Chapter 7 - The Reckoning
The aftermath was absolute. Alessandro took care of his own. The Chief of Staff wasn't arrested—he simply vanished, and the hospital records were magically cleaned.
I was officially transferred to Alessandro’s private estate, under the guise of "private nursing care" for Matteo. It was a golden cage. I had everything, but I had no freedom.
"You’re safe here," Alessandro said as he walked through the nursery. "I’ve set up a permanent staff for you. You don't have to work at the hospital again."
"I'm not your hostage, Alessandro," I said, facing him in the center of the vast, marble-floored room.
"You’re my asset," he corrected. "In this city, you are either a wolf or a sheep. You proved you’re a wolf. And I don't let wolves wander away."
I looked at him, really looked at him, and saw the tragedy behind the power. He had lost his father, he had lost his way, and now, he had found his humanity in a six-month-old child.
May you like
"If I stay," I said, "I stay on my own terms. I continue my studies. I continue my work. And you never ask me to do anything that violates my oath."
He paused, a flicker of something like respect in his eyes. "Agreed."
