DOMINIC'S POV
I woke up to the sound of machines beeping and Melissa crying.
"He's awake!" she sobbed, grabbing my hand. "Oh thank God, you're awake!"
My shoulder hurt like hell, but seeing Melissa's tear-stained face made everything worth it. "How long was I out?"
"Four hours," Melissa said. "Four of the longest hours of my life." She kissed my hand, my forehead, my lips. "Don't you ever take a bullet for me again."
"Can't promise that," I said, managing a weak smile. "Taking bullets for you seems to be my specialty."
"The doctor says you'll be fine," Melissa said. "The bullet went through your shoulder cleanly. No major damage. You were lucky."
"Lucky," I repeated, remembering the gunshot and pushing Melissa out of the way. "Is Sienna—"
"Dead," Melissa finished quietly. "The security guards shot her. She died at the scene."
I should have felt relief. Instead, I felt tired. So tired of all the violence and betrayal.
"There's something else," Melissa said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "The doctor found something when they did your blood work. Dominic, you've been poisoned."
The words didn't make sense at first. "Poisoned?"
"For months," Melissa said. "Slowly. The doctor said if you hadn't been shot and brought here today, you would have died within a week."
My blood ran cold. "Who?"
"That's what we need to figure out," Melissa said. "The doctor said it's someone close to you. Someone who sees you every day. Someone you trust."
My mind raced through possibilities. Marcus? But he'd have no reason to poison me slowly when he could just wait for the board to vote me out. Elena? But she'd been "dead" for ten years. Blake? No, Blake was too weak to plan something like that.
"Where's my father?" I asked.
"Outside with Blake and Marcus," Melissa said. "They wanted to come in, but I told them only family for now." She squeezed my hand. "Besides, until we know who the poisoner is, I don't want anyone near you."
Smart woman. My wife. The word still felt strange in my head. Wife.
"The doctor told you we're married?" I asked.
Melissa's cheeks turned pink. "Your father told me. Apparently, we signed the license and the minister said the words before Sienna started shooting. So legally..." She took a deep breath. "I'm Mrs. Dominic Romano now."
"Do you want to be?" I asked seriously. "Because we can get it annulled. You didn't really agree to marry me properly. Everything happened so fast—"
"I want to be your wife," Melissa said firmly. "I know it's crazy. I know we barely know each other. But when I thought you were dying, I realized something. I don't want to waste any more time on what's supposed to happen or what makes sense. You saved my life twice. You protected me when no one else would. You make me feel..." She paused, searching for words. "You make me feel like I matter."
"You do matter," I said, pulling her closer with my good arm. "You matter more than anything."
We kissed, and for a moment, I forgot about the poison and the pain and the chaos surrounding us.
Then the hospital room door opened and Dr. Chen walked in, her face grim.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," she said, "but we got the lab results back on the poison. It's a rare compound called Wolfsbane derivative. Very expensive. Very hard to get. And it has a very specific signature."
"What does that mean?" Melissa asked.
"It means I can trace where it came from," Dr. Chen said. "There are only three pharmacies in New York that carry this particular compound. And only one person has purchased it in the last six months." She pulled out a tablet and showed us a prescription record.
My heart stopped.
The name on the prescription was Vincent Castellano. My best friend. My lawyer. The man I'd trusted for thirty years.
"No," I whispered. "Vincent wouldn't—"
"I'm sorry," Dr. Chen said. "But the evidence is clear. Vincent Castellano purchased enough Wolfsbane derivative to kill someone six times over. And according to the pharmacy records, he picked up the last refill three days ago."
Melissa's hand tightened on mine. "Where is Vincent now?"
"That's the problem," Dr. Chen said. "After you were brought here, someone called asking about your condition. When the nurse told them you were stable and would recover, the person hung up immediately. We traced the call. It came from Vincent Castellano's phone."
"He knows you survived," Melissa said, understanding flooding her face. "He knows the poison didn't work. Which means—"
"He might come back to finish the job," I finished grimly.
As if summoning him with our words, the hospital lights suddenly went out. Emergency generators kicked in, but the hallway outside my room went dark.
"Lockdown protocol," Dr. Chen said, checking her phone. "Someone just triggered the emergency shutdown. All elevators are stopped. All doors are locked. We're sealed in."
"It's Vincent," I said, trying to sit up despite the pain. "He's here. He's going to try to kill me before I can tell anyone what I know."
"What do you know?" Melissa asked desperately. "Why would Vincent poison you? He's your best friend!"
