Chapter 14 - The Heart That Refused to StopPain became everything.
Luca couldn't see.
Couldn't breathe.
Machines surrounded him.
A needle entered his chest.
His father spoke through the glass.
“Your body is resisting.”
Luca gritted his teeth.
“You'll never win.”
“You've already lost.”
A monitor screamed.
His heart rhythm collapsed.
Mara shouted:
“Luca!”
His pulse disappeared.
Emma cried.
“Daddy!”
His father smiled.
“Begin the transfer.”
A machine started.
Blood moved through a transparent tube.
From Emma.
To Luca.
From Adrian.
To Luca.
The numbers climbed.
Then a new rhythm appeared.
A rhythm the doctors had never seen.
Mara stared.
“Stop!”
His father turned.
“Why?”
“This isn't a cure.”
“What is it?”
Mara watched the monitor.
“It's stabilizing his heart.”
His father frowned.
“No.”
“Look.”
Luca's heartbeat became regular.
Slow.
Strong.
For the first time in decades, the monitor showed something normal.
Luca opened his eyes.
His father stepped back.
“What happened?”
Mara smiled.
“You gave him exactly what he needed.”
His father raised his gun.
“No.”
Adrian suddenly woke.
He ripped the tube from his arm.
The machine exploded.
Glass shattered.
Smoke filled the room.
Luca stumbled free.
He grabbed Emma.
“Run!”
They moved.
His father fired.
The bullet struck Luca's side.
He fell.
Emma screamed.
“Daddy!”
Luca pushed himself up.
“Go!”
His father approached.
“You still can't beat me.”
Luca looked at him.
“You're wrong.”
His father raised the gun again.
Luca stepped forward.
“You taught me that fear makes people weak.”
Another step.
“You taught me family was leverage.”
Another.
“You taught me love was a weakness.”
He reached his father.
“But you forgot one thing.”
His father's gun trembled.
“What?”
Luca looked at Emma.
“Love gives people something to fight for.”
A gunshot.
Then silence.
Luca opened his eyes.
His father was on the floor.
Marco stood behind him.
Weapon smoking.
Luca looked down.
His father was still breathing.
Then sirens echoed outside.
The Valtieri had arrived.
Dozens of men stormed the estate.
Marco looked at Luca.
“We're surrounded.”
Luca held Emma tighter.
“How many?”
“Too many.”
Adrian walked out of the smoke.
Bleeding.
Broken.
But smiling.
“You have one way out.”
“Where?”
Adrian pointed toward the basement.
“Your father's vault.”
Luca stared.
“I thought it was empty.”
“It is.”
“Then why?”
Adrian looked at Emma.
“Because that's where he hid the thing everyone has been killing for.”
“What?”
Adrian whispered:
“The real cure.”
They entered the vault.
At the center was a small metal box.
Luca opened it.
Inside was a vial.
And one note.
He unfolded it.
Only six words were written.
This was never meant for Luca.
Luca stared.
Then looked at Emma.
Adrian's face changed.
“Give me the vial.”
Luca stepped back.
“Why?”
Adrian's voice broke.
“Because I was never supposed to survive tonight.”
Then the vial began glowing under the emergency light.
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And a timer appeared on the wall.
05:00
