Chapter 3

Elena Vitiello POV:

The blue glare of the iPad screen illuminated my pale, sunken face under the blanket. The sheer, unadulterated rage boiling in my veins did something strange to my brain-it bypassed the panic and shoved me into a state of absolute, terrifying clarity.

I shoved the iPad under my pillow. I threw the heavy hospital blanket off my body. The blast of air conditioning hit my sweat-drenched skin, raising a violent rash of goosebumps along my arms.

I didn't hesitate. I reached over and grabbed the plastic base of the IV needle buried in the back of my hand, ripping it out in one brutal motion.

Dark red blood instantly welled up, dripping down my knuckles and staining the pristine white bedsheets. I didn't even flinch. Five years ago, I survived three days of interrogation in a rival family's basement. A needle was nothing. I grabbed a square of gauze from the bedside table and pressed it against the puncture wound.

The second my bare feet hit the cold linoleum floor, my knees buckled. My legs had no muscle mass left. I crashed heavily onto my knees, the impact sending a jarring shockwave up my spine.

I ground my teeth together, grabbed the metal bedrail, and dragged my dead weight back up. Leaning heavily against the wall, I dragged my feet, inching my way toward the door.

Through the narrow glass slit in the door, I saw the two Syndicate guards. They were standing outside, their backs to my room, smoking cigarettes and laughing at something near the nurse's station down the hall.

I gripped the door handle and turned it with agonizing slowness. Waiting for the exact second one of the guards blew out a thick cloud of smoke, creating a visual blind spot, I slipped through the door like a ghost and darted into the adjacent emergency stairwell.

The concrete stairs were freezing. I climbed them barefoot, my lungs burning with every breath. Every step felt like walking barefoot on jagged glass, my atrophied muscles screaming in protest.

I reached the top floor, the executive administrative wing. I slid my back against the wall, perfectly timing the rotation of the security cameras to stay in their blind spots.

The door to the Hospital Director's office was cracked open. Inside, I heard the Director's greasy, sycophantic voice speaking English into his phone, likely begging for funding.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside. I pressed the deadbolt on the handle. The loud *click* echoed like a gunshot in the quiet room.

The overweight Director spun his leather chair around. When he saw me-a skeletal woman in a hospital gown, covered in my own blood-he gasped so hard he dropped his phone onto the mahogany desk.

He opened his mouth to scream for security.

Adrenaline flooded my system, overriding my physical weakness. I launched myself across the room with terrifying speed.

I grabbed the heavy, custom Montblanc fountain pen off his desk, ripped the cap off, and slammed the sharp metal nib directly into the soft flesh over his carotid artery. It was a standard close-quarters assassination stance, designed to hit the most lethal weak point instantly.

The Director froze, his massive body trembling violently as he felt the metal pierce his skin. He slowly raised both hands in the air, his eyes bulging in terror.

"Open the safe," I ordered. My voice was a dead, hollow rasp, completely devoid of human warmth. "Give me my original paper medical file."

"M-Mrs. Vitiello," he stammered, sweat pouring down his fat face. "The medical confidentiality agreements-the legal protocols-"

I pressed my wrist forward. The sharp nib sliced deeper. A thin ribbon of warm blood leaked out from under the pen and dripped down his neck, soaking into his expensive collar.

His psychological defense shattered instantly. Whimpering, he spun his chair around, punched a six-digit code into the wall safe, and pulled out a thick manila envelope stamped with a red *CLASSIFIED* seal.

I snatched the envelope with my free hand, using my teeth to tear the heavy paper seal open. I dumped the contents onto the desk.

The very first document was an official certificate issued by the New York State Department of Health.

I stared at the box labeled *Cause of Death*. The black ink boldly declared: *Accidental drowning, brain death.*

The date of death was exactly three days after my car crash.

My eyes dragged themselves down the page, moving toward the bottom right corner. The box for the primary family member's authorization.

There it was. A signature I had traced with my fingers a thousand times. Arrogant, sharp, and jagged. Dante Vitiello.

It felt like someone had taken a rusted hunting knife and shoved it directly into my chest, twisting the blade until my heart shredded into pieces. Five years of loyalty, of washing his blood out of his shirts, of taking a bullet for him-reduced to a forged signature on a fake death certificate.

Slowly, I moved my eyes to the adjacent box. The witness signatures.

My biological parents' names were signed perfectly on the dotted lines. The handwriting was neat, steady, and lacked any sign of forced trembling.

I dropped the bloody pen onto the desk. I looked down at the Director, who was cowering and shaking in his chair. A broken, hideous smile stretched across my face.

"So, I was murdered by my entire family."