Azalea hung up the phone and looked at her parents.

Enzo was sitting next to Zayden’s bed, holding his hand.

Isabella was by the window, watching the sunrise.

Aylin was curled up in a chair, finally getting some sleep.

Azalea quietly slipped out into the hallway. She needed to find Alexander, figure out how he was doing, and update Zayn.

She took the elevator down to the third floor.

When the doors opened, she stepped out and saw three men in the waiting area: Leo, Reyes, and Kade. They all looked exhausted.

Azalea walked over to them. "Is Kade inside?"

Leo looked up and said, "Yes, the doctor let him in to see Alexander."

Azalea nodded. "How’s Alexander doing?"

Leo shared a glance with Reyes before answering, "He’s not in good shape."

He filled her in on everything: the surgery, the problems, the fall, the internal bleeding, the organ failure, and that he was on a ventilator. The doctor’s take: hours, maybe a day.

Azalea listened with a calm face, keeping it professional, but inside, her mind was racing.

Alexander was dying, and Emma had no idea.

When Leo finished, Azalea quietly said, "Thanks. You should stay here. I need to make a call."

She walked away and found a quiet spot to call Zayn.

He picked up right away. "Well?"

"Alexander’s in the ICU on a ventilator. His organs are failing. The doctors say he has hours, maybe a day."

Zayn cursed under his breath. "So what do I tell her?"

Azalea thought for a second.

Then she said, "Nothing. Just bring her here, straight to the hospital. I’ll talk to her."

"What are you going to say?"

"The truth."

There was a short pause.

"Are you sure? Zayden specifically said—"

"I know what Zayden said. But she deserves to know. About Alexander. About everything."

Zayn was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Okay. I trust you. We’ll be there in a few hours."

"And Zayn?"

"Yeah?"

"Make sure she doesn’t see the news or check social media. Keep her off her phone."

"I’ll try."

Azalea hung up and took a deep breath. This was going to be tough, but it was the right thing to do. Emma needed the truth, every bit of it.

*****

The bathroom door opened, and Emma stepped out, her hair wet and dressed, ready to go.

She saw Zayn by the suitcases, phone in hand.

"What happened?" she asked. "Who was that?"

Zayn turned and smiled. "Oh, that was Azalea. My sister."

Emma nodded. "Is everything okay?"

"Yep. Everything’s fine."

The lie came so easily, too easily.

Zayn walked over, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her slowly and deeply, trying to soak in the moment.

Before everything changed. Before she found out the truth. Before her world fell apart.

He pulled back and rested his forehead on hers.

"I love you," he whispered.

Emma smiled. "I love you too."

Zayn kissed her forehead and stepped back. "Let me shower, then we’ll head out."

He disappeared into the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later, they were in the car, driving to the private airstrip.

Emma stared out the window, feeling quiet and anxious.

Zayn reached over, took her hand, and she squeezed it tightly, not wanting to let go.

*****

The private jet evened out, giving a nice ride under clear skies.

Zayn waved to the flight attendant.

"Can we get breakfast, please? For both of us," he said.

The attendant smiled and headed to the galley. She came back with plates of fresh fruit, pastries, coffee, and juice.

Emma barely touched her food, just moving it around on her plate.

Zayn noticed and kept an eye on her.

"You gotta eat," he said gently.

"I’m not hungry," she answered.

"Just give it a try, okay?"

With some hesitation, she took a bite of a croissant and chewed slowly, but it didn’t taste good to her.

Zayn reached across the table and held her hand again.

"It’s gonna be alright," he assured her.

Emma looked into his eyes, hoping to believe him, but the worry in her chest was still there. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Two hours later, the jet landed at Teterboro Airport in Manhattan.

The pilot’s voice came through the intercom. "Welcome to New York."

The jet pulled into a private hangar and came to a stop.

When the door opened, stairs came down, and a black SUV was waiting on the tarmac with its engine running. Zayn and Emma got in.

