Chapter 24 Amelia
Amelia
My eyes slowly flutter open.
For a moment I don't know where I am. The ceiling above me is white and unfamiliar. The air smells clean and if disinfectants. My left cheek burns badly and the pain pulses with my heartbeat. I taste blood when I swallow.
I groan and try to sit up.
A firm hand presses against my shoulder.
“Careful. You have a slight concussion.”
I blink until the blur clears.
“Luca?”
He stands beside the bed, jaw tight, eyes dark with anger. He looks more furious than I have ever seen him.
“Amelia,” he says, nodding once. “Do you have a death wish? Why the fuck did you leave the hospital without anyone knowing? You have barely recovered.”
His voice is low but sharp. Each word hits like a slap.
I wince. Too loud. “Do not speak to me like that. I am still your superior. Irrespective of the..... circumstances.”
“Fuck that,” he snaps. “You could have ended up in a critical condition. Or worse. You could have died.”
“I am fine,” I reply, irritation rising fast. The monitor beside me beeps steadily. Tubes are attached to my arm again. I reach to pull one out.
He grabs my wrist before I can.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he demands. “You are not leaving here. Not until the doctor clears you.”
“I need to see my father,” I insist. “We have unfinished business.”
“You already had that business,” he says flatly. “And it put you on the floor and back in the hospital, where you should have never left in the first place.”
“I'm not done.”
“You're not stable, yet.”
“I'm fine.”
“You fainted.” He points out.
“I was hit.”
“You were concussed before that,” he replies.
I glare at him and try to swing my legs off the bed. The room shifts slightly. He steadies me with both hands on my shoulders.
“Sit back,” he orders.
“Luca,” I growl. “Let me go. My whole career is about to come crashing down in my face and I cannot let that happen.”
“If you end up dead, there will be no career to return to,” he shoots back. “So you will stay here and recover. Then you can storm every office in this building if you want.”
“But it will be too late,” I say, my voice rising despite the pounding in my head. “I cannot just sit here and let my son of a bitch brother take every damn thing I have worked for. I put in my time, my effort, my sweat, my blood, my life to get where I am. I will not let him walk in and take it.”
Luca’s expression changes. The anger fades slightly, replaced by confusion.
“What are you talking about?”
I exhale and lean back against the pillow. The movement makes my ribs ache.
“It is nothing,” I say. “Forget it.”
His eyes narrow.
“Amelia.”
“It is Captain Russo to you,” I mutter. “And it is none of your business.”
He leans closer. So close that I feel the warmth of his breath. His forearms rest on either side of me on the mattress. His gaze locks onto mine.
“If you do not tell me what you mean, Captain Russo,” he says quietly, “you will not like the methods I will use to get it out of you.”
My pulse jumps.
“What do you mean?” I ask, my voice lower now.
He holds my stare for a long second, then leans back slightly. A faint smirk touches his mouth, but his eyes remain serious.
“Spill.”
I look away first.
For a few seconds I consider staying silent. I consider keeping it to myself, handling it alone like I always do. But I am tired. My head hurts. My pride is already cracked open.
So I tell him.
“Valentino, my brother, came to see me at the hospital,” I begin. “He didn't come to check on me, obviously.” I scoff. "I hadn't seen him in years and he returned just to mock me."
Luca’s expression hardens.
“He came to inform me that I have been demoted. That my unit is being dissolved. That he will be taking over command.”
Silence settles in the room.
The steady beeping of the monitor sounds louder now.
“He said my father made the decision. Effective immediately,” I continue. “He said I was weak. That lying in a hospital bed proved I was incompetent. That I let criminals roam free. That I embarrassed the family.”
Luca’s jaw tightens.
“He enjoyed telling me,” I add quietly. “He stood at the foot of my bed like he was delivering a promotion letter.”
“And your father confirmed this?” Luca asks.
“Yes.”
His eyes darken further.
