Isabella's POV
I broke free from Alexander's grip and ran.
Bullets flew past my head. Glass exploded around me. Someone screamed my name, but I didn't stop.
All I could see was that masked man disappearing into Sofia's room.
"Sofia!" I burst through the door.
The masked man had his hands on my daughter's bed, trying to disconnect her from the machines. Dr. Patel and two nurses were huddled in the corner, their hands up.
"Get away from her!" I threw myself at the man.
He shoved me backward. I crashed into a table, sending medical supplies flying.
"Lady, stay back or I'll—"
Another gunshot rang out. The masked man jerked and fell to the ground.
Dante stood in the doorway, his gun still raised. Smoke curled from the barrel.
"Anyone else want to try taking the child?" His voice was cold. Deadly.
Two more masked men appeared behind him. They looked at their fallen friend, then at Dante, then ran.
"Cowards," Dante muttered. He lowered his gun and looked at me. "Are you hurt?"
I couldn't answer. I was already at Sofia's bedside, checking her over with shaking hands. Her eyes were closed. The machines were still beeping. She was alive.
Thank God, she was alive.
"Isabella." Alexander rushed in, blood on his shirt. "Are you—what happened to your stitches?"
I looked down. My shoulder was bleeding again. The stitches had torn open when the masked man shoved me.
"I don't care." I held Sofia's hand. "I don't care about anything except her."
More footsteps thundered down the hallway. Hospital security. Real police officers. Everyone was shouting, demanding answers.
Dante's men blocked the doorway, keeping everyone out. Dante himself walked calmly to the window and looked out at the parking lot below.
"They're gone," he said. "But they'll be back. This wasn't a random attack."
"Who were they?" Dr. Patel asked from the corner, his voice shaking. "What did they want?"
"They wanted the girl." Dante turned to face me. "Someone knows Sofia is Alexander Romano's daughter. And someone wants to use her as leverage."
"Leverage for what?" I demanded.
"The Romano family has many enemies," Dante said. "Rival families. Business competitors. People they've wronged over the years." He glanced at Alexander. "Your engagement to Victoria Castellano was supposed to create a peace treaty between families. But you broke that engagement tonight. In front of witnesses."
Alexander's jaw clenched. "Victoria shot Isabella. The engagement was over the moment she pulled that trigger."
"And now the Castellano family will want revenge." Dante walked closer to Sofia's bed. "They can't touch you directly—too obvious. But a sick child? A daughter no one knew existed until tonight? That's the perfect target."
The words hit me like ice water. Sofia wasn't safe. She'd never be safe as long as people knew she was Alexander's daughter.
"Then we hide her," I said desperately. "We move her to a different hospital. Change her name. Something!"
"She's too sick to move," Dr. Patel said quietly. "Even if we wanted to, her heart can't handle the stress of transport."
"So what do we do?" I looked between Alexander and Dante. "Just wait here for them to come back? Wait for them to finish what they started?"
"No," both men said at the same time.
They glared at each other.
"We move her to a private facility," Alexander said. "Somewhere secure. Somewhere my family controls."
"Your family can't even control their own bank accounts," Dante shot back. "How are you going to protect her when the FBI might arrest you tomorrow?"
"The FBI has nothing on me."
"Don't they?" Dante pulled out his phone and showed Alexander something. "These are federal warrants. For your father. Your uncles. And you. All dated today."
Alexander's face went pale. "That's impossible."
"Is it? Your family has been under investigation for years. Tax evasion. Money laundering. Racketeering." Dante put his phone away. "The only reason you're not in handcuffs right now is because the FBI is building a bigger case. But when they move—and they will move—everything Romano-owned will be seized. Including any 'private facilities' you're thinking about hiding Sofia in."
I felt like the floor was dropping out from under me. "Alexander, is this true?"
He didn't answer. Didn't deny it.
"So neither of you can protect her," I said, my voice breaking. "The Castellano family wants revenge. The FBI wants to arrest the Romanos. And my daughter is dying in the middle of all of it."
"I can protect her," Dante said.
"Why would you do that? What's in it for you?"
He looked at me with those cold, calculating eyes. "I told you. You have something I want. Help me find it, and I'll make sure Sofia is safe. I'll pay for her surgery. I'll move her to a facility outside the country if needed. Somewhere no one can touch her."
"Outside the country?" I shook my head. "I can't leave the country. I have two jobs. I have a life here."
"You have nothing here but debt and danger." Dante stepped closer. "Look at this room. Look at your daughter. She's already a target, and she's not even conscious to know it. How long do you think you can keep her safe working at a café and a nightclub?"
