Chapter 26 Chapter Twenty Six
Luciano’s POV
I didn’t know if I was breathing any longer, I just felt my entire body go limp. I just sat staring at the wall blankly maybe for hours… or mintues… The only thing that pulled be back from the trance was a tap on my shoulders.
I glanced quickly at the person only to notice the Doctor standing in front of me. “ Mr Luciano, please , I need to see you at my office. Please come."
My hands were still shaking when I followed the doctor down the hallway. I wasn’t even sure how my legs were moving. Everything inside me felt tight… like someone had reached into my chest and squeezed until there was no air left.
The hospital smelled like antiseptic. Nothing about this place felt like somewhere a person came out alive.
When we stepped into his office, he gestured for me to sit, but I couldn’t. Sitting felt too final… like something you do when you already know the worst.
“Just talk,” I said, barely recognizing my own voice. “Don’t drag it out.” He exhaled, long and slow, like he was trying to prepare me for a blow square in the heart.
“Kamari lost a lot of blood,” he began carefully. “By the time she arrived, her pulse was extremely weak. We’re trying to stabilize her, but… her body is shutting down.”
I stared at him. Because if I moved, if I reacted, something inside me would break. He continued, “She’s fighting, but at this point, she might not make it through the night.”
It felt like someone ripped the floor out from under me.
For a second, I forgot how to stand. My vision blurred—not from tears, but from something worse. Something heavy settling on my chest. Was I going to lose her?
I looked away from him, jaw tight, trying to stop the shaking in my hands. “So what you’re telling me,” I said slowly, “is that you’re giving up.”
“No,” he quickly replied. “We’re doing everything—”
“Then do more.” My voice cracked, surprising even me. “If she needs blood, take mine. If she needs specialists, fly them in. If she needs machines, rip them out of another damn hospital. I don’t care what it costs.”
He looked at me with that helpless expression I hated. “Right now… all we can do is wait. Her body has to respond.” I ran a hand over my face, trying to breathe, but breathing hurt.
Hope….He was telling me to hope….Hope was useless. Hope didn’t stop blood from spilling or lives from ending…Hope wasn’t what brought her here half-dead.
I pressed both palms on his desk, leaning forward, forcing my voice to stay steady. “She’s not dying,” I said, quietly but with absolute certainty. “I don’t care what your machines say. She’s not dying.”
He nodded, intimidated, and I stepped out before I said something I couldn’t take back.
Walking down that hallway felt like dragging chains behind me. Every step echoed in my skull. And the truth I’d been avoiding slammed into me harder than anything: If Kamari didn’t survive…I didn’t know what the hell I was supposed to do with whatever was left of me.
“Boss. I am afraid but the doctor said you can go home and take a rest, so you can come back tomorrow," Jasper muttered following behind me. Go home? So joselyn can finish what she started.
"I gave you a simple task didn’t I? Protect Kamari at all cost. You failed once and now you failed, you life hangs in a balance just like hers, just pray she survives it unless I will torture you, I will make you die slowly, you will even pray for your death to come.”
Jasper flinched under my gaze, his face paling as he tried to swallow my words. He opened his mouth, probably to protest, but nothing came out. He knew better. No one in their right mind argued when I was like this. Not now. Not after what had happened.
“Do you understand me?” I hissed, stepping closer, letting the shadows of my fury stretch across the corridor, letting him feel the weight of every drop of blood Kamari had lost pressed into my chest.
“Yes… Boss… I understand,” he whispered, barely audible.
I turned sharply “Go home? You think I’m going to let anyone walk away after failing her? No. I don’t rest. Not until she’s breathing normally, not until every cut, every mark on her body is healed. Not until I know she’s alive, Jasper. And if she dies… you will answer for it.”
He swallowed again, eyes wide and frightened, and I could see the truth in his trembling body: fear.
“You were supposed to protect her!” I growled, voice low and dangerous. “Protect her at all costs. Do you have any idea what failing once means? Do you?” My finger jabbed toward him, sharp and accusing. “You failed. And now… now you’re lucky I don’t make you watch her die before I decide how you die.”
He flinched again, biting the inside of his cheek, silent now, and I let my anger simmer just a little.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” I repeated, quieter this time. “Her life hangs by a thread. Just like yours. You pray she survives… or I will make sure you suffer for every second you weren’t there.”
Jasper nodded frantically, nearly shaking. “Yes… Boss. I understand. I will—”
“Good.” I cut him off. “Now get out of my way. I’m going back to her. And make no mistake, Jasper… if you ever fail her again, I won’t hesitate. And I will make sure you regret it for the rest of your miserable life.”
He hurried off, muttering apologies, leaving me alone in the corridor. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, still stained with Kamari’s blood, and I could feel the fire inside me growing hotter with every step back toward her room.
The closer I got to the VIP room they’d placed her in, the tighter my chest became. Every step felt like walking toward a cliff I might fall off. Like the next breath I took would be the last one before someone came out to tell me she was gone.
I reached for the door handle…but a nurse moved quickly, blocking the entrance with her small frame. “I’m so sorry, sir, you can’t go in right now,” she said, forcing a polite smile.
A smile. At a time like this. “Why?” I asked, my voice low, strained. “It’s… it’s restricted for the moment,” she replied nervously.
A slow, bitter smirk tugged at my lips. So now they were telling me I couldn’t see her? Couldn’t be near her?
I leaned in closer.
“Open the door,” I said quietly. “Sir, I really can’t—” I cut her off, pulling out my pistol and pressing the cold barrel gently, almost tenderly against the side of her head.
“I said open the damn door,” I snarled, my voice shaking with fury and fear. “I want to see my wife.”