The flowers were now beginning to pour in, most from people she didn’t even know -or care to know- but it wasn’t as if Alessandra was in a position to simply toss them away like she had wanted; being confined to her bed with only a sliver of strength didn’t afford her much in the way of action. She had drifted in and out of sleep throughout the day, sometimes it was the pain that set her towards slumber instead of the medication, but the sudden creaking of her hospital door caused one eye to pry open curiously.

Slinking through the door of Alessandra's dimly lit and poorly guarded hospital room, Isabella turned on her heel as soon as she stepped through the threshold to cast one last glance over her shoulder to make sure no one had watched her make her way in. Of course, the only thing Alessandra had seen was her stark dark brown hair, which, probably meant she wouldn't immediately reach for her annoying little buzzer to alert the dizzying orderlies to her presence. Emerging from around the corner of the room, a gleeful smile worked its way onto her lips. "Not even close, princess."

Nadir laughed, mock-indulgently shaking his head. It wasn’t difficult to batten the hatches and keep up the facade. “You’ve become Speedy Gonzales, have you?” Valuable as Isabella was to his line of work and as much of a minefield her family would prove to be, he had a lot more invested in keeping Amira far from their poison-tipped talons. “And I’m certain my adolescent daughter will take very kindly to her stuffy old dad telling her to stay away from the biggest moneymakers in Vegas. Or the Cirque du Soleil. I ought to be careful that she doesn’t run into your corrupting field of influence.”

“Who else would I be?” she asked sarcastically, though her tone hardly changed and anyone else aside from Nadir (who she had allowed begrudgingly to come to her acquaintance) would have believed her to be entirely cold, void of any humor whatsoever. “The Cirque du Soleil is beautiful, if I didn’t have so much keeping me here, I would be a fabulous part of the circus don’t you think? I’ve been told I’m exceptional at knife play,” she hissed through her pearly white teeth, a flicker of feral delight flickering through her eyes.

"Why won’t you let me see her? Visiting hours aren’t o—" He frowned as he heard someone approach, turning to glance at them before he relented in his protests at the nurse. "Have you seen her? How’s she doing?"

Staring at him, Isabella blinked once, the corners of her mouth moving as sparse words tumbled out of her mouth slowly. "You have no right to be here."

"Iz!" Her sister’s name flew from Gianna’s lips the moment she saw her come crashing through the double doors that led to the main waiting room. She leapt up from her seat, her rosary still tangled among her fingers as she used her other hand to grab hold of Isabella’s. "They haven’t told us anything yet. It was Stefan… and he’s going to die," her tone was earnest, a promise to not only Genevieve but her entire family.  Where had their security been? Genna was strong, intelligent, and brave, yet that didn’t mean she was immortal. They’d been in the snake’s den. I should have paid more attention. Gia scolded herself, the beads wrapped so tightly around her fingers the tips began turning a purplish color. Browns swept over her sister, instinct forcing her to make sure Isabella hadn’t been the victim of any retaliation. It didn’t seem she had - not that Gianna had expected less. It had been a shock that even Genna had managed to get injured - and by a Rinaldi. “I managed to ease the bleeding at the church. I’m sure she’ll live.” Her dress was obviously uneven, the hem torn at an awkward angle that made it look like she’d gotten caught in a bush of thorns. 

While Gianna rushed to her side, Isabella still vowed to herself to keep her distance. It would be easier that way in the long run…the more she cut off her family like a diseased limb, the easier it would be when she disappointed them, which she knew she inevitably would. That was what she did. She disappointed people and loved it. She loved pain, suffering. She loved to make people hurt— because the only things she had ever loved had torn her heart out and laughed at the irony. Her fingers didn’t lace through Gianna’s, and simply nodding her head, the expression on her face remained blank; a stark contrast to Gianna’s enraged and twisted features, marred by the vengeance that nearly consumed her as it always did. “This was begun by a Rinaldi?” she spat, the words laced with venom and sheer disgust as they jumped from her mouth. “Have you threatened the guards yet or can we visit her?” she snapped, speaking to Gianna as not much more than she would have their drunk of a mother or their hired help. “I will slit someone’s throat if something isn’t done. Or chop of another hand— and remind me, why is everyone sitting around doing nothing as per usual? Really now? We Rossis are known for our action, not lack of it,” she said condescendingly.

Pathetic without Kat Kat aren't you?

I hate when this town is quiet.

And if we were, you'd be the last to know.

No, as much as I really want to. Would have been nice to have a pet around the house.

Gross. Your romantic is showing--  can you please stab him for me?