Serafina has been in an accident.

The words echoed in his skull as the chill outside felt like nothing compared to the ice traveling down his spine. His breath stuck in his throat as he lowered the phone from his ear, his eyes unable to focus on what was in front of him while his mind raced with all the thoughts. His thoughts about the extent of her injury, about his parents, and Salvatore, about Alessio and her kids, about Jayson, and the vendetta.

His heart thundered hard against his chest and his knees trembled at the words. Grasping the cold railing in front of him in an effort to try and remain standing, trying to clear his head so that he knows what he should do next.

He didn't receive any orders, he had to take matters into his own hand.

The sound of the balcony doors sliding open behind him had him straighten and blink away the tears.

"Marco?" Sofia called behind him. "Everything alright?"

Letting out a deep exhale, he slipped his phone into his slacks pockets before turning to her with a smile.

"Everything is fine," He assured her. "I've just been called for some last-minute things back at HQ, so I'm going to head on out,"

"Oh,"

"And I think you should get some rest, it's late,"

"Okay..." Sofia trailed, looking up at him with scrunched eyebrows, noticing the tenseness about his stance. "I hope everything is alright there,"

"It's all standard procedure," Marco assured her as he walked into the apartment, Sofia hot at his heels and watched him pull on his blazer and coat, grabbing his essentials off the tabletop.

"Rather late for such a procedure,"

"It's actually a lot more common than you'd think," He chuckled breathlessly, making his way towards the apartment door. "Random matters keeping popping up at the most random of times. I suppose you could consider it an occupational hazard that comes with being the largest Mafia."

"Well-" She wanted to say something, wanting to ease the weight on his shoulders, but Sofia had no idea what she could possibly say to make things better.

"Lock the doors behind me," Were Marco's parting words as he slipped out of the apartment, the door closing shut behind him before he made his way down the hallway. Taking the fire exit down, knowing he didn't have time to wait for the elevator.

The drive to the hospital was a long one, or maybe the palpitations made feel longer than it actually was, but regardless of that, Marco let out a relieved breath to finally come into the parking.

Making his way inside, he took the stairs up to the third landing, his gaze instantly shooting up at the sound of a scream resonating above him.

Tearing out his gun from the holster, he held it at a ready and sprinted up the remainder of the stairs, aiming his weapon around him before catching sight of his family all standing together and unharmed, their gaze to the left. A rancid metallic stench reached his nose as he resisted the urge to gag, turning to find his brother standing above a corpse and drenched in blood. His breath faltering to know that Salvatore had snapped.

He stumbled forward when someone bumped into his shoulder, looking up, his gaze softened to find Alessio looking around in a panic, getting cornered by Arcangelo and two guards.

Marco couldn't help the swell of pity that arose in his chest to see his brother-in-law with grief-stricken and crazed eyes, glancing wildly around him, begging for answers none of the men in front of him possessed. And the youngest wished – for Alessio's sake – that his brother would be gentle on him.

But that desire was shot down by the steady footfall of the blood-soaked Mafia Boss. Dragging the stench of death behind him as he grabbed hold of the front of Alessio's shirt, his expression poised and he spoke the words that followed.

"Where are they?" Salvatore asked the simple question, Marco moving towards them, ready to intervene as he saw Alessio splutter incoherently. "Where are Marina and Michele?"

"At...at home. I couldn't bring them," Alessio sniffled. "They were asleep."

"With whom?"

"With my mom. They're with my mom,"

"Tazio, take three men with you and ensure that Marina and Michele are safely taken to the estate," The Mafia Boss commanded his second-in-command while he released his hold on the trembling Alessio, the suddenness having him stumble back into Arcangelo.

"I'll go with," Marco spoke up behind them, everyone turning at the sound of his voice, not having noticed his arrival, but the youngest's eyes never strayed from the man in front of him. Waiting for his approval. Receiving it in the form of a nod before he turned on his heels and led Tazio and the guards down the way he had come.

On the drive to Serafina's, he was informed of everything that had happened.

How the truck collided with her car and left her severely injured, Marco's grip tightening on the steering wheel and swallowed down the emotions bubbling in his chest, trembling with the intensity of them.

Myriam greeted them at the door, gesturing to Serafina's bedroom before walking away to retrieve the twin's belongings.

Stepping into the master bedroom, Marco's chest tightened to see the two innocent infants sleeping soundly. Blissfully ignorant to the fact that they had been caught in the crossfire and he was forced to ponder the implications of this attack. What did it mean for Marina and Michele and Alessio? Because Marco knew...if something were to happen to Serafina, Alessio would not be getting custody of his children. Despite having the Romano name, they were Regnante's first and foremost.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Marco wiped away the tears that streamed down his cheeks, picking up the sleeping children, putting one of them into the carrycot while he held the other one to his chest, making his way out of the house.

