipher the change in me. The woman who had once looked at him with undisguised love now regarded him with the empty politeness of a stranger. I had become the ghost he had always treated me as.

The welcome banquet for Isabella was to be held at the family's most prestigious venue, a lavishly decorated ballroom in one of Lorenzo's casinos. For days, I coordinated everything—the menu, the security detail, the guest list of allied family Dons and their wives. It had to be perfect. Lorenzo had made that clear.

I reviewed the security plans with Marco, pointing out two potential blind spots he had missed. He had looked at me with renewed respect. "You should be running this end of the business, Amelia," he'd said quietly. I had just smiled faintly. If only he knew.

The night arrived. I wore a simple black dress, my role that of organizer, not guest. I moved through the glittering crowd, ensuring wine glasses were filled, that the Lombardi Don was seated far from the Rossi contingent, that the orchestra played at just the right volume.

Isabella was resplendent in a gown of icy blue, clinging to Lorenzo's arm, laughing brightly at everything he said. She was the center of attention, the returned princess. I was a shadow in the background.

I watched them from the periphery. Lorenzo, in a tailored tuxedo that made him look every inch the powerful Don, his hand resting possessively on the small of Isabella's back. She preened under the attention, casting triumphant glances my way whenever she caught my eye. I met her gaze evenly, my expression blank.

Her victories were meaningless. She had won a man who had proven himself capable of profound cruelty. She was welcome to him.

I saw Sofia across the room. She was watching her brother and Isabella with a look of pure disgust. When her eyes met mine, they filled with a helpless, shared pain. She started towards me, but I gave a slight, almost imperceptible shake of my head. I couldn't afford a scene. Not tonight. She stopped, her shoulders slumping in resignation.

Halfway through the evening, during a lull in the proceedings, Isabella's voice rose above the murmur of the crowd, sharp and distressed.

"My bracelet! Lorenzo, it's gone! My diamond bracelet!"

The music faltered. All eyes turned to her. She stood by her chair, her wrist bare, her face a mask of perfectly crafted anguish.

"It was my grandmother's! It's irreplaceable!" she cried, turning her tear-filled eyes to Lorenzo.

"We'll find it, 'cuore mio'," he said, his voice calm but his eyes already scanning the room, a dangerous glint in them. This was his home, his event. A theft was an insult.

"It was just here! I only took it off for a moment to adjust my shoe..." Her gaze swept the room, then landed squarely on me. She pointed a trembling, accusatory finger. "You! You were hovering around here just a minute ago! You were the only one near my seat!"

A cold, familiar dread washed over me. This was a setup. A meticulously planned humiliation. I had seen the bracelet on her wrist not ten minutes earlier. She must have slipped it off when no one was looking. The audacity of it, the sheer theatricality, took my breath away.

The entire ballroom fell silent. "I was checking the place settings, Miss Isabella. I didn't see any bracelet."

"You're lying!" she shrieked. "You've always been jealous of me! You want Lorenzo for yourself! You took it!"

The accusation hung in the air, ugly and absurd. I saw the faces in the crowd—some skeptical, some curious, some already convinced of my guilt. In their world, jealousy was a motive everyone understood.

Lorenzo's eyes narrowed, moving from her hysterical form to my frozen one. The weight of the entire room's suspicion pressed down on me.

"Search her," Lorenzo commanded, his voice low and cold. Two of his guards stepped forward.

"No," I whispered, backing away. "I didn't take anything." My voice was steady, but inside, I was screaming. This was the final betrayal. To be publicly accused like a common thief.

"If you're innocent, you have nothing to fear," Lorenzo said, his gaze unwavering. His words were a mockery. Innocence meant nothing in the face of his desire to placate her.

The guards didn't wait for my consent. They grabbed my arms. One of them roughly patted me down while the other emptied the small clutch bag I carried.

I felt the eyes of every Don, every Capo, every associate I had worked with for years. I saw the pity in Sofia's eyes, the grim satisfaction in Isabella's. I closed my own, disassociating from the violation.

"Nothing, Don Valenti," the guard announced.

Isabella let out a wail. "She must have hidden it somewhere! Check the staff areas! Check her office!"

Lorenzo's jaw was tight. The scene was spiraling, a stain on the evening. He looked at me, standing shamed in the center of the room, and then at Isabella, who was now sobbing into her hands.

"Enough," he said, the single word cutting through the tension. He strode over to me, his expression unreadable. "You're coming with me."

He didn't wait for a reply. He took my arm, his grip firm, and began leading me from the ballroom. Isabella immediately rushed to his other side.

"Lorenzo, where are you going? You can't leave!"

"I'm taking her home. This ends now."

"I'm coming with you!" she insisted, clinging to his arm.

He didn't argue. He led us both out of the ballroom, through the casino's back corridors, and into the waiting Maybach. The driver, one of his most trusted men, looked straight ahead. I caught his eye in the rearview mirror for a split second. There was a flicker of sympathy there, quickly masked.

