Chapter 1 - The Venom on the Diamond
The ICU room was bathed in the harsh, mechanical glow of heart monitors and automated IV pumps.
Skyler’s chest rose and fell in shallow, labored gasps as the poison fought her nervous system. Beside her bed, Dominic Rossi stood completely motionless, his dark tuxedo jacket removed, his white shirt sleeves rolled up to his forearms.
His eyes were fixed on the doctor, who was holding an illuminated glass slide containing a trace sample of blood taken from Skyler’s torn cheek.
"It’s a rare, synthesized neurotoxin," Dr. Vance explained, his voice trembling beneath Dominic’s silent, terrifying presence. "Extracted from the blue-ringed octopus and combined with a synthetic contact accelerant. It doesn't kill immediately. It paralyzes the respiratory system within six hours while burning the subcutaneous tissue. If Miss Gallagher hadn't taken that blow... if your mother had received that cut..."
"My mother would be dead," Dominic said, his voice dropping into an icy register that made the room's temperature feel like sub-zero.
"Yes, Mr. Rossi," the doctor admitted quietly. "The dose was meant to cause a heart attack that would have looked entirely natural for an elderly woman with pre-existing conditions."
Dominic turned his head toward the corner of the room, where his chief of security, Marco, stood holding a clear evidence bag containing the fragments of Bianca Moretti’s broken ring—a ring that had been retrieved from the conservatory floor by his guards.
"The setting on the diamond wasn't loose," Dominic realized, his dark eyes burning with lethal clarity. "It was engineered. Micro-serrated edges along the platinum band. Designed to slice skin on impact and inject the toxin stored in a hollow chamber behind the stone."
Marco stepped forward, his face dark with fury. "Boss. Bianca didn't just throw a fit because Mrs. Rossi spilled wine. She went into that conservatory with the explicit intent to murder your mother, frame it as a medical emergency, and solidify her position as your sole heir before the wedding."
Dominic walked over to the side of the hospital bed.
He looked down at Skyler. Her face was pale, her full lips cracked, and a heavy white bandage covered her right cheek. Yet despite the poison ravaging her body, her hands were still slightly curled, as if she were still trying to shield someone.
He gently reached out, taking her soft, warm hand in his broad, calloused palm.
"She saved my mother’s life," Dominic murmured softly, his thumb tracing the back of her knuckles. "And she was willing to die for a woman who wasn't even her own blood, while the people of high society treated her like an invisible nobody."
"What are your orders, Don Dominic?" Marco asked, his hand resting on the grip of his holstered sidearm.
Dominic raised Skyler’s hand to his lips, pressing a gentle, solemn kiss against her knuckles before laying her arm back down on the white sheets.
"Contact the chemical warfare specialists at our Swiss facility," Dominic commanded quietly. "I want the exact antidote synthesized and flown in by private jet within two hours. If Skyler’s heart so much as stutters, Dr. Vance, your entire medical board will answer to me."
"Understood, sir!" the doctor gasped, scrambling toward the door.
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Dominic turned toward Marco, his expression settling into the terrifying mask of a syndicate king preparing for war.
"Call every capo, every soldier, and every allied boss in the tri-state area," Dominic ordered smoothly. "The Moretti family declared war the moment Bianca brought venom into my home. By sunrise, I want the Moretti empire liquidated, their ports seized, and Bianca brought to me alive."