He personally oversaw that they were settled into the estate, leaving three guards with them while he and Tazio returned to the hospital.

The silence weighed heavy on the floor, everyone settled into waiting chairs with the corpse from before having been taken away and the blood cleaned. But the stench of death still clung to the air like it was waiting to relieve another form life. The thought forcing Marco's stomach to squirm.

He settled down beside Nicole, knowing that his sister-in-law must be traumatized after seeing her husband like that, remembering how terrified he had been of Salvatore when he witnessed the beast beneath for the first time.

He hadn't been older than sixteen, Marco thought, and he could remember clearly the cold lifeless look in his brother's eyes and the grin too wide as he strangled the life out of the girl struggling beneath him. The cries of her father echoing around the room with Marco huddled into the corner, begging for Salvatore to stop as he walked over to the man, submerging his head into water until his struggling stopped, making it look like killing them...was a game to him.

The memory forced a shiver down his spine as he leaned forward in his seat, rubbing his temples before looking up to feel Nicole's hand rub his back, giving him a comforting smile, but Marco couldn't bring himself to return the gesture. Instead, he looked at the back of the Mafia Boss standing across the floor.

It wasn't until sunrise that the doctor stepped out of the operation theater.

"Mr. Regnante?" He called out as everyone looked up to see a lean man standing before them in medical scrubs and a mask over his mouth. "Serafina is out of surgery,"

Serafina was in the ICU and wasn't permitted any visitors, instead, the doctor took them to the overhead observation theater. Shuffling in behind the glass panel, they watched a nurse fix the I.V. fluids to a hook, obscuring their vision of the bed.

Marco's throat clamped shut when she stepped away, the youngest putting a hand to his mouth as he stared at the person before him.

Her entire head was covered with bandages, a cast encasing her neck and elongating it, with her arm and leg in plaster as well. She had cuts littering her face, bruises painting her body black and blue and green and purple. Her eyes closed behind the gauze, and a large tube stuck down her throat with smaller ones connecting her to I.V bags and wires connecting her to various machines looming over her unconscious figure that sentries.

"What's the damage?" Marco heard Salvatore's voice break through the static buzzing in his mind as he couldn't bring himself to tear his gaze away from the scene before him.

His big sister.

"The collision of the truck with her car gave her a cervical fracture: a broken neck. Along with a serious blow to the head, broken arm, fractured rib and leg and severe internal bleeding which we have managed to stop for now," Marco heard the doctor inform them softly, his heart squeezing in his chest with every word. "She will be under surveillance for the next 48 hours...and there is one more thing I should inform you," The youngest managed to tear his gaze away from the window, looking at the doctor standing before his brother like a child being scolded, hesitant to speak up.

"The trauma to the head...it caused her to go into a coma..." He informed and instantly Marco wished he hadn't spoken.

"When will she wake up?" He croaked out, wiping away his tears. A part of him knew that they couldn't give him a definitive answer, but he had to ask. "Do you know?"

"No, I'm sorry, we have no idea how long until she wakes up. It could be days, weeks, months," He shook his head. "We don't know,"

"Thank you, doctor," Salvatore dismissed him with the gratitude, the man walking out of the observation room as silence settled over them once more, Marco taking a step back and collapsed into the chair with a ragged breath, his legs having lost all sensation.

"Everyone will move into the estate." The Mafia Boss commanded with his back to his family. "And I will not negotiate on this." He stated in finality and walked out of the room, leaving them all to stand in silence, their faces devoid of expression as they stood like they hadn't heard him. But they heard him. Loud and clear.

Marco took a moment to recompose himself, but that moment ended up being an hour as he struggled to his feet, muttering something about going to get some things from his place.

Salvatore had him take two men with him and the younger didn't resist, allowing them to accompany him on the silent drive to his apartment before having them wait outside the door.

It was just 6:20, and he knew that Sofia wouldn't be awake so early and stepped into the apartment.

The lack of life having a strange semblance with the lack of life in his chest.

Stepping into his bedroom, he pulled out his suitcase before packing anything that came into his hands along with his essentials. Knowing that he would find a lot of his belongings in his room at the estate.

Handing the luggage to the guards outside he told them to head down and said he'd follow them, watching the guard with the suitcase make his way down the hall while the other man stood standing to attention. Marco had to sigh, knowing that this man would not leave on his order. Despite being the heir, there was a limit to his authority.

Stepping back into the interior, he walked across the hall to Sofia's bedroom, lightly knocking on the door before entering, finding her sound asleep beneath the covers. Leaving the door ajar, he stepped inside and sat on the edge of the bed behind her, leaning forward as he laced his fingers before him.

