My hands are soakedin more sin and blood than any church could ever absolve. But here… in the thick of my own devastation and desperation, I tilt my head back and stare at the ceiling of the jet.
“Please… I am all things evil in this world. But she… she is precious sunlight. Purity. Save her… please.”
The words scrape out of me.
I have never beggedfor anything in my life, but for her, I would fall to my knees and plead like a starving man.
I cannot existwithout that woman. Without her, I’m nothing.
By the time I reach the hospital, dawn hasn’t broken. The New York air bites at my skin, cold and merciless. The wind lashes across my face as I step out of the car and push through the sliding doors.
Inside, everything feels unreal.
Still.Plastic. Hollow.
The sterile smell of antiseptic burns my nose, and the fluorescent lights overhead stab at my eyes. Every footstep echoes too loudly, like I’m walking through a dream I can’t wake from.
I know exactly where I’m going.
ICU.
As soon as I enter the lobby, I spot my second. His elbows rest on his knees, his head buried in his hands. When the door clicks behind me, he looks up—and he rises instantly.
“Boss.”
He approacheswith a heaviness clinging to every step. His eyes are bloodshot, and I don’t know if it’s exhaustion or tears. Maybe both.
“How are you?”he asks.
“How do you think I am?” The words rip out of me. My anger is not for him, but it tears through my throat anyway. “Where is she? Where is my son?”
“Daniele went back to the penthouse to shower and change.” He draws in a shaky breath. “Beatrice… she’s in 312.”
I’m already moving. But his hand clamps around my wrist, stopping me mid-stride.
“Before you go, boss…”
His gaze won’t land on mine. It hovers somewhere near my shoulder, like he can’t bear to look directly at me.
“She’s hooked up to a lot of tubes and machines,” he says, voice strained. “Her… her heart started failing, and when her lungs followed, they initiated ECMO to keep her alive.” He swallows hard. “And…”
I stop. My blood ices.
“What?”
“She hasn’t woken up.”
His voice crackson the last word. “They… they found an unknown toxin in her blood.”
“Poisoned?”
He nods. “Yes. They’re not sure what the substance is yet, but they’re testing it. Her kidneys are failing, but they’ve started treatment to try to filter her blood.”
This just keeps getting worse.
“How serious is it?” I manage to ask.
He hesitates, then speaks. “Whatever was in her system—it was potent. Her organs are failing.”
