Aria’s POV
The room fell into stunned silence.
The doctors and nurses exchanged uneasy glances, disbelief etched across their faces.
“Mr. Russo,” one of the senior nurses began cautiously, “your wife cannot donate. You heard the diagnosis. Mrs. Russo is pregnant, and the pregnancy is unstable. Even minor complications could cost her the baby.”
Enzo didn’t blink.
“I heard,” he replied evenly, stepping forward with cold authority. “Proceed.”
The attending physician swallowed. “Sir, this violates medical protocol. We could lose both mother and child.”
“I don’t give a damn about protocol,” Enzo cut in, his voice sharp as a blade. “You’re being paid very well. Do your job.”
My lungs felt tight, like there wasn’t enough air in the room. I stared at him in disbelief.
This was the man I had once trusted with my life. The man who had sworn to protect me. Now he stood there, ordering doctors to gamble with our child as if it were expendable.
Enzo’s jaw hardened as he surveyed the staff. “If anyone here refuses, I will shut this hospital down by tomorrow morning. I own half the board members. Don’t test me.”
The threat wasn’t empty. Everyone in the city knew what the Russo name could do.
The nurse turned to me, her voice softer now. “Mrs. Russo… we need your consent.”
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Enzo.
“You told me you wanted a child,” I said slowly, my voice trembling. “Now that you finally have one, you’re ready to sacrifice it over a staged fever?”
His expression darkened. “You were going to terminate it this morning.”
“I changed my mind,” I shot back. “You heard the doctor.”
He exhaled impatiently. “Camilla’s pregnancy is stable. Yours is fragile. The specialists already said you may lose it regardless.”
My stomach dropped.
“So you’re choosing hers over mine?”
“It’s not about choosing,” he said, though his tone suggested otherwise. “Her vitals are unstable. She needs blood. Your pregnancy is uncertain at best. You might not carry it past the first trimester.”
The words echoed hollowly in my ears.
This wasn’t medicine.
This was preference.
And I wasn’t the one he preferred.
“You’ve already decided,” I whispered.
For a fraction of a second, something unreadable crossed his face. But before he could answer, Camilla let out another weak cough from the bed.
Enzo turned immediately, rushing back to her side.
That was answer enough.
A strange calm settled over me.
There was no point in arguing anymore. He had already made up his mind. The staff were trapped by his power, just as I was.
The nurse squeezed my arm gently. “Mrs. Russo… please. We need a clear answer.”
I looked at Enzo one last time.
He didn’t even glance back.
My throat tightened, but I forced the words out. “Do it.”
The doctor moved quickly. The needle Russod my skin, and dark red flowed into the tubing.
I didn’t flinch.
I didn’t cry.
I simply stared at the polished floor tiles and tried to steady my breathing.
At first, it was just a faint wave of lightheadedness.
Then it intensified.
My chest constricted sharply, and a cold dizziness swept through me.
Something wasn’t right.
I tried to lift my head, but my vision blurred around the edges. My heartbeat pounded violently, uneven and too fast.
The nurse monitoring me glanced at the screen and went pale. “Her pressure is dropping!”
“Stop the transfusion,” the doctor ordered urgently, rushing toward me. “She’s crashing!”
Camilla whimpered loudly.
“No!” Enzo barked, shoving the doctor aside hard enough to stagger him. “Keep going. Camilla needs it!”
“She’s stable!” a nurse shouted. “Her vitals are normal!”
“You don’t know that!” Enzo roared. “Look at her. She’s in pain!”
Another sharp wave of agony tore through my abdomen, and I cried out despite myself.
Enzo didn’t look at me.
Not once.
All of his attention remained fixed on Camilla.
The room spun violently. My body felt like it was slipping away from me, like I was no longer fully inside it. I tasted iron at the back of my throat.
So this was how it ended.
Not in a gunfight. Not in a betrayal exposed.
But in a hospital room, sacrificed for another woman’s lie.
Regret flooded me as Dominic’s face surfaced in my mind. The way he had said finally, as if he had always known this moment would come. I had asked him to wait.
I had hesitated.
The medical staff were arguing with Enzo now, voices raised in panic, but he stood firm, unmoved, staring at Camilla like she was the only person who mattered.
My lips moved weakly.
“God… please…” I breathed, barely audible. “Protect my baby…”
The ceiling lights blurred.
The voices faded.
And then everything went dark.
