The rhythmic beeping of the hospital monitor was the first sound Natalie Castellano heard as she slowly opened her eyes. A dull, throbbing ache pulsed through her body, and memories blurred together as she tried to remember how she'd ended up here. As her gaze focused, she saw the familiar figures of her family—her father Giovanni, and her older brother Alex—standing around her bed, relief and something darker reflected in their eyes.
"Natalie, you're awake," Giovanni said, his voice a mixture of relief and something colder. "We didn't know if you'd pull through."
Natalie's thoughts were hazy, but a pang of guilt gripped her heart, more powerful than any physical pain. She remembered the last time she'd seen Sophie Turner, her best friend and closest confidant. They hadn't spoken since that fateful night when Sophie had silently turned away after catching her and David—the man Sophie had been preparing to introduce to her family as her fiancé. Natalie hadn't known at first, and by the time she realized David was Sophie's, the damage was done. She'd meant to explain, to apologize, but fate hadn't given her the chance.
Natalie's heart dropped as she recalled the betrayal, the way Sophie had looked at her—wounded, silent, and utterly devastated. But before she could even reach out to Sophie to explain, the accident had struck, leaving her in this coma. Now, a sense of dread filled her, overshadowing even her regret. Where was Sophie now? What had happened since?
Her family's somber expressions answered her question, though not in the way she expected.
"Natalie, Sophie has been dealt with," Alex said, his voice laced with a hard-edged anger. "She's paying for what she did to you, for setting you up with that rat David from the rival gang."
Natalie's eyes widened, horror creeping in. "What do you mean 'dealt with'? Sophie didn't do anything… she—"
Giovanni's expression darkened. "That girl betrayed you, Natalie. David was her pawn. He used her to get close to us, to you, and almost took you from us forever. She's where she belongs, and she's feeling every ounce of pain she put you through."
Natalie's heart pounded as she realized what they meant: her family was punishing Sophie, believing her to be the mastermind behind the betrayal. They didn't know that it had been her own foolish mistake, her own weakness that had hurt Sophie so deeply.
She needed to tell them the truth.