“He did not even warn me,” I say. “Valentino just returned from the States and suddenly he is in charge of my unit. The unit I built. The officers I trained. The operations I planned. It is all his now.”
“That is not how command transitions are supposed to work,” Luca says slowly.
“I know.”
“Did you receive any official notice?”
“No.”
“Any written order?”
“No.”
“Then it's not finalized.”
“It will be,” I reply. “My father will not change his mind.”
Luca straightens and runs a hand through his hair. He looks like he is calculating something.
“And you went to confront him alone,” he says.
“Yes.”
“In your condition.”
“Yes.”
“You left the hospital without clearance.”
“Yes.”
“You realize how reckless that was.”
“I realize what is at stake.”
He stares at me for a long moment.
“You think this is about pride,” I say quietly. “It isn't.”
“Then what is it about?”
“It is about respect,” I reply. “It is about merit. I earned that position. I did not inherit it. I did not fly in and take it because of my last name. I worked for it.”
“And you think Valentino did not?”
“He was gone,” I say firmly. “He left. I stayed. I handled what needed to be handled. I carried the weight.”
“And now?”
“Now he walks in and calls me weak.”
My throat tightens despite myself.
“I will not be remembered as the captain who failed and got replaced by her older brother,” I say. “I refuse.”
Luca studies my face carefully.
“You're not weak,” he says quietly.
“That's not what they think.”
“That is not what matters.”
“It matters to me.”
He nods slowly.
“I need facts,” he says after a moment. “Not emotions. Did your father issue a formal suspension?”
“He said I am suspended from active duty until further notice.”
“Verbally?”
“Yes.”
“Was anyone else present?”
“No.”
“Then nothing is documented yet.”
“You think that helps?”
“It means this can still be challenged.”
I look at him sharply. “How?”
“You will not storm into his office again,” he says calmly. “You will not shout. You will not overwork yourself. You'll stay here and recover. You'll gather proof of your performance. You'll gather support from your team. You will approach this strategically.”
I let out a dry laugh. “You are telling me to be patient.”
“I am telling you to be smart.”
“I am smart.”
“You are also furious and not thinking clearly at the moment.”
He isn't wrong about that.
“I cannot lose that unit,” I say quietly.
“You might not have to.”
I search his face. “You would stand against Valentino?”
“If he is wrong for the position, yes.”
“And if my father orders you otherwise?”
He snorts. "You have nothing to worry about."
"What do you mean?"
Before he can respond , a doctor enters the room quietly, checking the monitor and my chart. He gives Luca a brief nod.
“She needs at least twenty four hours of observation,” the doctor says. “No stress and no form of agitation.”
Luca glances at me. “You hear that?”
“I am not a child.”
“You sure do act like one.” He mutters and I glare at him.
The doctor finishes and leaves.
I stare at the ceiling for a few seconds.
“They probably think I have given up," I say softly.
“Well..... Maybe,” Luca says.
I turn my head slightly toward him.
“Why do you care?” I ask.
He holds my gaze without hesitation. “Because I understand what you're going through. I know how hard working you are. And I might have an idea on what Valentino is capable of.”
“And what do you think he's capable of?” I press.
“He plays dirty.” Luca says.
That sends a chill through me.
“I won't let him destroy what I built,” I say.
“Then you will need to outsmart him,” Luca replies. “Not outshout him.”
I close my eyes briefly and let that sink in.
The anger is still there, burning steady and hot. I let out a tired sigh.
“Fine,” I say finally. “I will stay.”
Luca studies me carefully. “You mean that?”
“For now.”
He exhales slowly, as if he has been holding his breath for the past hour.
“But the moment I am cleared,” I add, opening my eyes again, “I am taking my command back.”
A faint smile touches his lips.
“I would expect nothing less, Captain Russo.”
I stare at the ceiling again, feeling the steady rhythm of the monitor beside me.
They may think this is over.
They may think I am sidelined.
They may think Valentino has already won.
They are wrong.
And when I walk back into that base on my own two feet, I will make sure they understand exactly how wrong they were.