The Proposal

The Proposal
Valentina crashed through the door of Alessio's apartment, gasping for breath. Blood dripped from a cut on her forehead. Her clothes were torn and dirty.
"Alessio!" she screamed, stumbling into the living room. "They took Alexandra!"
The room fell silent. Dante stood frozen in the middle of the room, a small black box in his hand. Rose petals were spread across the floor. Candles flickered on every surface. Alessio stared at his sister in shock, his champagne glass slipping from his fingers and breaking on the marble floor.
"What happened to you?" Alessio rushed to her side, catching her before she fell.
"The university," Valentina panted. "It's all connected to the Blackwoods. They've been experimenting on students—on us. They took Alexandra. I barely got away."
"Who helped you escape?" Dante asked sharply, tucking the box into his pocket.
Valentina shook her head. "I don't know. It was dark. Someone grabbed my arm and led me through a back exit. I thought it might be Dad, but when we got outside, they were gone."
Alessio helped her to the couch. "Start from the beginning."
Valentina told them everything—about James Reed Jr., Project Phoenix, the blood transfusion experiments, and the university's participation. With each word, Alessio's face got darker.
"Why didn't you come to us first?" he demanded when she ended.
"I didn't want to worry you," she revealed. "You two have been busy with the business, and I thought I could handle it."
"That was stupid," Alessio snapped.
"Hey," Dante said gently, putting a hand on Alessio's shoulder. "She's here now. And she's alive."
Alessio took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm sorry, Val. But from now on, no more secrets."
"No more secrets," she agreed, then looked around at the romantic scene they'd disrupted. "Wait, what's going on here?"
Alessio and Dante exchanged looks.
"Nothing important," Alessio said quickly. "We need to focus on finding Alexandra."
"Looks pretty important to me," Valentina said, eyeing the roses and candles. Her eyes widened as she spotted the box shape in Dante's pocket. "Were you two—"
"I was proposing," Dante admitted. "Bad timing, I guess."
Alessio looked away, his face blank.
"And?" Valentina pressed.
"And nothing," Alessio said shortly. "We have more important things to worry about right now."
Dante's look hardened. "Of course. Family comes first. Always." He grabbed his jacket. "I'll make some calls, see what we can find out about this Project Phoenix."
After he left, Valentina turned to her brother. "What the hell, Alessio? He was proposing to you."
"I know what he was doing," Alessio snapped. "But in case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a crisis."
"There's always a crisis!" Valentina threw up her hands. "That's our life. Are you going to put everything on hold forever?"
Alessio paced the room, anxious. "You don't understand. Marriage changes things. Makes things complicated."
"Things are already complicated," Valentina pointed out. "You two run a business empire together. You share a bed. How much more complicated could it get?"
"I could lose him," Alessio said softly. "If I let him that close—if I make it official—and then something happens..."
Valentina softened. She knew her brother was thinking about their parents, about all the people they'd lost. "Alessio, you've already let him in. Saying no won't protect you from getting hurt if something happens to him."
Alessio sank onto the couch beside her. "I don't know how to do this, Val. The family business, sure. Fighting enemies, absolutely. But this? Having someone who's mine to lose?"
"That's what life is," Valentina said, taking his hand. "Collecting people who are yours to lose. But also yours to love while you have them."
Alessio was quiet for a long moment. "When did my little sister get so wise?"
"When her life turned into a crazy science experiment, I guess." Valentina tried to smile, but winced as her cut started bleeding again.
Alessio grabbed a towel and pressed it to her face. "We're going to find Alexandra. And we're going to shut down this Project Phoenix for good."
"And Dante?" Valentina asked.
Alessio's phone lit up with a text. He read it and smiled softly. "I need to fix that too." He stood up. "But first, you need a doctor. Whatever they did to you and Alexandra—we need to understand it."

The next morning, Valentina sat in Alessio's private doctor's office, waiting for results. Her head still pounded, but the cut had been stitched and cleaned.