The car was silent as it pulled away from the curb. Isabella sat in the back with Lorenzo, I was in the passenger seat. The tension was so thick it was hard to breathe.

Isabella broke the silence, her voice a petulant whine. "Lorenzo, you shouldn't have embarrassed me like that in front of everyone! She's just a servant! Why are you even bothering with her?"

"Isabella, not now," Lorenzo said, his voice weary.

"Yes, now! I want to know! Do you have feelings for her? Is that why you're always defending her?"

"I'm not defending her. I'm trying to prevent a scene."

"It's always about her! Ever since I came back, it's like she's a ghost haunting us!" Her voice took on a hysterical edge. "I see the way you look at her sometimes when you think I'm not watching. Like you're trying to solve a puzzle. You don't look at me like that!"

Her voice rose, becoming shrill. She started hitting his arm, not hard, but enough to be disruptive. "Look at me when I'm talking to you! Lorenzo!"

"Isabella, stop it," he growled, grabbing her wrists. "You're going to cause an accident."

The driver, distracted by the escalating fight in the backseat, took his eyes off the road for a critical second. He didn't see the massive delivery truck that had blown a red light at the intersection ahead.

The impact was deafening. The world became a violent, shattering cacophony of twisting metal and breaking glass. The Maybach, a fortress on wheels, was no match for the truck's momentum. We were thrown forward like ragdolls.

I was thrown forward, the seatbelt digging brutally into my chest and shoulder. My head snapped forward then back, connecting with the headrest with a jarring thud. For a moment, there was only ringing silence and the smell of burnt rubber and spilled gasoline.

Dazed, I tried to move. A sharp, stabbing pain in my shoulder made me cry out.

Groggily, I turned my head. Lorenzo was already moving, shoving his door open. He was bleeding from a cut on his forehead, but otherwise seemed intact. Isabella was screaming, a high-pitched, panicked sound.

"My leg! Lorenzo, my leg! It hurts!"

He turned to her, his priority immediate and absolute. "Where does it hurt, 'cuore mio'?"

"My ankle! I think it's broken! You know I need to dance! I can't have a broken ankle!" Her cries were theatrical, but the pain seemed genuine.

Sirens wailed in the distance, growing closer. Help was arriving. Lorenzo looked from her to me. I was clutching my own injured shoulder, blood trickling from a cut on my forehead. Our eyes met for a fleeting second. In that moment, I saw it—a flicker of something. Concern? Conflict? It was gone too quickly to name.

Then he turned back to Isabella, his decision made. He called out to the emerging paramedics. "Over here! Her first! She's a dancer—you must check her leg immediately! She cannot be injured there!"

The medics rushed to Isabella's side, helping her from the wreckage. Lorenzo followed close behind, his focus entirely on her. He didn't look back. Not once.

I sat in the wrecked car, watching them. I watched as Lorenzo helped Isabella onto a gurner, his hand holding hers, his entire being focused on her comfort.

The physical pain was sharp, but it was nothing compared to the icy clarity that settled in my heart. In that moment, I knew. I would always be an afterthought. My pain would always be less important than her comfort.

A paramedic finally approached my side of the car. "Miss? Can you move?"

I nodded, unbuckling my seatbelt with my good hand.

It was over. Truly over. The crash had not just broken the car; it had shattered the last illusion. He had chosen.

(Amelia's POV)

The pain was a dull, constant ache, a reminder of the crash. I lay in the sterile hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, counting the tiny holes in the acoustic tiles. Each one felt like a missing piece of my soul.

The door creaked open. I didn't bother turning, expecting another nurse with more pills or a doctor with more questions.

"Eva? Oh my god, Eva!"

The voice wasn't a nurse's. It was familiar, warm, and laced with a panic that made my heart clench. I turned my head slowly on the stiff pillow.

Sofia Valenti stood in the doorway, her face pale, her usually perfectly styled hair slightly disheveled, as if she'd been running her hands through it. She looked like she'd just flown in from somewhere—a long, expensive coat was draped over her arm, and a designer suitcase stood by the door.

She rushed to my bedside, her eyes wide with horror as she took in the bandages, the IV, my general state of wreckage. "I just got back to the country. I heard you were in an accident. The doctors... they said you were hurt. I was so scared!" Her voice broke on the last word.

Seeing her, my best friend, the one person in this world who felt like family, broke the dam I'd built around my emotions. A sob I didn't know I was holding back escaped my lips. The tears came then, hot and silent, streaming down the sides of my face into my hair.

Sofia didn't hesitate. She sat on the edge of the bed, carefully, and gathered me into a hug. I clung to her, burying my face in the soft wool of her sweater, breathing in the familiar scent of her perfume. It was the smell of safety, of a life before Lorenzo, of a friendship that had somehow survived the poison of his world.

