Isabella's POV
The hospital was quieter now, but Isabella's skin crawled with unease. Something ancient was stirring—and not just inside her brother.
She paced the hallway outside the pediatric ward where Luna had been taken for observation. Aurelio had barely spoken after the flames, after the markings on his chest had pulsed with power. He was guarding Luna now, sitting beside her bed like a beast waiting for the next threat.
Isabella rubbed her palms together. She knew this bloodline wasn't dormant—it was sealed. The Santoro legacy wasn't just money and underworld power. It was something darker. Something holy and damned all at once.
Her phone buzzed.
A message from the contact she'd been secretly working with.
> "The markings match ancient Grigori seals. The bloodline hasn't skipped—it's resurfacing. And your brother? He's not the last of it."
Isabella's throat dried. She turned and walked back into the room.
Aurelio's eyes snapped up. "Who else knows?"
"Only me. And the people I'm trying to keep out of this."
Raven was seated on the couch across the room, silent. Still processing everything.
"You said Luna's powers started early?" Isabella asked her.
Raven nodded. "When she was a toddler. Lights flickering. Electrical surges. I thought… I thought she was just special."
"She is." Isabella's gaze turned sharp. "She's a Santoro."
Aurelio looked like a storm contained in human form. "What the hell does that mean?"
Isabella sat. "You were never meant to live a normal life, brother. But they tried to suppress it—to protect you. Our father didn't want you to become like them."
"Like who?" he growled.
Isabella hesitated, then whispered, "The Santoro ancestors weren't just crime lords. They were blood-bound warriors… part-human, part something else. Half Grigori. Touched by fallen power."
Raven's breath hitched. "Angels?"
"No," Isabella said. "Something far more dangerous. Half-bloods who chose to stay and rule among men. Your bloodline is tied to them, Aurelio."
"And Luna has it too…" he murmured.
"Yes. That's why they're coming after her. She's a key to something bigger. That investigation Raven was assigned to? It wasn't just about crime syndicates. They were looking for the child."
A long silence fell.
Then Raven spoke, softly. "They don't just want to hurt her. They want to use her."
Aurelio stood slowly, fists clenched. "Over my dead body."
Isabella nodded. "Then we need to act fast. I have contacts who can help. People who know the old bloodlines. But if they find out Luna's existence has been revealed…"
Raven stood too. "We protect her. Together."
Aurelio's voice was low, deadly. "They've taken everything from me before. My family. My past. I'll be damned if they take my daughter."