In the silence of the room, he listened to the sound of her successive breaths. The sound and rhythm of every inhale, followed by an exhale had him imitate the pattern. The calmness of it all having him regain his composure as he straightened. Running a hand over his face, he looked around him before finding a notebook lying on the table.

Tearing out a page, he grabbed a pen before writing her a note.

He sat on the edge for a minute longer, the note placed on her bedside before he put an arm to balance himself as he leaned over her, silently admiring the softness of her feature. The gentle curve of her nose and the cupid's bow of her lips, the way her eyelashes brushed the top of her porcelain cheeks or how her fiery hair was sprawled behind her.

Sniffling to himself, Marco placed a kiss on her temple, lingering for a second longer before pulling away and heading out, no idea in his mind as to how long this vendetta would drag on.

He knew he'd be seeing less of her – if he'd be seeing her at all – and wondered if she'd be alright on her own. She had just begun learning how to cook and how to take responsibility for her actions. She was an overgrown child in a manner, learning the ways of the world after coming out of her sheltered bubble, and then on top of that, they never dealt with her trauma. It was on their list, but they never got around to it.

Marco knew this was out of the blue, but he was far too exhausted to have given a proper explanation.

After showering, he had got changed and lay in bed, exhausted, but unable to sleep, and lay staring up at his ceiling, wrapped in his blankets.

Sofia awoke with a deep sigh, having slept great as she turned on her bed, stretching before reaching out for her phone. The crinkling of something beneath her palm had her crack open an eye, surprised to find a piece of paper on her phone. Grabbing the page, she held it above her head and blinked away the blurriness before reading the words.

"Security threat on the Regnantes. Temporarily moved to the estate. Stay safe. Marco," She read to herself, instantly getting out of bed and grabbed her phone, dialing his number as she paced the length of her room, re-reading the words.

"Hey," Marco's voice called to her softly.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened? You said it was standard procedure? What is this?" The questions tumbled out of her in a flurry as her heart sank to her feet to hear him sigh.

"I'm fine, I'm alright," He assured her and sat up, pulling his knees to himself and wrapping an arm around himself as he stared out his window. "There is a security threat over my family so we all are staying in the estate for a while until the heat dies down,"

"But you're not hurt?"

"Not physically, no."

Sofia exhaled deeply, flopping onto her bed as it bounced with her movement. Swallowing thickly she let out a shaky exhale.

"You told me it was standard procedure," Sofia found herself whispering into the phone

"This is standard," Marco assured her just as quietly. "In the events of a security threat, the Mafia is housed in the headquarters until further notice. And this is what's happening,"

"How long would you be there?"

"I don't know,"

"Any idea?"

"Months, maybe. Even years."

"Months?" She choked out. "Years?"

"I know it's a lot, and I'm sorry," He apologized as he pressed his forehead to his knee caps. "But things aren't going good right now and we can't compromise anyone's safety. I'm the heir, so I have to be here every step of the way."

"What...what will I do? What am I supposed to do?"

"Live life. Start your new job, make friends, laugh, take a cooking class, learn a new language," Marco listed off. "You're under no threat, I promise you that much, so there is nothing holding you back,"

"But you are under threat."

"Yes,"

"You might die,"

"Maybe," He exhaled after a silent moment of thought; knowing that there was no point in lying to her.

"This sounds an awful lot like a vendetta," Sofia found herself choking out, a lump in her throat as her eyes burned with the tears.

"You can think of it as something like that if it makes you feel better,"

"No, it doesn't make me feel better," She choked out with a sob, clamping a hand over her mouth to stifle the cry. Guilt overwhelming Marco and he had to swallow back his own fears and emotions.

"Sofia..." He called out to her softly. "Please don't cry. I'm safe and I'm fine,"

"For now," She sniffled.

"For now," Marco agreed, knowing that she understood the workings of a mafia threat. "I'm fine, please don't cry. I'll try to come and visit you as soon as possible. And I promise to get back soon,"

"No, I don't want you to promise me something as trivial as that," Sofia shook her head. "I want you to promise me something else,"

"What?"

"Promise me you'll live,"

A lump choked Marco as he pulled the phone away from his ear, grasping the sheets beneath him as he tried to regain control over his erratic breathing, feeling him loose control as he let out a ragged breath.

Inhaling deeply, he tried to calm himself and pressed the phone back to his ear.

"Promise me you'll live, Marco," Sofia's voice choked on the other line, and Marco had to wonder how someone who had known him for such a limited amount of time cared so deeply for him.

"I promise," He sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand, letting out another shaky exhale. "I promise."