“Not yet,” Lucian said. “She’s still sleeping. The doctor wants her stable first. But when she wakes, I’ll tell her you called her sister.”
Sofia smiled faintly. “Isolde… she said Elena would be fine. She sounded so sure.”
Lucian nodded. “Your friend was right.”
There was a quiet moment between them — the kind that felt full of things none of them wanted to say.
Then Sofia looked up again, her voice small. “What now?”
Lucian’s jaw tightened slightly. “Now I make sure no one ever tries to hurt her again.”
The air in the room shifted — colder, heavier.
Lorenzo stepped away from the wall and came closer. His gaze didn’t leave Sofia. There was something different in his eyes now — not anger, not pity, something else.
He said quietly, “Rest, Sofia. Whatever happens next, you don’t need
