The scream cut through the ballroom before the echo of the gunshot had even faded.
Luciano didn't think. He moved.
One moment, Nia stood beside him, poised in silent defiance. The next, her body crumpled like silk in the wind, her dress blooming red as she hit the marble floor.
"Nia!"
He was on his knees before the crowd could react, his arms cradling her, his breath shallow, chest heaving. The world around him blurred—glasses shattering, people shouting, guards rushing—but all Luciano could see was her face, her eyes flickering like dying light.
"Stay with me. Nia, look at me—look at me!"
Blood soaked through his tailored suit, but he didn't feel it. He didn't care. The woman he'd dragged into this world was bleeding in his arms, and for the first time in years, Luciano felt powerless.
"Call the doctor! NOW!" he roared, his voice cracking, stripped of all elegance.
Her lips parted, trying to form words, but all that came was a gasp.
He cupped her cheek gently, trembling. "You're going to be okay. Do you hear me? You have to be."
And then, just before her eyes closed—
Fade to black.
Sirens wailed in the distance, but inside the ballroom, time had frozen. Guests pressed back in stunned silence, the glamour of the evening shattered by the single shot that still echoed in their minds.
Luciano didn't move from her side, even as medics pushed through the crowd. His white shirt was soaked with her blood, his face pale but set like stone.
"Don't let go," he whispered, barely audible, his hand never leaving hers. "You promised me you wouldn't run."
The medics worked quickly, securing Nia onto the stretcher. Her eyes fluttered but didn't open. Luciano's jaw clenched. He stood, walked beside them, and barked to his men: "Lock this place down. No one leaves. Find who did this."
Then he turned and followed the stretcher toward the doors, his steps slow, heavy, but filled with quiet fury.
From across the room, hidden among the shadows, a figure watched silently. Calm. Unmoving.
A faint smile played at the corners of their lips.
And just before the ballroom doors slammed shut behind Luciano, sealing the chaos within—
The smile disappeared.