Chapter 5 - AWAKENING IN THE DARK
I woke to the rhythmic, synthetic beep of a heart monitor. My throat felt like it had been scrubbed with crushed glass, and my limbs were weighted with lead. The room was dark, save for the ambient light of the medical equipment.
A shadow moved beside my bed.
“Siena.”
Alessandro’s voice broke. He fell to his knees beside the bed, burying his face in the sheets near my hand. I felt the hot dampness of his tears against my skin. This terrifying, powerful man was entirely broken.
“You’re safe,” he whispered, kissing my knuckles. “You’re alive.”
“What… happened?” I managed to croak.
“I made a choice,” he confessed, his voice thick with self-loathing. “The child warned me about my cake. I swapped our plates, thinking I was outsmarting an assassin, thinking I would analyze the poison later. I didn't know... I didn't realize until it was too late. I poisoned you, Siena. I nearly killed the only thing in this world I love.”
The memory rushed back. The swap. The swift, seamless movement of his hands. He hadn't protected me. He had traded my safety for information. The realization was a cold knife twisting in my gut.
“You used me,” I whispered, turning my face away.
“No, no, amore mio, I thought yours was safe. I thought the girl meant my plate specifically. I was blind.”
“Who did it?” I asked, staring at the blank wall.
Alessandro’s presence hardened. The sorrow vanished, replaced by an absolute, glacial fury. “Marco. And Isabella Lucchese. Marco has been feeding the Luccheses information. They planned to kill me, frame you—using Isabella in a matching dress—and let Marco take over my empire as a puppet for their family.”
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“Where is Marco now?”
“Secured,” Alessandro said softly, a tone that promised unimaginable violence. “But I need to draw Lucchese out. I need them to believe they succeeded. Siena... I need them to believe you are dead.”
