Not Your Toy Anymore Chapter 06
“There’s more.” The guard’s voice dropped. “We got the surveillance footage from the San Pedro waterfront.”
“Zoe aimed the lighter at Seraphina. It wasn’t an accident. And afterward, Mason was the one who shoved her into the fountain.”
“And we just received a file from the Greco family.” A pause. “From Lucian.”
“It’s evidence. Proof that Zoe switched Seraphina’s surgical protocol and that she worked with the head of the review board to fabricate the misconduct charges.”
“Your testimony is in there too.”
Rafael’s vision tunneled. His knees nearly buckled. Five years ago flooded back in pieces.
Seraphina’s face, blotchy and raw from crying. “Do you honestly believe she didn’t steal my work?”
And his answer, delivered without a second thought: “Zoe wouldn’t do that. Stop making this into something it isn’t.”
He remembered watching something die in her eyes — not all at once, but slowly, like a candle running out of air. She’d turned around and walked away. She never looked back.
He’d never believed her. Not once. And when the game was over, he’d been the one holding the knife.
“Where’s Zoe?” His voice was empty.
The guard pointed down the corridor. “Outside the ICU.”
Rafael turned and walked. Every step was deliberate.
Zoe spotted him and rushed forward, concern carefully arranged across her face. “How’s the Don? Did they find the surgeon?”
“That Seraphina — she’s faking how bad it is just to mess with your head, I know it! Don’t let her play the victim!”
“Shut up.” The words hit Zoe like a wall. She took a step back before she even realized she was moving.
“What’s wrong with you?” Her gaze flickered sideways, unable to hold his.
“I’ve seen the footage.” Rafael’s voice was flat. Dead.
“You aimed that lighter at her on purpose. And you and Mason set her up to fall in the fountain. Didn’t you.”
The color drained from Zoe’s face. She was already shaking her head. “No — Rafael, let me explain, it wasn’t like that—”
“I didn’t mean to! She was standing too close, she—”
“Enough.” His eyes pinned her in place. “Five years ago. You swapped her surgical protocol. You set her up for the misconduct charges. That was all you.”
Zoe grabbed his arm, tears already falling. “I had no choice, Rafael!”
“I wanted to stay. I wanted you. She was better than me at everything — everything — and I was terrified she was going to take you from me, so I—”
“So you destroyed her career.” He ripped his arm free. The way he looked at her — it wasn’t anger anymore. It was revulsion.
“How did I not see this? How did I spend years with you and never see what you actually are?”
“Rafael!” Her voice cracked. “Everything I did was for you. How can you stand there and—”
“If she hadn’t been in the way, we would’ve been together from the start!”
“She was never in the way.” Rafael’s voice had gone hollow, scraped clean of everything except exhaustion.
“I’m the one who failed her. I used her for five years and tore her apart for five years. If anyone deserves to pay for that, it’s me.”
The ICU door opened. The doctor who stepped out looked like he was delivering a verdict.
“I’m sorry. The Don’s heart rate is dropping fast, and his pressure is tanking. We’ve done everything we can.”
The floor seemed to drop out from under Rafael. He seized the doctor’s arm.
“Don’t stop. Just hold on a little longer — I found the surgeon, she’s coming, she’s on her way—”
“His body can’t take much more of this—”
The doctor didn’t finish. Footsteps echoed down the corridor — fast, deliberate, closing in.
Every head in the hallway turned. The man walking toward them wore a black coat and the kind of presence that made people step aside without being asked. Lucian.
Behind him, a team of specialists and two bodyguards in dark suits.
The hospital director recognized him and went pale. “Mr. Greco?”
Everyone in that hallway knew exactly who Lucian was. “What — why are you here?”
“I’m Seraphina’s husband.”