Chapter 101: Blood, Guilt and Hope.

The sound of the shot echoed like thunder in the momentary silence of the hiding place. Bella turned her head, her eyes widening as she saw Théo staggering from the impact of the bullet, his little arms reaching for support in the air until he fell sideways onto the cold floor, while a red stain quickly spread across his shirt.

“THÉO!” Bella screamed, her voice breaking in pure despair. She ran to him, falling to her knees, her trembling hands trying to staunch the bleeding with her own clothes.

Rebecca, even though she had already been shot and was staggering, smiled maliciously at the suffering of her former rival. The smile, however, did not last long.

Three dry shots—cold and unhesitating shots coming from behind—hit Rebecca. Her body contorted and fell heavily onto the dirty floor of the warehouse, dead. Oliver lowered the gun, his icy eyes fixed on the final fall of the one who had dared to threaten the life of an innocent.

“CALL AN AMBULANCE!” Bella screamed, her eyes flooded with tears, pressing her son’s wound.

At that moment, Dylan approached, with blood running down a cut on his eyebrow and another on his arm. When he saw Bella kneeling, holding Theo’s body, his world stopped. He crouched down beside her, taking the boy’s cold hand.

“Please... don’t die, my son.” DK begged, and for the first time in many years, he let the tears flow freely.

Bella turned her face to him and saw in the eyes of the man she loved a reflection of her own pain. There were no words, only the shared fear between parents at the possibility of losing a child.

While the chaos spread around, a separate fight unfolded in one of the hallways. Susan fought for her own life and for her redemption. Ester gave no respite, advancing like a wild beast. Susan rolled on the ground, narrowly dodging a stab with a knife that Ester had pulled from her belt. She slipped, sliding towards a fallen gun—her own gun, which she had left behind when Ester first attacked. As her rival advanced for the final blow, Susan spun on the ground, raised the gun and fired. The shot hit Ester in the chest, who fell, sprawled and lifeless, her eyes still wide open. Panting, shaking, Susan barely had time to process. The ambulance sirens sounded in the distance. She ran towards the entrance of the warehouse and, when she saw Theo covered in blood being carried out, fell to her knees. “It’s all my fault… I shouldn’t have left him alone. I failed you… him.” Bella didn’t say anything at that moment. Her eyes were fixed on Theo being carried away by the paramedics. But Oliver, seeing the collapsed security, approached, took off his suit and threw it over Susan’s shoulders. “Get up. You can still redeem yourself. Let’s go to the hospital right away.” He held out his hand to her. Susan, with tears in her eyes and a red face from crying, grabbed it and stood up. Hours Later – Memorial Hospital in New York Time seemed to have stopped. The silence in the waiting room was louder than any gunfire. Carter, Bella’s trusted and experienced doctor, was leading the team in the delicate surgery. Meanwhile, Susan approached. “I just wanted to apologize…” she began, her voice breaking. “It was my responsibility, I failed.” Bella turned slowly to face her. Her voice was cold, hard, cutting like a blade. “At least you recognize your mistake. A mistake that may have cost my son’s life.” “I’m sorry, ma’am…” Susan lowered her head, letting her tears fall uncontrollably onto the marble floor.

DK placed his hand on Bella’s shoulder, trying to contain the tension, even though he was also devastated.

It was then that the door opened. Carter appeared, with the mask hanging around his neck, his hands still covered in traces of surgery.

“So, doctor?” Bella stood up with DK, both of them holding their breath.

Carter took a deep breath, his face serious. For a second, silence reigned again.

“It was difficult…” he began.

Bella almost collapsed.

“...but he’s going to be fine.” Carter smiled.

A collective sigh invaded the room. DK, relieved, hugged the doctor, who tried to avoid it, but ended up returning the gesture.

“Thank you, Carter.” Bella said with a fragile smile.

And at that moment, despite everything, hope began to breathe again.

As they entered the room, they could smell the antiseptic, strong, almost suffocating, and the constant sound of the heart monitor filled the room in rhythmic tones, as if it were there only to remind them that Théo was still alive.

Bella entered slowly, her eyes watering, her breathing heavy. DK came right behind her, with his hands in his pants pockets, his face still marked by the scars from the fight. But now, there, everything seemed too silent, as if time had stopped around that bed.

Théo was pale, but breathing, with an access in his arm, a probe in his nose and sensors connected to his small chest that rose and fell with some difficulty. The wound almost took his life — the bullet passed millimeters from his heart —, and even now, in recovery, it was still impossible to ignore how close they had come to losing him.

“My love…” Bella whispered, approaching the bed. She sat on the edge and took Théo’s small hand with a delicacy that contrasted with the strength that defined her. “Mommy is here, everything is okay now…”

Tears fell silently, running down her cheeks. She leaned over and rested her forehead on her son's hand, as if trying to feel some of his strength to stay upright.

Dylan approached slowly, resting his hand on Bella’s shoulder.

“He is strong…” he said, in a low voice. “He pulled you.”

Bella closed her eyes, remaining silent, and after a few minutes, DK took a deep breath and moved away from the bed.

“Now that Théo is out of danger,” he said cautiously — we need to finish what we started. Johnny is still out there, and who knows what he can do. We can’t hesitate. It’s time to hunt this bastard down to the end.”

Bella didn’t answer right away. She kept looking at her son. Théo’s fingers moved a little, almost imperceptibly, and it made her heart skip a beat. Then she turned to Dylan. There was firmness in his gaze, but also something new: tiredness, guilt…. “No.” Her voice was firm, almost sharp. DK frowned, surprised. 

“What?” 

“Bella…we’re so close! After everything he’s done, you’re going to let him get away?” She stared at him intensely. “I almost lost our son, Dylan. Our son.I can’t think like I used to. For years, I was driven by revenge. By pain, by the past… by Johnny. But now…” She looked at Théo again, her eyes filling with tears. “Now all I can think about is him. How blind I was. How much this war cost me.” She paused, her voice cracking. “However, I trust you to resolve everything and finally have peace.”

DK nodded and hugged Bella, who kissed him, sealing the deal.