The room was still when it happened—so quiet that Damiano could hear every beat of his own terrified heartbeat. Aaliyah had been unresponsive for hours, her body exhausted, her pulse fragile. Doctors whispered in the hall, machines hummed, and Estrella's incubator glowed softly across the neonatal wing.
Then—her fingers moved.
Barely, like a ghost of a motion—but enough.
Aaliyah's eyelids fluttered.
Damiano shot up from his chair, nearly knocking it over.
"Ali—Ali? Amore? Can you hear me?"
Her lips parted, her voice weak, almost air.
"…my… baby…"
Tears filled his eyes instantly. He pressed his forehead to her hand, shaking.
"She's fighting, amore. Estrella is fighting."
🔥 Estrella starts to get better
In the NICU, the monitors began to rise—slowly, painfully—but unmistakably upward.
Her oxygen saturation improved.
Her tiny heartbeats, once barely there, started finding a fragile rhythm.
The nurses exchanged looks of cautious relief.
"She's stabilizing… She's actually stabilizing."
The news spread through the floor like a soft wave of hope.
🔥 The identity of the "powerful protector" is revealed
A knock echoed at the door.
Winona and Dylan straightened. Damiano turned, confused.
A man stepped inside—followed by two elite security officials.
Tall, composed, dressed in a dark suit.
Damiano froze.
Aaliyah blinked in confusion.
Winona gasped.
"Mr. Marquez…?"
The man nodded.
"Your family was being targeted. I had to intervene."
Aaliyah whispered, "Why…? Why would you help us?"
He looked at her with a soft, almost fatherly sorrow.
"Because I promised someone, years ago, that I would protect anything that belonged to your mother."
Winona's breath caught.
She covered her mouth.
"You… you knew her?"
"I owed her my life," he said. "And now I owe her daughter and granddaughter my protection."
He waved. More security filled the hallway instantly.
"No press. No leaks. No threats. Not while I'm here."
Damiano felt the weight in his chest loosen for the first time in months.
🔥 Damiano signs the most shocking document of his career
A hospital lawyer entered.
"Mr. David, the label requests your immediate approval for an emergency contract. They want to control the narrative."
Damiano laughed bitterly.
"Control? After what they've caused?"
The lawyer hesitated.
"There is another option… but it would end your deal permanently."
Damiano didn't need more time.
He didn't blink.
He didn't breathe.
He signed.
A single stroke of ink—
and Damiano officially cut ties with his entire label and management.
Winona whispered, "You just walked away from everything…"
Damiano shook his head.
"No. I walked toward my family."
🔥 Måneskin appears to see Estrella for the first time
A soft knock.
The door opened—and Victoria entered first, her eyes red but hopeful.
Thomas followed, carrying a small stuffed star.
Ethan stepped in last, quiet and emotional.
When they saw Estrella through the glass window of the NICU, their faces crumpled.
Victoria whispered, "She's so tiny…"
Ethan wiped his face. "But she's strong. She's got Aaliyah's fight."
Thomas placed his hand on the glass.
"And Damiano's stubbornness."
They all laughed softly, the first real laugh in days.
Damiano looked at them—his chosen family—and felt something inside him settle.
"We're going to get her through this," Victoria said firmly.
"We'll handle Italy. The media. Everything. Just focus on your girls."
Aaliyah watched from her bed, tears in her eyes.
For the first time since the nightmare began…
they weren't alone.
The war wasn't over—
but hope had finally stepped into the room.