Where the White Lilies Bled

"Don, Isabella has gone too far!"

"Scarlett's pregnancy is already high-risk, and she tries to poison her and the baby, threatening the truce between our families!"

"I knew she was too jealous to let this go."

"Vicious bitch."

The surrounding Soldati watched me with mocking sneers, their eyes dripping with contempt.

Clutching my stinging cheek, my head still ringing, I felt Dante's hand clamp down on my arm.

"Isabella Rossi, you will apologize to Scarlett."

"Your actions disgust me."

"Scarlett and that child are innocent. How could you?"

He roared, his grip tightening with every word.

The pain made my vision swim. As I struggled, my head slammed against the wall. A warm liquid trickled from my temple. I reached up, and my hand came away slick with blood.

Dante's expression faltered. Panic flashed in his eyes, his fingers loosened for a second, and he opened his mouth to speak.

But a nurse ran toward us, shouting, "It's Miss Falcone! She has a scalpel! She's trying to kill herself!"

The flicker of guilt in Dante's eyes vanished.

His face hardened. He tightened his grip and dragged me into the emergency room.

"Dante, you know I'm an orphan. All I ever wanted was a child of my own."

"What did I do wrong? Was it a mistake to let you protect me...?"

"I'll carve this poisoned child out of my own body right now!"

Inside the ER, Scarlett was putting on a show, holding a scalpel near her swollen belly. Her face was a mask of tear-streaked, pitiful sorrow.

The corners of Dante's eyes reddened with undisguised heartache. He coaxed her in a low voice.

"Scarlett, put down the scalpel. Please."

"If this child is gone... we can always have another."

Hearing Dante promise her a child, I let out a broken laugh. The sound tore from my throat as fresh tears streamed down my face.

Ten years ago, after I'd lost everyone, Dante held me and promised he would be my family.

Three years ago, he promised we would have a child of our own.

Now, those promises were nothing but suffocating irony.

"Dante, I want Isabella to pay for what she did to our child!"

"If they're cutting me open, they're damn well cutting her open, too!"

Scarlett's eyes glittered with a crazed light. The scalpel was now pressed firmly against her own throat.

"Scarlett, put it down!"

"I promise you!"

A roar filled my ears. I stared up at Dante, my mind reeling in disbelief.

The man who had protected me for ten years, who feared I'd nick a finger chopping vegetables, had just agreed to have me cut open.

"Dante, you can't. I'm pregnant..."

My fingers trembled as I clutched his sleeve.

The words were barely out of my mouth before they were swallowed by Scarlett's shriek.

"Ah! My stomach, it hurts!"

Dante dropped my arm and rushed to Scarlett's side.

"Let's go! To the family clinic, now! Get the surgery done!"

In the Moretti family's discreet clinic, I was tied to an operating table. I fought against the restraints, but one of Dante's men grabbed a filthy rag and shoved it into my mouth.

"Quiet, Isabella! Miss Scarlett is right next door. Don't you dare disturb her!"

A nauseating smell filled my senses, and my stomach heaved.

Through the thin curtain separating us, I could hear Dante's soft, gentle voice.

"Scarlett, don't be afraid. I'll be right here with you..."

The words were hauntingly familiar. Hearing them again, directed at her, I felt only a dull, throbbing ache as tears slid from the corners of my eyes.

Just then, a doctor spoke with urgency.

"Don, headquarters is under attack. The other surgeons are dealing with the casualties. We only have one anesthesiologist left, and just enough anesthetic for one C-section..."

"Then give it to Scarlett!"