We stayed like that for a long time, until my tears subsided into shaky breaths. She pulled back, her own eyes glistening, and brushed the hair from my damp forehead. "Shhh, it's okay. I'm here now. You're going to be okay."

She fetched a cup of water from the bedside table and held the straw to my lips. I drank, the cool water soothing my raw throat. After I'd settled back, she took my hand, her grip firm.

"Tell me everything," she said, her voice soft but insistent. "And don't you dare leave anything out. How have you really been these past few years? Did my brother... did he treat you well?" She searched my face, her gaze sharp and knowing. "And what about this boyfriend you mentioned in your letters? The one you said made you happy? When do I get to meet him? I need to vet him properly. If he's not good enough for you, I won't allow it."

The questions, so full of innocent concern, were like salt in my wounds. My face must have crumpled, because Sofia's expression shifted from concern to dawning horror.

"Eva?"

"The boyfriend..." I began, my voice a ragged whisper. I looked away from her, out the window at the grey, uncaring sky. "There is no boyfriend. We... we broke up."

Sofia was silent for a moment, processing. "Oh, honey," she finally said, her voice thick with understanding and pity. "I'm so sorry. But you know what? It's for the best. If he couldn't see how amazing you are, he wasn't worth it. There are plenty of other men out there. Better men. I know loads of them. I'll introduce you to all of them!"

Her forced cheerfulness was a well-intentioned lie, and we both knew it. There were no "better men" in our world. There were only men like her brother.

Before I could respond, the hospital room door was shoved open with a force that made the walls vibrate. Lorenzo stood there, his face a thundercloud. His eyes swept over the scene—Sofia on my bed, holding my hand, my tear-streaked face—and his scowl deepened.

"Introduce her to who?" he demanded, his voice a low, dangerous rumble that filled the small room. "Absolutely not. The men you know, Sofia, are all spoiled, frivolous playboys. None of them are suitable."

Sofia immediately bristled, turning on him like a protective lioness. "They are not all playboys! Don't you dare tar everyone with the same brush!" She stood up, facing him, her hands on her hips. "And since when do you get a say in who I set my best friend up with? This is none of your business!"

Hearing this, a flash of pure, unadulterated irritation crossed Lorenzo's face. "I said no, and that's final," he bit out, his control visibly fraying. "Feelings can't be forced. Stop playing matchmaker. You'll only lead her to more disappointment."

"Feelings can't be forced."

The irony of him saying that to me, after everything, was so profound it was almost laughable. A silent, bitter laugh echoed in the hollow cavity of my chest.

I reached out and squeezed Sofia's hand, pulling her attention back to me. I gave her a small, tired shake of my head. "Don't," I tried to convey with my eyes. 'It's not worth it.'

I then looked calmly at Lorenzo. "Sofia was just joking, Mr. Valenti," I said, my voice flat, devoid of the emotion that had been there moments before. "Was there something you needed?"

Seeing that I was stable—alive, breathing, no longer actively dying—Lorenzo seemed to relax a fraction, the immediate crisis averted. He instinctively started to say he'd come to see "me", to check on "me", but the words changed before they left his mouth, replaced by a more convenient, distant truth.

"Nothing important," he said, his gaze flicking away from mine. "Sofia heard about your accident and came straight here from the airport. I'm here to take her home." A brief, almost imperceptible pause. "And to check on the situation."

"The situation." That's what I was. A situation.

"Alright, brother," Sofia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'll be home tonight. You can go now." She made a shooing motion with her hand. "Eva is badly hurt. The last thing she needs is you looming over her and giving her more work."

She practically pushed him out of the room, closing the door firmly behind him and leaning against it with a sigh of exasperation.

The room felt instantly lighter, the oxygen returning.

"God, he's insufferable," she muttered, coming back to my bedside. Her anger faded as she looked at me, replaced by a deep, worried sadness. "Don't mind him. He can be a real ass, but... he does care, in his own twisted way. The nurses told me you were critical when they brought you in. That it was Lorenzo who pulled strings, called in specialists, made sure you got the best care possible. He was here all night."

For a single, fleeting second, his words sparked a tiny, pathetic ember in the ashes of my heart. He had done that? He had fought for my life?

But the clarity returned almost instantly, cold and brutal. Him pulling strings was just him not wanting a messy death on his conscience. It was about control, not care. If it had come down to a choice between my life and Isabella's comfort, I knew with absolute certainty which one he would have chosen.

So, I harbored no more illusions. I offered Sofia a small, bleak smile. "I'm just another asset in his organization. It's his responsibility to keep his assets functional."

Sofia looked like she wanted to argue, but the bleak truth in my eyes stopped her. She sat back down, and we sat in silence for a while, the only sound the steady beep of the heart monitor, a machine keeping time on a heart that was already broken.