Chapter 8

ROSA’S PoV

I stepped into the bedroom as Vincenzo had ordered. The door clicked softly behind me, and I stood still for a moment, letting the quiet wash over me. The faint smell of his cologne lingered in the air, reminding me of the many nights we had spent tangled in each other, our bodies moving together like a melody neither of us could resist. I had missed him. Leaving him had been the toughest decision of my life and I still couldn’t get over it.

My mind wandered to the letter that Bianca had handed to him. I thought of how close she had been to him. It was like we had switched roles.

“You’re a lucky woman, Rosalinda,” it was Bianca. Four years ago when everything had seemed right with the world.

I giggled like a schoolgirl. “Really? Why? Because a pretty boy loves me?”

I sighed now at the fleeting memory. Vicenzo had always been a pretty boy but now that he was tough and rough on the edges, he was more handsome. And it was starting to seem like Bianca was the lucky one. But why did it matter to me? Did I still have feelings for Vicenzo?

No. Not after everything. Not after what he had put me through.

But then I remembered us before everything changed. Before he became the man he was now, before the darkness took hold of him completely. I remembered the way his eyes would soften when he looked at me, the way he would brush my hair away from my face, the tenderness in his touch when he thought no one was watching. He wasn’t always cold. He wasn’t always the monster he wanted to be. The monster his father wanted and needed him to be.

Vincenzo, the man I once knew, was still somewhere inside him, I told myself, but it felt hollow. I hadn’t seen that man in so long.

My phone rang, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked down at the screen and saw Liana’s name. My heart sank. Something was wrong.

“Rosa, it’s… it’s not good. Sofia…” Her voice wavered.

I felt the world tilt beneath me. “What happened? Is she okay?”

I was frantic. I had just left Sofia before I met Vicenzo in my house and she had been fine!

I could hear Liana struggling to breathe, trying to hold herself together. “Her health… it’s gotten worse. Something about an arrhythmia. I…I…They’re doing everything they can, but…” Her voice cracked, the words too much for her to say. “You need to come now. They’re saying they need insurance or a deposit.”

“I’m on my way,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. I didn’t have insurance and neither did I have the money for a deposit.

I dropped the phone, my hand shaking. My heart raced, panic flooding me. I couldn’t lose Sofia, not like this. She was all I had left. My daughter, my baby.

I rushed to the door, almost tripping over my own feet in my haste. I couldn’t think. All I could do was move, move as fast as I could to get to her.

But as soon as I stepped out of the bedroom, and into the entrance, the guards stopped me, their faces impassive, blocking my path. “Miss Amato, you cannot leave the penthouse,” one of them said, his voice firm.

I stared at them, my breath coming in quick, shallow bursts. “I need to go. My daughter’s in the hospital, she’s… they’re trying to save her!” I tried to push past them, but they held firm.

“We can’t let you through,” the other guard said, his voice even colder than the first. “If the Don learns we disob…”

“Please,” I begged, desperation pouring from me. “You have to let me go. I’m not asking. I’m telling you. Let me go. Think of what the Don will do to you if something happens to my daughter.”

They exchanged a look, one of them raising a brow, clearly torn between following orders and seeing my panic. After a long, agonizing pause, they stepped aside, allowing me to pass.

I didn’t waste a second. I ran.

The air felt thick, like everything around me had slowed, but I kept moving, kept pushing forward. I didn’t care about the consequences. I didn’t care about anything except getting to Sofia. I flagged down a taxi and kept counting the seconds till we pulled up in front of the hospital.

By the time I reached the hospital, my body was shaking, my breath coming out in ragged bursts. I burst through the doors, my heart hammering in my chest as I searched for anyone who could tell me what was happening.

A nurse rushed past me, and I grabbed her arm, panic flooding my veins. “Where is she? Where’s Sofia?” I could barely get the words out, my throat tight with fear.

She didn’t answer at first, her eyes flicking to the door behind me. “She’s in surgery, ma’am. The doctors are trying to stabilize her. It’s… it’s not looking good.”

I felt the world slip away beneath me, but I forced myself to breathe, to hold it together. “What do they need? What can I do?”

“They… they need to perform a bypass, but the cost… it’s very high. We are going to go ahead with the procedure but I advise you to consult with the Dean of Medicine because this costs thousands of dollars.”

Just then, Liana ran to me and enveloped me in a hug.

“Oh thank God you’re here, Rosa,” she said, her voice teary.

“What am I…what am I going to do Liana? How do I get so much money?” I was finding it hard to breathe.

Liana’s voice was steady when she said, “the strip club, Rosa…”

My knees went weak. The strip club. Filled with men like Bianchi. I knew I couldn’t go back there and now, there was only one thought on my mind; I had to ask Vicenzo for help.

I had to.

I had no choice.