Chapter 2 - The Awakening in the FortressIt took five days for the darkness to recede, peeling back like thick, heavy velvet to reveal the pale, sterile light of a private medical suite.
My eyelids felt heavy as lead. When I finally opened them, the first thing I saw wasn't the crowded ward of a municipal hospital, but a luxurious, panel-wood room with high arched windows overlooking the Hudson River.
Standing near the window, holding a crystal glass of water, was Isabella Rossi. She wore an elegant dark silk dress, her silver hair arranged in a graceful knot, her warm hazel eyes softening with profound relief the moment she saw my fingers twitch.
"Sienna..." Isabella breathed softly, setting her glass down on the bedside table, taking my left hand into her warm palms. "My brave girl... you're awake."
"Isabella...?" I choked out, my throat raw and dry from the ventilator tube that had only been removed hours prior. "Where... where am I?"
"You are at the Rossi estate in Westchester," Isabella explained gently, stroking my hair. "Dominic brought his chief surgeons here three days ago once your heart stabilized. You are completely safe."
I looked down at my right hand resting on the white linen sheet.
The glare of the afternoon sun caught a thick, heavy band of gold gleaming on my ring finger.
My brow furrowed in deep, drowsy confusion. I tried to lift my hand, but the white bandages wrapped around my collarbone pulled sharply, sending a wave of pain through my chest.
"What... what is this?" I rasped, staring at the ring. "I... I don't wear jewelry..."
Before Isabella could answer, the heavy mahogany double doors of the master suite pushed open.
Dominic Rossi walked inside. He wore a crisp dark shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, his dark hair damp from a shower, his storm-gray eyes scanning my face with an intense, weightless relief that made my heart flutter against my ribs.
"She's awake, Dominic," Isabella said softly, standing up from her chair and giving her son a quiet, meaningful look before stepping out into the hallway.
Dominic walked across the Persian rug, stopping right beside my bed. He dropped onto one knee flat on the floorboards, bringing his broad frame level with my pillow, his large hand gently covering mine where it rested over the blanket.
"How is the pain, Sienna?" Dominic asked softly, his deep baritone filling the quiet room with a strange, soothing warmth.
"It hurts..." I admitted, looking straight into his eyes. "Mr. Rossi... why am I wearing a wedding ring?"
Dominic didn't flinch. His storm-gray eyes held mine with an absolute, unshakeable honesty.
"Because while you were in surgery fighting for your life, Victor Costa's hitmen were standing in the hospital lobby waiting to finish what they started," Dominic revealed flatly. "The only way to place you under the absolute, non-negotiable protection of the entire Rossi syndicate was to make you my wife."
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My breath caught in my throat. "Your... your wife?!"
"You are Donna Sienna Rossi now," Dominic declared softly, his fingers gently interlacing with mine over the gold band. "Every guard on this ten-acre estate, every soldier in New York, and every dollar in my vaults belongs to your protection. You saved my mother... and I will burn this city to the ground before I let anyone hurt you again."
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