Chapter 9 - PROTECTING THE INNOCENT
The next two hours were a blur of organized chaos.
The estate transformed into a trauma center. Isabella was given the correct medication immediately. Her heart rate stabilized within twenty minutes. The color returned to her cheeks.
Emma, suffering from hypothermia and exhaustion, was placed in the bed next to Isabella in the west wing.
Lorenzo stood in the doorway, watching the two little girls sleeping side by side. The monitors beeped in steady, reassuring rhythms.
Sophia was sitting in a chair between the beds. She wore dry clothes provided by the housekeeper. Her arm was bandaged where she had scraped it running through the woods. She hadn't taken her eyes off the children.
Lorenzo stepped into the room. He walked slowly, a man carrying the weight of the world.
He stood beside Sophia's chair.
For the first time in his life, the ruthless mafia boss didn't know what to say.
"I..." Lorenzo started, his voice rough. He cleared his throat. "I owe you my daughter's life."
Sophia looked up at him. The fear that used to live in her eyes when she looked at him was gone. It was replaced by a fierce, exhausted strength.
"You owe me nothing," Sophia said quietly. "But you owe Emma an apology."
Lorenzo looked at the sleeping toddler. He remembered how he had let his guards drag her mother away while she cried. He remembered throwing her tiny pink backpack into the mud.
He slowly sank to his knees beside Sophia's chair.
"You tried to warn me," Lorenzo said, looking at the floor. "In the dining room. You tried to tell me about Vivian."
"Vivian threatened to kill Emma if I spoke," Sophia said flatly. "She made me take fake pills. I hid them. Vincent must have found them and framed me."
Lorenzo closed his eyes. The depth of the betrayal was staggering. But the depth of this woman's courage was even more profound. She had fought trained killers to bring the medicine back to a child that wasn't even hers.
"Where is Vivian?" Sophia asked.
"She was in the car with Vincent," Lorenzo said coldly. "She hit her head in the crash. She is currently locked in the basement cells. She will be dealt with. The families who backed this coup will be dealt with."
He looked up at Sophia.
"You saved my family," Lorenzo said. "Name your price. Money, a house, a new life anywhere in the world. It's yours."
Sophia looked at Isabella. The little girl shifted in her sleep, reaching out blindly until her fingers found Emma's hand resting between the beds.
"I don't want your money," Sophia said softly. "I just want my daughter to be safe."
"She will never be in danger again," Lorenzo swore, his voice a gravelly vow. "No one will ever touch you. No one will ever look at you the wrong way. You have my word as a Moretti."
Isabella fluttered her eyes open. She looked around, confused, until her eyes landed on Lorenzo.
"Papa?"
"I'm here, little bird," Lorenzo said, quickly moving to her side and taking her small hand.
"Is Emma okay?"
"She's okay," Lorenzo smiled, tears finally welling in his dark eyes. "Thanks to her mother."
Isabella looked at Sophia. "You brought my medicine back."
"I did, sweetie," Sophia smiled warmly.
"Does that mean you're staying?" Isabella asked, her lower lip trembling. "Please don't go."
Sophia looked at Lorenzo.
May you like
Lorenzo met her gaze. The cold, impenetrable walls he had built around his heart since Elena died were cracking.
"She's staying," Lorenzo said softly. "This is her home now."
