The news broke at six in the morning, waking the entire world at once.
"DAMIANO DAVID SIGNS SHOCKING CONTRACT — WHAT IS HE HIDING?"
"LEAKED LEGAL DOCUMENT: A GLOBAL EXIT DEAL?"
"WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR AALIYAH AND THE BABY?"
Damiano didn't even have time to finish his coffee before his phone exploded.
The label was furious, fans were confused, critics were calling it "career suicide"—and yet, in the middle of all the chaos, all Damiano cared about was one thing:
Keeping Aaliyah and Estrella safe.
He walked into the hospital room, shoulders tense, jaw locked. Aaliyah was half-awake, still recovering, but she noticed the storm in his eyes immediately.
Aaliyah: "Dami… what happened now?"
Damiano: sighing "The contract got leaked. The whole internet knows."
Before she could respond, Winona entered, her expression a mix of anger and fear.
Winona: "That leak wasn't an accident. Someone wants to destroy him publicly."
Aaliyah felt her chest tighten. She already knew the ex–band would try something next.
And she was right.
Minutes later, another alert lit up the phone.
"THE EX-BAND OF AALIYAH RESPONDS TO THE CONTRACT LEAK."
A video.
Four faces.
The same fake sympathy.
The same calculated lies.
Ex-bandmate #1: "He's manipulating the media."
Ex-bandmate #2: "They're playing victims."
Ex-bandmate #3: "We know things about Aaliyah they don't want the world to hear."
Ex-bandmate #4: "We're not done talking."
Aaliyah felt a cold wave run down her spine.
Aaliyah: "They're coming for us again…"
Damiano: "Let them try."
But the hits kept coming.
Estrella's new medical exam
A nurse rushed in with a chart.
Nurse: "Mr. David? Miss Rivera? The neonatology team needs to run another test on Estrella. There's… something in her oxygen saturation levels."
Everything stopped.
Damiano's heart dropped.
Winona immediately stepped forward.
Winona: "Is she stable?"
Nurse: "Yes, but we need to be cautious."
Aaliyah clung to Damiano's hand, trembling.
Aaliyah: "Dami… what if—"
Damiano: "No. Don't finish that sentence. Estrella's a fighter."
But his voice cracked.
He was terrified.
The protector appears—physically
While the doctors examined Estrella, security suddenly stiffened in the hallway.
Voices whispered.
Cameras were lowered.
The air changed.
And then he walked in.
Tall. Imposing.
Known everywhere.
Untouchable.
The protector.
The man who had quietly ordered the security teams…
The man who had anonymously funded the privacy barricades…
The man whose identity shook the entire world the moment it leaked.
He stepped into the hospital room, nodded once, and said calmly:
Protector: "The situation's worse than we thought. Someone inside the system wants this family destroyed. I'm here to make sure that stops."
Aaliyah's breath caught.
Damiano stared, speechless.
Winona's eyes narrowed, studying him—trusting him.
The war had officially entered a new phase.
And then the final blow
A television in the hallway turned on automatically, hospital staff freezing around it. A familiar voice filled the building.
"I'm Damiano's mother. And I have things to say."
Aaliyah felt her soul drop.
Damiano's mother.
Looking straight into the camera.
Smiling that cold smile.
"My son has changed. Aaliyah… she influenced him. She created distance between us. And I know things about their relationship—private things—that the public deserves to hear."
Aaliyah's vision blurred.
Damiano's face went white with rage.
Damiano: "Turn it off."
Aaliyah: "Damiano… why is she doing this?"
Damiano: "Because she wants control. And she's willing to betray us to get it."
The protector stepped forward, calm but deadly serious.
Protector: "Then it's time to show her—and everyone else—that they're targeting the wrong family."
Aaliyah leaned into Damiano as alarms started beeping again—Estrella's test results coming through.
And the world held its breath.