Dominic’s POV
By the time I reach the hospital, the hallway outside intensive care smells of antiseptic and panic. Reporters have already found their way in.
A nurse blocks my path. “Family only.”
I flash a badge that doesn’t exist anymore. “I’m his attorney.”
Stanley lies half-propped on the bed, wrapped in too-white sheets. Tubes curl from his arms like translucent vines. The monitor beside him blinks slow, steady.
“Dominic.” His voice is a rasp, thin as air.
I pull the chair closer, sitting where he can see me. “You tried to take the easy way out.”
He smiles faintly, the old arrogance flickering through the ruin. “There’s nothing easy left.”
“You shouldn’t be alive.”
“Neither should she.”
I lean forward. “Who?”
He closes his eyes, lips trembling. “Elia.”
For a long moment, t
