Chapter 18
The doctor stammered, pale. “It’s not that easy, sir. The only stock is in another country. Eve with a helipad it will take eight hours.”
“Eight hours? She doesn’t have eight minutes!” I snapped. My throat was tight, rage and fea twisting together.
Then a familiar voice cut through. “Maximilian!”
I turned. My grandparents rushed in.
“Max… how is she? How bad is it?”
The doctor wiped his forehead. “Miss Dahlia’s injuries are severe. We can keep her alive for a fe hours, but without a transfusion… she won’t make it.”
Don grabbed the doctor by the coat. “What blood type does she need?”
The doctor whispered it, the rare kind you almost never hear.
Don looked at me. His jaw tightened. “I have the same blood. Rh-null. Take mine. Right now.”
The doctor blinked. “Sir, your health-”
‘Shut up and hook me!” Don barked. “That girl will live. I don’t care what happens to me.”
stared at him, my chest heavy. For the first time in years, I saw my grandfather’s iron burn wit something I could almost call… respect.
leaned close to Dahlia, brushed the hair from her bloody face. “You hear that, Dahlia? You’re no eaving me. Not tonight. Not ever.”
Her fingers twitched faintly against my hand. I clenched my jaw. No matter what, I was going to keep her alive.
She was mine to protect.
- CELESTE’S POV
The surgery had been long, delicate, and terrifying. I had seen many close calls in my career, bu this one… this one had nearly broken me. My hands shook only after the last stitch was tied when Dahlia was finally stable, though unconscious.
I didn’t waste time. Quietly, I gave the order for a DNA test, using the rare blood transfusion as my cover. No one questioned me. Not even Maximilian, who was far too busy glaring at anyone who so much as breathed wrong around Dahlia.
He stayed by her bed. I watched him once, when he thought no one was looking. His hand brushed over her fingers, his jaw tense.
“Don’t you
dare leave me, Dahlia,” he muttered. “You still owe me a fight, remember? You stil need to prove me wrong.”
The boy pretended to be steel in front of the world, but sitting there… I could see his heart. bleeding for her. From that moment, I knew Max has feelings for Dahlia.
Hours passed until the results finally came. My chest tightened the moment I read them. Blood didn’t lie. Dahlia… my lost granddaughter.
I Loved You Once I’ll Destroy You To
3:26 pm D&D
I called Don into a private room, my hands trembling as I handed him the papers.
“Celeste,” his voice cracked. “Why are you shaking like that? What is it?”
“It is her,” I whispered. “Dahlia. She is ours. She is Castillo blood. The child that was stolen from the nursery that night… we found her.”
His cane nearly slipped from his hand. “Madre de Dios… no. Are you certain?”
I held his arm before he collapsed. “There is no mistake. Her DNA matches. She is your blood, Wilbert. She is our blood.”
Don’s eyes welled with tears. “All these years… I thought she was gone forever. My little girl… my granddaughter…”
The door suddenly slammed open. Maximilian stormed in, eyes sharp, voice like thunder but still carrying respect.
‘Abuelo. Abuela. What are you hiding from me?” His gaze flicked from Don’s pale face to the paper trembling in my hand. “Tell me.”
Don tried to steady himself. “Maximilian…”
‘No more secrets,” Max cut in, stepping closer, fists clenched. “I heard enough. You said she’s Castillo blood. You mean to tell me Dahlia… is the heir?”
met his gaze. He deserved the truth. “Yes, Max. Dahlia is the lost princess of the Castillo amily.”
For a moment, silence. His eyes widened, his breath hitched. Then he turned away, raking a hand hrough his hair like he was about to explode.
She almost died,” his voice cracked, rage barely held back. “She almost died without knowing vho she really was. Without knowing what was stolen from her. How could fate be so cruel?”
Don reached for him. “Maximilian…”
Abuelo, I swear to you, as long as I breathe, nothing will touch her again. The Castillo adopted ne, and that was more than I ever deserved. But Dahlia…” He swallowed hard. “She is everything. She is not just some woman anymore. She is Castillo. She is blood. And I…” his voice dropped ower, softer, as if only for himself, “I will protect her even if it costs me everything.”
Jon covered his face with his hand, overcome with emotion. “God gave her back to us, after all hese years.”
reached for Max’s shoulder. He was trembling, not from fear, but from something deeper-fierce
levotion, a love he would never admit while she was awake.
DAHLIA’S POV
woke up with a sharp sting in my chest and the steady beep of machines beside me. White ceiling. Hospital smell. My body felt heavy, but my head… It was clear. Too clear.
Maximilian was the first thing I saw. He was sitting there, elbows on his knees, dark circles under his eyes like he hadn’t left the chair in hours. His hand was gripping mine so tight I almost aughed.
‘Max?” my voice cracked.
Chapter 10
3:26 pm
His head snapped up. Relief flashed in his eyes so raw it made my throat tighten.
“You’re awake,” he breathed out, almost like he had been holding it in all night.
I frowned. “Why am I here? I remember… the crash. My car. I should’ve-” I swallowed hard. “I should’ve died.”
Max squeezed my hand harder, his voice low but steady. “I pulled you out before it exploded You’re not gonna die in this world, Dahlia. Not here. Not like that.”
For a second, the room spun. The memory of glass cutting into me, the heat of flames at my back, the cliff beneath my tires. It all blurred, then his words sank in. ‘Not in this world.’ My ches
clenched.
“he door opened. Dr. Celeste walked in with Don Castillo behind her. They both looked.. roubled. Like they had been arguing right outside.
Sweetheart,” Dr. Celeste whispered, brushing my hair back gently. “You need rest. Don’t strai ourself with questions.”
Too late for that,” I looked at the three of them, one by one. “What are you hiding from me here’s something. I can feel it.”
on cleared his throat, eyes glistening like he carried the weight of the world. “Perhaps… it is no he right time. You are still weak.”
No,” I cut in. “If there’s truth to tell, tell me now, please. I don’t care if I’m hooked on machines.
an handle it.”
Max shifted beside me, “Abuela, Abuelo… She deserves honesty. Stop keeping her in the dark.”
he silence was heavy. Dr. Celeste sighed and leaned closer, her voice trembling. “You deserv > know who you really are.”
My stomach dropped. “What do you mean?”
3:27 pm S
