Dante’s POV

I slammed my hand against the steering wheel as pain shot up my arm, but I didn’t feel it.

I didn’t feel anything.

I was numb.

Hollow.

Empty.

My phone was on the passenger seat. I grabbed it. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely hold it. I scrolled through my contacts and found Marcus.

Pressed call.

He answered on the first ring. "Dante? What happened? Did you find her?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

The words were stuck in my throat.

"Dante?" His voice was worried, "Talk to me. What’s going on?"

"She signed them," I said. My voice came out rough. Broken. "She signed the papers, Marcus. She gave my company to Ricardo. She betrayed me."

There was silence on the other end.

Then, "What? Are you sure? Did she tell you why?"

"I left. I couldn’t stay there, I couldn’t look at her. I couldn’t—" I stopped. My voice cracked. "I don’t know what to do, Marcus. I love her, I love her so much it hurts, and the fact that she refuses to tell me why she did this is eating me up."

"Dante, listen to me. You’re not thinking clearly right now, and you need to calm down. You need to—"

"I can’t calm down!" I shouted. My voice echoed in the empty car. "My wife betrayed me, and my company is being stolen. My son is sick, and my other son doesn’t know he has a brother. My whole life is falling apart, and I don’t know how to fix any of it!"

I was breathing hard.

My hands were gripping the steering wheel so tight my knuckles were white.

The streetlights flashed past.

Red.

Green.

Red.

Green.

I didn’t know where I was going.

I just knew I couldn’t go home.

"Where are you going?" Marcus asked.

"I don’t know the penthouse. I need to think. I need to figure out what to do."

"The penthouse? Dante, that’s across town. It’s late. Why don’t you come to my place? We can talk."

"I need to be alone." My voice was quieter now. Tired. "I need to think and figure out how to get my company back. How to stop Ricardo and how to—" I stopped, my throat tightened. "How to forgive her."

Marcus was quiet for a long moment, then he said, "Okay. Okay, go to the penthouse. I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes."

"You don’t have to come."

"I’m coming," Marcus said firmly. "You shouldn’t be alone right now, not like this, man."

I didn’t argue, "Fine. I’ll see you there."

"Yeah." I ended the call and tossed the phone back on the passenger seat.

Images flashing faster than I could process.

I drove faster.

The needle on the speedometer climbed.

80.

90.

100.

We’ve gone through worse, and I want to believe this is a phase that will come to pass.

But how?

Why would she do this? Why won’t she tell me?

She wasn’t plotting with him.

No!

She can’t do that.

I slammed my hand against the steering wheel again.

I loved her.

God, I loved her. I loved her more than I had ever loved anyone, more than I thought it was possible to love. How can she do this to me?

I closed my eyes for a second, just for a second, and when I opened my eyes, the truck was right there in front of me.

I spun the wheel

.

The car swerved.

Metal screamed against metal, and the world flipped.

Once.

Twice.

I lost count.

Glass shattered.

My body was thrown against the seatbelt the pain was instant.

The car stopped before everything went quiet.

The only sound was the hiss of steam from the broken engine.

The drip of something liquid.

Gas or blood.

I was upside down.

The seatbelt was cutting into my chest, and my head was throbbing.

I heard voices far away getting closer.

"Call 911! Call an ambulance!"

"Sir! Sir, can you hear me?"

I tried to answer, but my mouth opened, and no sound came out. My throat was dry.

"SIR! Stay with me! Don’t close your eyes!"

"Ariana..."

I’m coming home, Ariana.

I’m always coming home.

The siren started.

Red and blue lights flashing through the broken windows, with hands on my neck.

"He’s losing a lot of blood. We need to move fast."

"Sir, stay with us. Stay awake. Can you tell me your name?"

Hands lifted me as pain exploded through my body.

"Stay with us! Stay with us!"

"His blood pressure is dropping. We’re losing him."

"No. No, we’re not. Get me the paddles. Charge to 200."

I felt my chest get cold, and my shirt was gone. Something pressed against my skin.

Hard.

"Clear!"

My body jerked.

The pain was electric.

Explosive.

I heard a flatline.

"Again. Charge to 300."

"Clear!"

"Come on, come on. Again. Charge to 360."

"Clear!"

"We have a pulse. He’s back. Let’s move!"

I wanted to open my eyes, I wanted to see. I wanted to know I was still here, but I couldn’t.

The last thing I remember before everything went dark was Ariana.