Page 31 of Bound By Honor

“Get Dr. Romano,” one nurse calls out sharply to another. “Tell him the patient’s awake.”

Medical staff floods the room, their urgent voices and quick movements creating controlled chaos. I step back, watching them remove tubes and check responses, my chest tight with relief and dread.

Finally, they step away. Luciano’s throat works as he swallows, his voice emerging as a rasp.

“Aurora?”

One word. Just one word, but it carries the weight of everything—love, betrayal, forgiveness, fear.

“Alessandro has her.” The admission burns like acid. “He took her from this very room, while you were unconscious. Seven days ago.”

His eyes close briefly, pain etching deeper lines around his mouth. When they open again, they burn with an intensity that makes me step back.

“How?” The word comes out like gravel.

“We’re still piecing it together. He had help—someone on the inside. The security footage was wiped.” I run a hand through my hair. “By the time we realized... he was gone. And he took her with him.”

Luciano’s hand fists in the sheets, his knuckles white with strain. “The Rossis?”

“They’re involved somehow. But we can’t prove it.” I move closer, needing him to understand. “We’ve torn apart half of Chicago looking for her. Marco’s interrogation methods are getting... extreme.”

“Not enough.” His voice strengthens with anger. “You’re the Don. Make them talk.”

“You think I haven’t tried?” Frustration edges into my tone. “Every lead goes nowhere. Every threat meets silence. It’s like they’re all protecting something bigger than?—“

His heart monitor spikes as he tries to sit up. “Then make a deal.”

“A deal?” The word tastes like surrender on my tongue. “The Rossis made their terms clear. They want?—”

“Cristo, Dom!” His voice carries the weight of command even from the hospital bed. “We both know exactly what they want. Stop dancing around it like a politician. They want Aurora. A marriage alliance to cement their power.” His laugh is bitter, rattling in his chest. “And you’re too proud to give it to them.”

The accusation hits like a physical blow. “It’s not that simple?—“

“The hell it isn’t.” He struggles to sit up, machines protesting with shrill beeps. “Your sister’s life against your pride? That should be the simplest choice you’ve ever made.”

I pace the small room, the walls closing in. “You think I don’t know that? You think I haven’t spent every night since she disappeared?—“

“Thinking?” His voice cracks like a whip. “While she suffers? While Alessandro—” He breaks off, pain flashing across his features. “Show me the video.”

“Luciano—”

“Show me.” The command in his tone is familiar, a glimpse of his old strength.

My hands shake slightly as I pull out my phone, queuing up Alessandro’s latest message. The screen flickers to life, casting a sickly glow across Luciano’s face.

My stomach lurches at the sight of Aurora, bound to a chair in what looks like an industrial space. Each mark on her face sends a wave of nausea through me, my fingers tightening on the phone until my knuckles whiten. The metallic taste of rage floods my mouth as Alessandro’s voice fills the room. Her designer dress is torn, dark hair matted with what might be blood. But her eyes—Cristo, her eyes burn with that same defiant fire.

“Say hello to your brothers,Principessa.” Alessandro’s voice comes through the speaker, smooth as poison. “Tell them how much you’re enjoying our hospitality.”

“Vai all’inferno,” she spits, earning a sharp crack across her face.

Luciano’s heart monitor spikes dangerously. “Turn it off.”

I pocket the phone, the image of her split lip burned into my retinas. “Now you understand why?—”

“Why what?” He fixes me with a glare that could strip paint. “Why you’re letting your sister rot while you play at being Don? While you weigh her life against family reputation?”

“You don’t understand the position?—“

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