CHAPTER 128: THE SILENT WARD 2

The door creaked open.

A shaft of light spilled across the sterile floor, cutting through the dim hush of the hospital room.

Alessia’s breath caught as a silhouette stepped inside — tall, familiar in posture but softened by exhaustion.

Her heart stumbled in her chest.

"Luca..." she said to him.

He stood there for a moment, as if afraid that moving might shatter the fragile stillness holding them apart.

His coat was damp from the rain, his hair disheveled, his eyes rimmed with sleeplessness.

Yet even in that disarray, he carried the quiet gravity of a man who had fought storms to get here.

"It’s me," he said quietly. His voice.. hoarse, raw, reached her before he did.

Alessia’s lips trembled. She wanted to rise, to throw herself into his arms, but the IV line tugged at her wrist.

Luca crossed the space in two long strides and dropped to his knees beside her bed.

His hands found hers — cold against warm, trembling against steady.

"God, Alessia..." His voice broke. "I thought I lost you."

Tears slipped down her cheeks before she could stop them. "I thought you weren’t coming."

He shook his head and said "I will definitely come for you always my queen ".

Alessia said with tears in her eyes "But they told me you were gone. That you..."

His throat tightened. "That you didn’t make it through the night."

Her eyes widened. "Who told you that?"

"The Council," he said bitterly. "They sent a message. Said it was confirmed by the hospital." His jaw clenched. "When I came to San Lucio, they’d already erased your name from the registry. No one would tell me anything. I had to bribe a nurse to find you."

Alessia’s pulse thundered in her ears. The Council’s reach was longer than she feared. "They sent me something too," she whispered. "A letter... and cakes."

His head snapped up. "Cakes?"

She nodded toward the untouched tray. "They said it was from you."

Luca’s gaze hardened. He stood abruptly, scanning the box and flowers. "Don’t touch any of it." He moved with deliberate care, pulling on the latex gloves from a medical cart nearby — his soldier’s caution surfacing.

He lifted the velvet box, flipped it open — empty. Only a faint residue of red powder clung to the edges.

His jaw tightened. "Poison."

Alessia’s breath hitched.

"They wanted you gone before I arrived," Luca said quietly. "No witnesses.... No questions."

He looked up at her then, and something deep and fierce burned in his eyes — not just anger, but fear. The kind of fear only love can birth.

"I won’t let them near you again."

She wanted to believe him — she did.

But the ache inside her was too deep. "Luca... the letter said you’re preparing a dissolution. That you... "

"Stop." He cut her off, voice trembling. "Don’t you ever believe that. The only thing I have been preparing is a war against anyone who doesn’t want you."

He took her hand again, pressing it against his chest.

Beneath his shirt, his heart hammered strong and fast. "I swore nothing would take you from me. Not them, not their shadows. You and our unborn kids are all I have left that’s real."

Her tears came harder now, unstoppable.

She leaned into his palm as he brushed them away. "Then why does it always feel like they win?"

Luca’s expression softened — a man torn between love and the ghosts of duty. "Because they have had centuries to perfect control," he murmured. "But they have never faced someone willing to burn it all for love."

He exhaled, long and slow, then pulled the small communicator from his coat pocket. "We have to move tonight. The doctor’s loyal — he will say you were transferred for observation."

Alessia blinked. "Move? Luca, I just... "

"I know," he said gently. "But they found you here. They will come again. The letter was just a warning shot."

Her fingers curled around his wrist. "And where will we go?"

"Someplace they can’t reach. My father had a safehouse near the old vineyards outside Ravello. It’s off the grid. The twins will be safe there until..." His voice faltered. "...until I can end this."

She stared at him, searching his face for a trace of doubt but found only determination.

Then, softly, "You can’t fight them alone."

He smiled faintly. "I was never meant to fight alone." He looked down at her stomach, at the faint curve of new life pressing against the thin fabric. "You have already done more than any weapon could."

The tenderness in his tone unraveled something inside her.

She reached up, brushed her fingers against his cheek, and whispered, "Then promise me. Whatever happens, don’t let them use our children as tools."

His eyes darkened, the soldier in him retreating for the man she had fallen in love with. "I promise," he said, his voice low but steady. "On everything I am."

The rain outside began to ease, replaced by the faint hum of evening.

The world beyond the hospital windows looked washed clean, though Alessia knew better — nothing about their world was ever pure.

She closed her eyes, letting the quiet stretch between them.

For the first time in days, her heartbeat slowed.

*******

Later that night

The hospital corridor lay in near darkness, lit only by the dull glow of emergency lamps.

Luca moved like a shadow, silent, precise. He had changed into plain clothes — a nurse’s jacket and black gloves. Alessia, still weak but determined, leaned on him as they moved past the ward doors.

The doctor, the one with kind eyes met them near the service exit.

He held the discharge papers, already signed, his face pale. "You shouldn’t be doing this," he whispered. "If they find out.... "

"They won’t," Luca said curtly. "Thank you, Doctor."

The man nodded once, eyes flicking toward Alessia. "Take care of her and the unborn kids."

Luca’s expression softened. "Always."

Outside, the night air was crisp, carrying the scent of wet earth and lilies, the same flowers that had nearly become her death.

Alessia shivered as he wrapped his coat around her.

The car waited at the far end of the lot — black, unmarked, engine idling.

A trusted aide sat behind the wheel, his face half-hidden by the shadow of his cap.

As they approached, Alessia turned once more toward the hospital windows. "It feels like I’m leaving a part of myself behind," she murmured.

"You are leaving what they wanted you to be," Luca said quietly. "Not who you are."

He helped her into the back seat, careful of the IV bandage still wrapped around her arm.

She leaned against him as the car began to roll out of the lot.

Rain misted the windshield, scattering the city lights into shards of gold.

Alessia closed her eyes, exhaustion tugging her down.

Luca held her close, his gaze fixed on the road ahead.

But inside his mind, a storm was raging.

The Council’s letter hadn’t just been a threat, it was a declaration of intent. They were closing in, and the lines between loyalty and survival were beginning to blur.

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small silver locket — Alessia’s, the one she’d lost months ago in the manor fire.

Inside was a photo, faded and creased: the two of them laughing, free for a brief second in a life built on borrowed peace.

He clenched it in his fist. They will not take this from me.

Behind them, the hospital lights faded into distance.

Ahead, the mountains loomed dark and ancient, like silent witnesses to the fate of the Moranos.

*******

At dawn when Alessia awoke, the world outside the car had changed.

The first light of morning stretched over vineyards blanketed in mist.

The house ahead was small, hidden among olive trees — forgotten, safe.

Luca opened her door and helped her out.

She swayed on her feet, but the air smelled of earth and freedom.

"Welcome home," he said softly.

Alessia looked at him, — really looked and for the first time since the blood and the fear, she allowed herself to believe that hope still existed.

They stood there, framed by sunrise, weary but unbroken.

And somewhere deep inside her, beneath the ache and the scars, a whisper stirred the pro mise of survival, of love defying darkness one heartbeat at a time.

Then they heard a voice behind them. She said

"It’s not yet time to welcome you home my dear..... "