The embodiment ofif looks could kill. He might have terrified me as a boy, but I’m not that vulnerable kid anymore. The one who watched him murder my family.
That boy died a long time ago.
“You son of a bitch!” he snarls, hand inching toward his waistband. I go for my hidden piece, but Remi steps between us.
“No, Uncle Derek. It wasn’t him. I told you—his driver ran the light.” His gaze flicks to her, but he doesn’t back down.
“That’s enough, Derek…” Eva’s shaky voice slices through the tension. Only then does he twitch, letting his wife tug him back. “Not now. Our daughter is back there, and we don’t know anything. This isn’t the time for this shit.”
Derek’s throat bobs, his eyes glassy as he shoots me one last look before folding into Eva’s arms. She’s one of the few people alive who can disarm him. I saw it back then, as young as I was.
“Eva,” I say, stepping closer, lowering my tone. “She’s in surgery. Her leg’s broken, but she’s still here.”
Her frail smile wavers as she pulls me into a hug, and I let her. Always warm. Always trusting me with Valentina, ever since we were kids.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, the words clawing out before I can stop them. She meets my eyes and pats my chest with quiet affection.
“You’ve gotten so tall, Maksim. It’s really good to see you.”
I nod, stepping back, too restless to sit, too anxious to do anything but lean against the wall.
Two teenagers round the corner and immediately throw their arms around Eva, their voices frantic with endless questions.
Then Mom and Silas rush in.
“Maksim, are you okay? How’s Vali?” Mom dashes straight to me, cupping my face like I’m the one who’d been hit. I catch her wrists gently and press a kiss to her forehead.
“I’m fine. No word on Valentina yet.”
Silas’s hand lands firm on my shoulder, and he gives it a squeeze. We don’t need words. Our greetings have always been silent. He and I were never the type for overt affection, but respect runs deep between us. He’s one of the few men I trust without question.
It isn’t long before the waiting room is full of family…my family. Though the words sound a bit awkward after so long.
Kai and Amalia sit by the window, anchoring a shaken Remi while their young son clings to her hand. Kai’s gaze shifts to me, his smile tight and guarded. Like Derek, he and I share a past, and there are nights I still wonder if the horrors I endured as a boy happened because of them, because of choices they made. Even now, resentment coils in my chest like it never left.
Nearby sit the Leones. Athena, I remember her with a kind of quiet respect. We’d kept a friendship through the years; a bond forged in trauma and shared scars. Beside her, Santino cradles a sleeping little girl in his arms, their son pressed against his side, the picture of a life I can’t help but stare at for a moment too long.
What feels like hours crawl by without a single word, not even a whisper from behind those fucking doors. The silence gnaws at me until I can’t sit still, and anxiety drives me to my feet again.
I don’t even know why I feel it this strongly. Maybe it’s guilt. Maybe it’s the image of her lying broken on the pavement, burned into my skull. KnowingsomehowI had a hand in it. The thought is irrational, but it digs its claws in anyway.
“I want the name of your driver,” Derek growls suddenly. I stop mid-step.
“Derek.” Eva’s voice is calm, but there’s a warning under it. She glances around at the young faces watching, wide-eyed yet unfazed. It’s clear they’ve heard pieces of these truths before.These kids were never sheltered from the darkness that this family was built on.
“He’s here.” Remi shoots to her feet, a scowl twisting her face. “Down in emergency, getting stitched up. Pussy,” she mutters. “I’ll go with you.”
“No, you won’t.” Kai catches her arm. “Sit,princesa. Cool off.”
With a huff, she collapses back into her chair, arms crossed.
“You letherhandle that bastard and didn’t lift a goddamn finger?” Derek snaps.
“Really?” I throw back.
Derek is in front of me in the next breath, his teeth gritted. “They should still be scraping his ass off the concrete as we speak.”
“Derek!” Eva’s voice is sharper than before.