The driver nodded. "Mr. Virelli."

Zayn leaned forward and spoke quietly so Emma couldn’t hear.

"Mercy General Hospital. VIP entrance. Don’t tell her where we’re going."

The driver nodded, and the SUV took off.

Emma stared out the window, watching the city whiz by. The streets and buildings all felt so familiar.

Then she frowned.

"This isn’t the way to my place."

Zayn tensed up a bit.

"What?"

Emma pointed outside. "We’re going the wrong way. My house is to the west, but we’re headed east."

Zayn rushed to come up with a reason.

"Oh. Right. Zayden is in the hospital. I thought we could check on him first, if that’s cool with you."

Emma’s face lit up. "Oh! Yes. That sounds great. I’m excited to meet him."

She smiled genuinely, and Zayn felt a little tug at his heart because he knew that smile wouldn’t last forever. He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"You’re amazing, you know that?"

Emma blushed. "Stop it."

"Not a chance."

The SUV pulled up to the VIP entrance of Mercy General. They got out and headed inside, taking the elevator to the fifth floor.

When the doors opened, they spotted Azalea sitting in the hallway.

She stood up as she saw them and smiled, coming over to say hi.

"Zayn," she said, giving her brother a hug.

Then she turned to Emma. "You must be Emma."

Emma nodded, feeling a bit shy. "Yeah, nice to meet you."

Azalea pulled her into a hug. "Welcome to the family."

Emma smiled back. "Thanks."

Just then, a door opened, and Isabella stepped out. When she saw Zayn, her face broke into a huge smile.

"Oh, my kid! My little one! You’re finally here! I missed you so much!"

She rushed over and gave him a tight hug.

Zayn laughed. "Mom, I missed you too, but I was only gone since yesterday."

Isabella pulled away. "I know, but you’ll always be my little one. No matter how old you get, you’re still my baby."

She turned to Emma. "And is this my daughter-in-law?"

Zayn nodded.

Isabella smiled brightly. "Oh, sweetheart, I hope it’s okay if I call him ’baby.’"

Emma smiled shyly. "Of course."

Isabella laughed. "Thank goodness! Both my daughters-in-law are so nice."

She hugged Emma warmly.

Zayn cleared his throat. "I need to check on Zayden. Is anyone in the room?"

Isabella nodded. "Yeah, Aylin’s with him."

Zayn kissed Emma’s cheek. "I’ll be back in a bit."

He went into the room, leaving Emma with Isabella and Azalea.

Isabella took Emma’s hands. "Welcome to the family, dear. Can you believe I’m meeting both my daughters-in-law in the hospital?"

She laughed, and Emma grinned, but Azalea was watching her closely.

"Emma," Azalea said gently, "can we chat? Just the two of us?"

Emma looked confused. "Okay, sure."

Isabella narrowed her eyes at her daughter, but Azalea met her gaze, blinked once, and gave a tiny nod, a silent message: Trust me.

Isabella hesitated, then nodded.

Azalea turned to Emma. "Come on."

Emma followed her.

They stepped into the elevator, and Azalea hit the button for the third floor.

Emma’s heart started racing. She felt something was off—she could sense it

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Azalea paused before answering as the elevator went down.

Ding.

They got to the third floor and stepped into the ICU waiting area. Leo, Reyes, and Kade were still there, looking up when they walked in.

Azalea stopped, turned to Emma, and took her hands.

"Emma, what I’m about to say is going to be tough, but you need to know the truth."

Emma’s eyes went wide. "What... what’s happening?"

Azalea took a deep breath.

"Your dad is here, in the ICU. He’s on a ventilator."

Emma felt everything tilt.

"What?" Her fingers tightened around Azalea’s.

"He got shot last night... twice... during an operation. He had surgery, but things went sideways. His organs are failing."

Emma struggled to breathe.

"Is he... is he going to—"

Azalea’s expression softened... and that was enough for Emma to understand.