"Because Vincent isn't who he says he is," I said, memories flooding back. Things I should have noticed years ago. "His real name is Vincent Nightshade. He's Seraphina's uncle."
"Seraphina?" Melissa looked confused. "Who's Seraphina?"
"Blake's dead fiancée," I said. "She died three years ago in a car accident. At least, that's what everyone thought. But what if it wasn't an accident? What if Vincent killed her because she discovered something about him? And what if he's been planning revenge on the Romano family ever since?"
The pieces were falling into place now, terrible and clear.
"Elena's 'death' ten years ago," I said. "Vincent was the one who arranged her funeral. He was the one who told me there was no body to recover. What if he helped her fake her death? What if he's been working with Elena and Marcus this whole time?"
"But why poison you slowly?" Melissa asked. "Why not just kill you outright?"
"Because he needed me alive long enough to sign over certain legal documents," I realized. "Vincent had me sign new company papers last month. I thought they were routine updates, but what if they weren't? What if I signed away control of my company without realizing it?"
Melissa's eyes widened. "We need to get out of here. We need to warn your father and Blake—"
The hospital room door opened.
Vincent Castellano stood there, holding a syringe filled with clear liquid. His kind face looked the same as always, but his eyes were cold and dead.
"Hello, Dominic," Vincent said calmly. "I'm sorry it has to end this way. I really am. But you've survived far too long, and we can't have you telling people about the poison. So I'm going to give you this injection, and you'll die peacefully of 'complications from your gunshot wound.' Very tragic. Very believable."
"Vincent, please—" I started.
"Don't beg," Vincent said. "It's beneath you. You're a Romano. Die with dignity."
He stepped closer, raising the syringe.
Melissa grabbed the water pitcher from my bedside table and threw it at Vincent's head. He ducked, and the pitcher smashed against the wall.
"Run!" I shouted at Melissa. "Get help!"
But Vincent was faster. He grabbed Melissa's arm and twisted it behind her back, making her cry out in pain. Then he pressed the syringe against her neck.
"New plan," Vincent said. "You let me inject you with this, Dominic, or I inject Melissa instead. Your choice. You have five seconds. Five... four..."
"Stop!" I tried to get out of bed, but pain exploded through my shoulder. "Vincent, please. She has nothing to do with this—"
"Three... two..."
"I'll do it!" I shouted. "I'll take the injection! Just let her go!"
Vincent smiled. "I thought you might say that." He pushed Melissa away and walked toward me with the syringe. "Don't worry. It'll be quick. Almost painless. Better than you deserve, honestly."
He leaned over me, bringing the needle toward my arm.
And that's when the hospital room door burst open again.
Charles Romano stood there with a gun, aimed straight at Vincent's head.
"Step away from my son," Charles said, his voice deadly calm. "Or I'll blow your brains all over this hospital room."
Vincent froze, the syringe inches from my skin.
"Charles," Vincent said, forcing a smile. "I was just—"
"I know exactly what you were doing," Charles interrupted. "I've known for weeks that someone was poisoning Dominic. I just couldn't figure out who. But when Dr. Chen called me with the prescription records, everything made sense." He cocked the gun. "You have three seconds to drop that syringe. Three..."
Vincent dropped the syringe. It clattered to the floor.
"Now tell us," Charles said. "Tell us everything. Why you poisoned Dominic. Why you faked Elena's death. Why you're working with Marcus. All of it."
Vincent laughed—a bitter, broken sound. "You want to know why? Because thirty years ago, your family destroyed mine. Dominic was supposed to marry my niece Seraphina. But he chose Elena instead. And when Seraphina couldn't take the heartbreak, she killed herself. She was seventeen years old. Seventeen! And the Romanos didn't even come to her funeral!"
"That's what this is about?" I said, shocked. "A broken engagement from thirty years ago?"
"That's what started it," Vincent said. "But it became so much more. Watching the Romanos have everything while my family had nothing. Watching you build an empire while we struggled. So yes, I helped Elena fake her death. I helped Marcus plan the corporate takeover. And I've been poisoning you for six months, watching you slowly die, waiting for the perfect moment to finish you off."
"You're insane," Melissa whispered.
"I'm patient," Vincent corrected. "But my patience is over. So here's what's going to happen. You're going to let me walk out of here, or I'm going to press this button—" He pulled out a small device from his pocket. "—and the bomb I planted in the hospital nursery will explode. Fifteen newborn babies will die. Your choice, Charles. Shoot me and they die. Let me go and they live."
Charles's hand wavered on the gun.
And in that moment of hesitation, Vincent ran.