Chloe slammed the office door shut behind her.
Antonio barely looked up from his desk.
"So," she said coldly, "I hear Melissa now attends your operations."
Antonio remained calm. "She's capable."
Chloe laughed bitterly. "And I'm not?"
He finally met her eyes.
"You don't belong in that world."
Her voice shook. "But she does? You take her to ports, warehouses, deals, blood and shadows… and I'm left at home pretending to be your fiancée while another woman stands where I should be."
Antonio stood slowly.
"This isn't about jealousy," he said. "It's about survival."
Chloe stepped closer. "No. It's about trust. You trust her. And you don't trust me."
Silence.
That was the answer.
Chloe's eyes filled with tears, but her voice hardened.
"You're building an empire with her," she whispered.
"And I'm just the title you keep for appearance."
Antonio didn't deny it and that broke her.
That same night, Melissa felt eyes on her.
She was alone in a quiet café near Antonio's building when the glass shattered beside her head.
She dropped instantly.
Gunfire. People screamed.
Antonio's men rushed in within seconds, shielding her, dragging her out through the back.
By the time Antonio arrived, Melissa was shaking.
His face was darker than she had ever seen it.
"They were professionals," his head of security said.
"Not Dogg's men. Someone paid them."
Antonio looked at Melissa, his voice low with fury.
"They didn't miss by accident."
Melissa swallowed. "They weren't trying to kill me."
Antonio understood instantly.
"They wanted to scare you," he said. "To make you leave me."
She whispered, "So I'm the weapon now."
Antonio cupped her face gently.
"No," he said. "You're the message."
Later that night, Chloe stood alone on her balcony, her phone vibrating in her hand.
A message glowed on the screen:
She's close to falling. Push harder.
Chloe's fingers trembled.
She wasn't sure anymore if she was a victim… Or if she had already chosen a side.
The second attack was not loud.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
Melissa was in Antonio's private residence, standing by the window, watching the city when the glass cracked without a sound.
A silenced bullet.
It grazed her shoulder and buried itself in the wall behind her.
She fell to the floor, pain exploding through her arm, blood soaking into her sleeve.
Antonio's guards stormed in seconds too late.
Antonio himself arrived moments later, his face losing all color when he saw her on the ground.
"Melissa…"
She was barely conscious when he lifted her into his arms.
The doctor later said the bullet had missed her artery by less than an inch.
Less than an inch from death.
When she woke up, she didn't cry.
She only stared at the ceiling, realizing how thin the line had been.
Her phone vibrated.
Dean.
She answered weakly. "I'm alive."
His voice came sharp and urgent.
"You won't be for long if you stay. I heard about the attack. Melissa, listen to me. This isn't about loyalty anymore. You're a target."
She closed her eyes.
"Leave the country," Dean continued. "Disappear. Forget Antonio. Forget all of them. Start over. I can get you a new identity. A clean life."
Tears slid down her temples.
"You don't belong in that world," he said softly. "You never did."
For a moment, she almost believed him. Almost.
But then she saw Sunny's smile.
Ariana's stubborn courage.
Sofia's quiet strength for a six year old.
And Antonio's face when he thought she was dead.
"I can't," Melissa whispered.
Dean sighed in pain. "Why?"
"Because I'm not running from fear if it means abandoning the people who love me," she said.
"I won't leave Sunny, Ariana, and Sofia behind. I won't survive knowing I saved myself and sacrificed them."
"You can protect them from afar."
"No," she said firmly. "They don't need a ghost. They need me."
Dean went silent.
Then quietly, "You're choosing war."
Melissa swallowed.
"No," she said. "I'm choosing family."
When she hung up, Antonio was standing in the doorway.
He had heard everything. He walked to her bed slowly and knelt beside her.
"You should leave," he said hoarsely. "I will protect them. I will protect you from afar." She shook her head.
"I don't want to be protected by distance," she said. "I want to stand where I can still make a difference."
Antonio closed his eyes briefly. "You will die here."
"Maybe," she said softly. "But I will die as myself."
He took her hand carefully, as if she were something sacred.
"You are the bravest person I know," he whispered.
She looked at him, tears shining.
"And you're the reason I almost forgot how to be afraid."
Silence filled the room. Outside, the city continued breathing.
Inside, Melissa had made the most dangerous decision of her life.
She would not run. She would not disappear. She would not abandon the people she loved and whoever was trying to break Antonio… Had just failed.
Sunny and Ariana stood at the foot of Melissa's hospital bed, their faces tight with fear they were trying—and failing—to hide.
Melissa looked smaller under the white sheets, her arm bandaged, her skin pale but her eyes still stubbornly alive.
"This was fine," Ariana said, breaking the silence, her voice sharp with worry, "when all you did was arrange his paperwork. Flights. Meetings. Accounts. But now?" She shook her head. "Now you're his right-hand man. I don't like it."
Melissa gave a weak smile. "Big talk for a woman who married to a mafia boss herself."
Ariana frowned. "That's different."
Melissa raised a brow. "Is it?"
"I'm serious, Melissa," Ariana insisted. "I didn't choose this life. It chose me. But you—you're walking into it with your eyes open."
Sunny finally spoke, her voice softer but heavier.
"Melissa, this is dangerous," she said.
"You've had two attempts on your life now. This is no longer a joke. This isn't just business anymore. It's bullets. Blood. Graves."
Melissa looked away for a moment. Then back at them.
"I know," she whispered. "I know it's dangerous."
Sunny stepped closer. "Then why are you still saying you're fine?"
Melissa swallowed.
"Because if I stop saying it," she said quietly, "I'll have to admit I'm terrified."
The room fell silent. Ariana softened. "You don't have to be brave with us."
Melissa's eyes shimmered.
"I don't want to lose myself," she admitted.
"But I also don't want to abandon the people who stand with me. Antonio didn't force this on me. I chose to stay."
Sunny shook her head slowly. "Choosing doesn't make it safe."
"No," Melissa agreed. "But it makes it mine."
Ariana crossed her arms, torn between anger and fear.
"And what if the next bullet doesn't miss?"
Melissa reached for her hand.
"Then at least I'll know I didn't live running away."
Sunny wiped her eyes quickly, pretending she hadn't.
"You're impossible," she muttered.
Melissa smiled faintly. "But I'm still here."
Ariana sighed. "Promise us something."
"What?"
"Promise you won't let his world swallow you," Ariana said. "Promise you'll still be Melissa. The girl who cared too much."
Melissa squeezed her hand.
"I promise," she said softly.
"Even if this world tries to change me, I won't let it erase me."
Sunny leaned in and hugged her carefully.
"You better keep that promise," she whispered. "Because we're not ready to lose you."
Melissa closed her eyes, holding them both with the little strength she had left.
"I'm not ready to lose you either," she whispered.
And for the first time since the gunshot… She felt safe. Not because the danger was gone but because she wasn't facing it alone.