Bound by Duty

Chapter 4 De Luca, stay with us

Three years down the line

Isabella stood in the courtyard beneath the fading light of the evening, her voice calm but commanding as she issued instructions to the security detail. Suddenly, she heard a voice screaming, “Signora Isabella! Signora Isabella!”

She turned sharply as a maid came rushing toward her, breathing heavily. “Signora… the nurse is calling for you.”

“Tell her I’m coming.”

“No,” the maid replied, shaking her head, her voice trembling, “she said you must come immediately.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

She dismissed the guards and quickly followed the maid through the long, echoing corridors of the villa. Their footsteps rang against the marble floors. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” the maid stammered. “She only said it was an emergency.” As they reached the heavy oak door of De Luca's master suite, she immediately reached for the door. It flew open. The nurse stepped out, blocking her path. “What is it?” Before the nurse could speak, she shoved past the nurse, bursting straight into the room. De Luca lay on the bed, his body rigid, his chest convulsing violently. She turned immediately. “Get me my phone! Now!” The maid bolted. But she couldn’t wait. So, she followed after the maid, snatching the phone from the maid’s hands. Her fingers shook as she dialed, “Doctor, get here immediately. Now, there’s no time.” On the other end, the doctor’s voice came quickly. “I’m on my way. Put the nurse on the phone.”

Isabella thrust the phone toward the nurse. Her eyes kept darting toward the oak door as the nurse explained the symptoms to the doctor. “Signora, I’m coming as fast as I can,” the doctor said when Isabella took the phone back. The line went dead. She rushed back into the room and went straight to her husband’s side. She grabbed his cold hands and held them tightly. “Stay with me…” she whispered, her voice cracking. “You’re not leaving me; do you hear me?”

The clock at the far end of the room ticked, each sound scraping against her nerves. Fifteen minutes passed, and still no doctor, only the sound of her husband fighting to breathe and the soft hiss of oxygen filling the silence.

She stormed out of the room, moving faster without composure, heading straight to the driveway. “Where is he?” she snapped at the driver. “Go! Find him! I don’t care how you bring him here now.”

The driver barely had time to react. Then, in the distant roar of an approaching engine, the headlights pierced through the darkness, briefly illuminating Isabella where she stood waiting. Before the car even came to a full stop, she was already moving. “Doctor, hurry.” The driver’s door swung open, and the doctor stepped out. He was an older man with silver hair and tired eyes. His expression shifted the moment he saw Isabella’s face. “This one is serious,” he said quietly.

“He’s worse than before, much worse.” The doctor grabbed his leather medical case and hurried after her. They moved quickly inside the villa. Guards stepped aside instantly as the tension spread like wildfire through the household staff; no one spoke. Inside the room, De Luca lay twisted in the sheets. Each breath came in short, his chest rising and falling unevenly. “How long has he been like this?” the doctor asked, already opening his case. “Fifteen… maybe twenty minutes,” the nurse replied. “It started suddenly.” The doctor didn’t respond; he moved to the bedside, checked De Luca’s pulse, pressing two fingers into his wrist. We need space,” he said firmly. Isabella hesitated. “Signora,” he added more gently, “please.” She stepped back, her nails digging into her palms as she moved toward the edge of the room. He loosened De Luca's collar and tilted his head back slightly, checking for any obstruction as he watched the rise and fall of his chest. He instructed the nurse: “Get me a blood pressure reading and an IV line. She moved immediately, adjusting the oxygen mask over De Luca's face before wrapping a blood pressure cuff around his arm.

“Sir, can you hear me?” he said, leaning close. “De Luca, stay with us.” De Luca’s eyelids fluttered, but he did not respond. He then reached into his case and pulled out a small vial and syringe. His movements were fast but careful as he drew the medication, flicking the needle to clear the air bubbles. “His heart is under severe strain,” he muttered to the nurse. “If we don’t stabilize him soon, we may lose him.” Isabella froze instantly. The doctor injected the medication into De Luca’s arm. For a moment, nothing changed. The only sound was the oxygen hissing and the ragged struggle of De Luca’s breathing. He suddenly gasped, his body tensing violently. His hand twitched on the sheets, fingers gripping weakly as if reaching for something

Isabella stepped forward instinctively. “I’m here…” she whispered. “What is happening to him?” she demanded, her voice cracking. The doctor didn’t answer. He injected the second dose, then placed both hands firmly on De Luca’s chest, monitoring the rise and fall, counting under his breath. De Luca’s breathing remained erratic at first. Then, slowly, the violent tension in his chest began to ease, though not completely. The doctor exhaled quietly. “That should reduce the immediate pressure on his heart,” he said. Isabella’s legs nearly gave out; she grabbed the back of a chair to keep herself upright. “Is he going to live?” she whispered. The doctor looked at her. “For now, but this was a major cardiac episode, far worse than the previous ones; his heart is failing, Signora.”

De Luca lay motionless, the oxygen mask fogging with each shallow breath. The doctor adjusted the blanket and checked his pulse again. “He cannot endure many more of these,” he continued. “He needs constant monitoring, and we must consider transferring him to a hospital with full cardiac support.” Isabella’s expression hardened instantly. “No, He stays here.” He met her gaze. “Then we’ll bring the hospital to him… but you must prepare yourself; the next attack may not give us time to save him.” She turns to look at her De Luca; her chest tightens immediately, but her expression remains stern. The doctor stepped back, issuing instructions to the nurse before asking Isabella to take his leave. Reluctantly, she moved toward the door with him, but just as she reached it, a faint voice sounded behind her, “Isabella.” She turned instantly and rushed back to De Luca's bedside. His eyes were barely open, he tried to speak, but she gently cut him off, “Don’t. You need to rest.” He shook his head weakly, “Call them… all of them, the entire family.”

“Why?” she asked with a puzzled expression on her face. He paused for a while, allowing his breath to steady. “There’s something I must do.”

“What is it?” For a moment, he said nothing. Then, with what little authority he had left, his gaze hardened. “Do as you’ve been told.”