Chapter 28
BOOM!
Another explosion rocked the street, sending shards of glass and burning debris in every direction. People screamed, diving for cover.
“Sir, please! You can’t go in there!” A waiter grabbed Cosimo’s arm.
“The whole place is coming down!”
Three men were now physically restraining him from charging into the inferno.
“GET OFF ME!” Cosimo’s voice was raw with desperation. “My wife’s in there! She’s PREGNANT!”
He fought like a madman, driven by pure terror. Nothing else mattered-not his empire, not his life, nothing. Just Noemi and their
unborn child.
“Let me go! I’m not living without her!”
He broke free with inhuman strength, sprinting toward the flames. But just as he reached the entrance-
BOOM!
The blast threw him backward. Burning debris rained down, blocking the doorway completely. Cosimo scrambled to his feet, looking for another way in, but flames had engulfed every entrance.
“NOEMI!” His scream was primal, desperate.
In that moment of chaos, a figure sprinted past him and dove through a side window.
Alessio.
He hadn’t hesitated. The second he’d heard Noemi was trapped, his body moved on pure instinct. His injuries, his weakness-none of
it mattered. She was in danger. That was all.
Inside, the heat was unbearable. Black smoke filled his lungs instantly. Flames crawled across the ceiling, raining burning debris. Without protective gear, his exposed skin immediately blistered.
Find her. Save her. Nothing else matters.
Through burning eyes, he searched desperately. The smoke was so thick he could barely see. His legs were already failing, his body screaming for oxygen.
Then-there. A figure huddled by an overturned table.
“Noemi!”
He stumbled forward just as a burning beam broke loose above her.
“NO!”
Without thinking, he dove forward, covering her body with his. The beam crashed onto his back with devastating force.
Agony exploded through him. Then darkness.
Chapter 28
Hours later, in a sterile hospital room, Daniela stood watching Alessio’s unconscious form. Bandages covered most of his body. Machines beeped steadily, monitoring what was left of his life.
She should feel something-pity, concern, even satisfaction. But all she felt was cold calculation.
He ran into fire for her. Almost died for her. While I’m what? Chopped liver?
The text from Donna Moretti burned in her memory: “Do whatever it takes. Get pregnant before our people arrive. It’s your only
leverage.”
Her hand found the vial in her pocket. Such a small thing-clear liquid in a glass container. One dose in his IV, and he’d be… cooperative. Aroused beyond reason. Unable to resist.
Is this what I’ve become?
But then she remembered the humiliation. The betrayal. Two years of lies. Her miscarriage. The way he’d screamed Noemi’s name
while kissing her.
Love? She almost laughed. Love doesn’t pay bills. Love doesn’t restore reputations. Love doesn’t give you status in the Moretti family.
Alessio stirred slightly, mumbling in his delirium. Even unconscious, he whispered, “Noemi…”
Something in Daniela hardened completely.
You chose your path, Alessio. Now I’m choosing mine.
She fingered the vial again. When the right moment came, she’d add it to his IV. He’d wake up confused, aroused, unable to resist her. And she’d make sure to conceive.
The Morettis wanted an heir? They’d get one. Through whatever means necessary.
This is survival, she told herself. Nothing personal.
But as she looked at his battered face-still handsome despite the burns, still calling for another woman-she knew she was lying.
You destroyed my life first, Alessio. Call us even.
Her fingers traced the vial in her pocket one more time.
Besides, isn’t this what you did to me? Took advantage of my trust? My love? Now it’s my turn.
The machines continued their steady beeping as Daniela waited, patient as a spider, for her moment to strike.