The door opened, and Dante walked in. He looked tired.
"Any word on Alexandra?" Valentina asked.
Dante shook his head. "We traced her to a facility outside the city, but by the time our men got there, they'd moved her again." He paused. "Did Alessio tell you where he went?"
"He didn't tell me anything," Valentina said. "He left last night and hasn't been back. I thought he was with you."
Dante frowned. "That's not like him."
Before they could talk it further, the doctor returned with a tablet. "Miss Castello, we've analyzed your blood samples." He looked nervous. "I've never seen anything like this."
"What is it?" she asked.
"Your DNA is... changing. Rapidly. The markers are unlike anything in medical science."
"Is it dangerous?" Dante asked.
The doctor paused. "I don't know. But whatever is happening is accelerating. And there's something else—we found traces of a compound I can't identify. Something that seems to be driving these changes."
Valentina thought of Marco's words: "Project Phoenix is ready for phase two."
"Could someone be controlling these changes?" she asked. "With drugs or something?"
"Possibly," the doctor admitted. "But without knowing what we're dealing with—"
The office door burst open. Alessio stood there, his face flushed with joy. Behind him was Dante's sister, Rosa, looking equally excited.
"We found it!" Alessio announced. "The Blackwood Files—all of them. Dad's hiding place."
"What? Where?" Valentina jumped up.
"The old lighthouse," Alessio said. "There's a hidden room beneath it. Rosa helped me find it."
"You went without me?" Dante asked, his voice tight.
Alessio stepped forward, taking Dante's hands. "I needed to do something right. To prove that I'm not afraid anymore." He dropped to one knee, pulling a ring from his pocket—different from the one Dante had. "I know this is backwards, and I know my timing is terrible, but Dante Russo, will you marry me?"
Dante stared at him in shock.
"I'm sorry about last night," Alessio continued. "I was scared. But Valentina helped me see that I'm already yours to lose. So I might as well be yours to keep too."
Rosa squealed with excitement. Valentina felt tears in her eyes despite everything.
Dante pulled Alessio to his feet. "I have one condition."
"Anything," Alessio promised.
"We find Alexandra first. We finish this Blackwood business once and for all. Then we get married."
Alessio nodded, slipping the ring onto Dante's finger. "Deal."
They sealed it with a kiss that made Rosa clap and Valentina look away, smiling despite her worry for her friend.
The party was cut short when Alessio's phone rang. His face darkened as he listened. "When?" he asked. "Are you sure?" After hanging up, he looked grim.
"What is it?" Valentina asked.
"Marco," Alessio said. "He's calling a meeting of all the crime families in the city. He's claiming that the Castellos have been hiding something powerful—something that could change the balance of power forever."
"Project Phoenix," Valentina whispered.
"That's not all," Alessio added. "He says he has proof that our father is alive. And that he's been working with the Blackwoods all along."
Valentina felt the room spin around her. "That's not possible."
"He's offered to trade Alexandra for the complete Blackwood Files," Alessio continued. "And for you, Valentina."
"Me? Why?"
"Because whatever they did to your blood, they need you both to make it work." Alessio's voice was heavy. "The meeting is tonight. Every major family will be there."
"Then I'll be there too," Valentina said strongly.
"No," Dante and Alessio said together.
"It's not your decision," Valentina insisted. "Alexandra is my friend. This is my fight. And if Dad really is alive—if he's really involved with the Blackwoods—" Her voice broke. "I need to know why."
Before anyone could argue further, the doctor's tablet beeped with a warning. He checked it, his face paling.
"What is it?" Dante asked.
"Miss Castello's blood test," the doctor said, turning the screen toward them. "It just updated with the final results."
On the screen was a DNA comparison—Valentina's changing DNA next to another sample.
"We found a match in the system," the doctor stated. "Someone with nearly identical genetic markers. Someone who's experiencing the same changes."
Valentina leaned forward to read the name. Her heart stopped.
"That's not possible," she whispered.
The name on the screen was Julian Castello—her father.