In the heart of a modern city, two rival families hold the power. Valentina, a fiercely loyal daughter, and Matteo, a cunning and determined son, find themselves on opposite sides of a dangerous feud. But when their paths unexpectedly intertwine, th...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The next day, I tried to push everything aside. The hospital, Valentina, her words—they haunted me, but I couldn't let them consume me.
I had to get back to work, had to force my mind on something else, anything else. At the warehouse, I busied myself with the shipment, moving through the motions like a machine, my focus mechanical, detached.
But it didn't stop the thoughts. Every second, her face flashed in my mind.
How pale she'd looked.
How broken she'd sounded.
I shook my head, trying to clear it, focusing harder on the logistics in front of me, but it was like trying to hold back a flood with a cup.
Just as I started going over the inventory list, I saw Julian walking toward me.
He looked as bad as I felt—exhausted, eyes shadowed with something more than just lack of sleep.
Guilt. Fear. Something deeper.
"Julian," I said, my voice tighter than I intended. "How the hell did you know about Val before I did?"
He stopped a few feet away, his face grim. "Matteo... Sabrina and I found her."
I froze. They found her? "What... what do you mean you found her?" My voice was sharper now, almost defensive, though I didn't know why.
Julian ran a hand through his hair, his face twisting as he tried to find the words. "We went over to check on her. She wasn't answering her phone, and Sabrina was worried. We knocked, and when she didn't come to the door... we went in."
I clenched my fists, waiting for him to continue, the tension crawling up my spine.
"Matteo... she was on the floor. Covered in blood," he said, his voice low and heavy. "There was so much blood... Sabrina was so scared, man. She was crying. I... I didn't know what to do. We called an ambulance, but by the time they got there... Valentina had already passed out from blood loss."
My chest tightened as I pictured it—Valentina, lying there, bleeding out, Sabrina crying, Julian panicking.
And me, not knowing a damn thing until later.
I swallowed, my throat dry. "And you didn't think to tell me?"
"We didn't have time," Julian said, his voice defensive now. "I was focused on keeping Sabrina calm, on... on making sure Valentina didn't die."
I looked away, biting the inside of my cheek, the words burning inside me. Guilt. Anger. A mix of both.
"Matteo," he said, his tone more serious than I'd ever heard it, "you're the only one who can fix this. Don't you get that? After you left the hospital, Val wouldn't eat. She wouldn't talk to anyone. Not to her parents, not to Sabrina, not even to me. She just shut down. Completely."
