PART 2 — THE MAN BEHIND THE EXPLOSION
The operating room doors slammed shut.
Lorenzo De Luca stood motionless outside.
Isabella's blood was still smeared across the sleeve of his black shirt.
For the first time in his life, Lorenzo didn't know what to do.
He could bribe a judge.
He could make a politician resign with one phone call.
He could bring an entire city to silence.
But he couldn't order the hearts of two unborn children to keep beating.
Then—
A faint cry came from behind the doors.
Lorenzo's head snapped up.
"Who was that?"
No one answered.
He stepped forward.
"CAN'T YOU HEAR ME?"
A nurse rushed out of the room.
"Boss—"
"My child?"
The nurse swallowed nervously.
"One baby has been delivered."
Lorenzo almost forgot how to breathe.
"Boy or girl?"
"A boy."
His eyes immediately turned red.
"Isabella?"
"She's still in surgery."
"The baby?"
"His heart is weak. We're taking him to the neonatal intensive care unit."
Lorenzo stared through the small glass window in the door.
A tiny newborn cart passed by.
A tiny body.
So small that Lorenzo's entire hand could almost cover the baby's chest.
He stood frozen.
"My son..."
It was the first time he had ever said those words.
Not heir.
Not De Luca.
Not Isabella's child.
But—
"My son."
He had just lifted his hand toward the glass when—
A scream erupted from inside.
"THE SECOND BABY!"
Lorenzo spun around.
The nurse's face went pale.
"The second child."
"What happened?"
"The baby's heartbeat is dropping."
Lorenzo slammed his hand against the wall.
"Get the best doctor here!"
"Boss, the best doctor is already inside!"
"Then get another one!"
"Everyone available has already been called!"
Lorenzo stared at her.
His eyes were terrifying.
"Then call every doctor in the world."
* * *
Inside the operating room...
Isabella was slowly slipping into unconsciousness.
The sounds around her became distant.
The doctors.
The machines.
The footsteps.
But there was only one person in her mind.
Lorenzo.
She had spent six months running from him.
Six months living under a false name.
Six months sleeping in cheap rooms.
Six months checking the windows before going to bed.
She had believed that if Lorenzo ever found her...
He would never forgive her.
But only minutes earlier, when she thought she was dying...
His hand had held hers.
That same hand.
The hand that had once held her in their wedding bed.
The hand that had once wiped away her tears.
The hand she had tried to forget for six months.
"Isabella!"
The doctor's voice pulled her back.
"Stay with us!"
She opened her eyes.
"My babies..."
"We're trying to save the second one."
Isabella began to cry.
"No..."
"Ma'am, you need to stay calm."
"No!"
She struggled to lift herself.
"The baby..."
The doctor froze.
"The baby?"
Isabella looked at him.
Tears ran down both sides of her face.
"The second baby..."
She gasped for breath.
"...is a girl."
* * *
Outside the operating room...
Lorenzo was on the phone.
"Boss."
The voice of his security chief trembled.
"We've checked the records from the explosion six months ago."
"Talk."
"There's a problem."
"What problem?"
"Isabella's car..."
Lorenzo went silent.
"That wasn't the backup vehicle."
Lorenzo slowly raised his head.
"What?"
"The person who arranged for her car to be changed..."
The man on the other end hesitated.
"Wasn't one of us."
Lorenzo stared at the operating room doors.
"What are you saying?"
"Boss..."
The man's voice dropped.
"Isabella's car was switched before she even left the house."
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
"How long before?"
"Almost two hours."
"Who ordered it?"
Silence.
Lorenzo's expression darkened.
"I asked you a question."
"We're still tracing the order."
"Find out."
"Yes, Boss."
"And one more thing."
"Yes?"
"Don't tell anyone I'm investigating this."
The security chief hesitated.
"Boss, are you saying—"
"I'm saying there's a traitor inside my organization."
Lorenzo ended the call.
But before he could take another step—
His phone rang again.
This time, it was an unknown number.
He answered.
"Who is this?"
Nothing.
Only breathing.
Slow.
Calm.
Then a distorted male voice whispered:
"You should have let Isabella disappear."
Lorenzo's entire body went still.
His eyes turned murderous.
"Who are you?"
A low laugh came through the phone.
"You found her."
Lorenzo tightened his grip.
"If you touch her or my children—"
"Your children?"
The stranger laughed again.
"That's the part you still don't understand."
Lorenzo froze.
"What does that mean?"
The voice became colder.
"Ask Isabella why she really disappeared."
The call ended.
Lorenzo stared at the phone.
Then—
A thought struck him.
Something Isabella had said six months ago.
Something he had dismissed as an emotional outburst.
If something happens to me, don't trust anyone.
At the time, he had assumed she was afraid.
Now...
He wasn't so sure.
* * *
Inside the operating room, the doctors suddenly shouted.
"Heart rate is falling!"
"Prepare for emergency intervention!"
Isabella's eyes fluttered open.
"Please..."
Her voice was barely audible.
"Save my daughter."
The doctor leaned closer.
"We're doing everything we can."
Isabella shook her head.
"No..."
She looked toward the doors.
"Save both of them."
Then she whispered something that made the doctor stop.
"Even if..."
Her breathing became weaker.
"...even if Lorenzo isn't their father."
The doctor's eyes widened.
"What did you say?"
But Isabella had already lost consciousness.
* * *
Outside...
Lorenzo was standing only a few feet away.
He hadn't heard the words.
He didn't know what Isabella had just confessed.
But he was about to discover something far more dangerous than Marco Bellini's betrayal.
Because the man who had ordered the explosion...
Hadn't been trying to kill Isabella.
He had been trying to hide the truth about the twins.
And somewhere in the hospital...
Someone was already walking toward the neonatal intensive care unit.
Wearing a doctor's coat.
Carrying a medical file.
And inside that file...
Were the names of two newborn babies that could destroy Lorenzo De Luca's entire empire.