He was right. God help me, he was right.
"What exactly do you want from me?" I asked.
"The black box. The one you were given the night of the fire at The Diamond." Dante pulled up the photo again on his phone. "This man gave it to you. What did you do with it?"
I stared at the picture, trying to remember. That night was five years ago. Five years of struggling and surviving and just trying to make it to the next day.
"I don't know," I admitted. "Everything was chaos. The fire started right after he gave me the box. I remember running. I remember smoke and heat and people screaming. But the box..." I closed my eyes, forcing myself to think. "I think I dropped it. Or maybe I gave it to someone. I don't remember."
"Try harder."
"I am trying! But it was five years ago and I was terrified and—" A memory hit me. Sudden and sharp. "Wait. There was another person. A woman. She grabbed my arm when I was running out. She said something about keeping it safe. About not letting them find it."
"Who was she?"
"I don't know! I'd never seen her before!" I opened my eyes. "But she took something from me. Maybe it was the box. Maybe it was something else. Everything's blurry."
Dante studied my face like he was trying to see if I was lying. Finally, he nodded.
"Then we find this woman. We find out what happened to the box." He looked at Alexander. "And you stay away from Sofia until your family's legal troubles are resolved. Having a Romano name will only make her more of a target."
"She's my daughter," Alexander said through gritted teeth.
"Then act like a father and put her safety first." Dante turned back to me. "Pack whatever you need from your apartment. You and Sofia are coming with me tonight."
"What? No! I'm not going anywhere with you!"
"You don't have a choice. Those men will come back. Next time they might bring more men. More guns." He walked toward the door. "My penthouse has security. Guards. Medical staff. Everything Sofia needs to recover safely. She'll have the surgery there, in a private operating room."
"You can't just perform surgery in a penthouse!"
"I can do whatever I want. I own half the doctors in this city." He stopped at the door. "You have ten minutes to decide. Come with me and Sofia lives. Stay here and wait for the next attack. Your choice."
He left. His men followed.
Alexander immediately grabbed my good arm. "Isabella, don't trust him. Dante Moretti is dangerous. More dangerous than you can imagine."
"And you're not?" I pulled away. "You lied to me. About the FBI. About your family. About everything."
"I was trying to protect you—"
"By making me marry into a criminal family that's about to be arrested?" I laughed, but it came out harsh. "Some protection."
"Isabella, please. I made mistakes. I know that. But I'm still Sofia's father. Let me help."
I looked at my daughter. So small. So fragile. Machines keeping her alive.
Who could I trust? The man who'd abandoned me once already? Or the criminal who wanted to use me?
Neither.
But I had to choose one of them if Sofia was going to survive.
"I need time," I said.
"You don't have time." Alexander's voice was urgent. "Those weren't random thugs who attacked. They were professional. Trained. Someone powerful sent them."
"The Castellanos?"
"Maybe. Or someone else." He lowered his voice. "Isabella, there's something you need to know about that night at The Diamond. About the fire."
"What about it?"
"It wasn't an accident. And it wasn't just about Dante's stolen property." He glanced at the door, making sure no one was listening. "That club was owned by my family. The fire was meant to destroy evidence. Financial records. Proof of illegal dealings. But someone got there first and took everything."
My blood went cold. "Are you saying..."
"I'm saying whoever has that black box has evidence that could destroy multiple crime families. Including mine. Including the Castellanos. Including Dante's organization." Alexander gripped my shoulders. "You're not just in danger because of Sofia. You're in danger because someone thinks you know where that evidence is."
"But I don't! I told you, I don't remember!"
"It doesn't matter if you remember or not. Someone will keep coming after you until they get answers." He pulled me closer. "Please, Isabella. Let me protect you both. I've already failed you once. I won't do it again."
Before I could answer, the lights went out.
The entire hospital plunged into darkness.
Sofia's machines started beeping frantically. Emergency lights flickered on, casting red shadows.
And through the doorway, I heard gunfire again.
More of it this time. Closer.
"They're back," Alexander whispered.
But this time, I heard something else. Something that made my blood freeze.
A voice over the hospital intercom, distorted but clear:
"Isabella Martinez, you have something that belongs to us. Bring the box to the parking lot in five minutes, or we start killing patients. One every minute. Starting with the children's ward."
Alexander and I stared at each other in horror.
"I don't have the box," I whispered.
"Then we have five minutes to figure out where it is," he said. "Or everyone in this hospital dies."