I was in tears all through the car ride, which felt like forever. Mr Capra Sr had arrived at the hospital right as we had left, the hospital one owned by Capra Corp right at the centre of the city.

Ben had tried to tell me it was too dangerous to come along, but his words were going in one ear and out the other.

"He doesn't need surgery, I won't go into detail, but..." Ben began, hand finding my thigh in hopes of comforting me.

"Drive faster," I raised my shaky voice, finding the driver's eyes through the rearview mirror. With a small nod, he did.

"It was one of Winston's snipers," Ben continued, "he failed at his attempt."

I shook my head, blocking him out and wiping the underneaths of my eyes. My heart was racing, disgusted and terrified that this could have happened. My greatest fear was losing him, the only father figure I had ever had, and each scare made me feel panicked and physically ill.

Billy had been with Mr Capra Sr in their home, drinking afternoon tea in the back garden, which was built to resemble Versailles'. In such a serene and beautiful environment, a shot had been fired from an unknown location, hitting Mr Capra Sr on his upper arm. Ben had increased security guards there as well, but even they wouldn't have been able to prevent a shot from a sniper.

I was too panicked to find comfort in the fact that he was not in need of surgery and at the hospital to get the bullet removed and stay for monitoring.

"Sofia, look at me."

I looked over at him, sniffling and still wiping the tears away.

"I'm scared," I breathed, shaking my head to myself.

"Breathe," he unbuckled his seatbelt and moved to sit in the middle, right next to me. His arm wrapped around my shoulders, enabling me to lean against him.

"Everything will be okay, trust me," he kissed the side of my head, thumb gently drawing circles on my upper arm.

"Retract the statement," I decided, still shaking, "about the removal of the succession line. Please. Your father could be dead right now."

If Winston Horan believed Capra Corp would stay in the family, he wouldn't view it as weak and see opportunities in stealing it for himself. Even with Ben quite literally running the whole world, a situation like this proved there were vulnerabilities. Mr Capra Sr, Ben or I could not be expected to live in hiding forever.

"I can't do that."

I pulled away from him and shot him a glare, but all he did was sigh and shake his head, "you have to. This has to end."

"Who'll he target then? Now he's only after me and poking at me through the people I care about," he explained slowly, "if it's my child who were to take over on paper, as the most likely mother, you'd be a target too."

I hated the thought that then entered my mind. For years I had worked for a company that used violence to rule but I had turned a blind eye to it, knowing I wasn't a violent person yet still apart of their operations as the seducer. Now the fear and anger inside me from the possibility of never being able to speak to Mr Capra Sr again made me want to see Winston Horan dead. This conflicting thought made me cry more.

"I have everything under control," Ben tried again, but I looked out of the window and away from him as a sign for him to shut up.

I knew he had gone through a lot these past weeks and had finally reached some sort of viable plan which included Tony that had now brightened his mood. I knew it wasn't my place to know the details, but I hated going by simply placing my trust in him. I felt out of control in a situation where the people I loved were in danger too.

We arrived at the underground parking lot and took the elevator up to the closed off wing of the hospital, where Mr Capra Sr was. The parking lot and hallways of the private wing were filled with men from Ben's security team, all in dark suits and looking like they fell out of a Men in Black -movie.

When I was directed at where the room was, I rushed down the final hallway. In the hospital room, I found Mr Capra Sr laying in the bed, speaking to Billy who was sat on a chair beside him.

More tears welled up in my eyes as I closed the space between us and hugged him, careful to avoid the bandaged up arm in which he had got shot.

"My darling," I heard the smile in his voice as he hugged back with one arm, "everything's okay, I'm okay."

I felt Ben's hand place on my lower back as he had entered the room as well, walking at a much more calm pace.

"Father," he greeted, "nice to see you, Billy."

I pulled back from Mr Capra Sr, studying his features to make sure he really was okay. A bright smile tugged his lips up.

"At least it's not my heart this time," he joked, and a small relieved smile formed onto my lips, grateful, "it'll take a lot more for me to be out of the picture. I'm like a cockroach."

"Oh, sweetie," Billy laughed, shaking her head at him, "his humour seems to be unfazed."

"That's good," Ben spoke from behind me, "Dad, I'm sorry you were caught up in this. It's not your burden to bear anymore."

"It's not your burden to bear alone either, son," he shrugged, "I've dealt with situations like this before, I'll gladly help and-"

"No, you won't," Billy was quick to shake her head, and I agreed wholeheartedly with her, "you've retired. It's way too dangerous, anyway."

"I'll advise then," Mr Capra Sr's eyes moved between Ben and Billy, while I remained by his bed, holding his hand in mine and watching him.

I was calming down. Hearing him laugh and seeing the life in his eyes relaxed me immensely, and my dark thoughts shifted away.

"We've got it under control," Ben replied, and I held back the urge to roll my eyes or speak back to him, "I'll explain it to you when we're alone. It involves Tony Price."

"Tony, eh?" his brows raised with curiosity, "interesting."

A small silence fell over us. I understood Ben wanted to speak to his father about the plan alone, without Billy or me present for some reason.

"Sofia, will you get us coffees?" Ben then instructed, pulling back to find my eyes with his. I sighed and nodded, straightening up from my position as he placed a quick kiss by my temple.

"I'll join," Billy sent me a wide smile, "I've missed you, sugar."

Together, we left the room and were escorted by four men to the cafeteria of this floor, which was also empty and monitored by men in suits.

We got four coffees and sat down at a small table, just to give Ben and Mr Capra Sr time to talk. After catching up and having had a chance to explain the anxiety and fright I had undergone, I requested to hear about their wedding plans.

Billy and Mr Capra Sr were to wed in a few months, and I was delighted. I loved both dearly, considered both close friends and parental figures of mine. I could tell Billy's extroversion was also good for Ben, as he was otherwise quite closed off from everyone but me. I knew he cared greatly for her as well and was happy his father had found someone so similar in personalities.

"I'll have your bridesmaid dress sent to you within the week," she was telling me smaller details as we began heading back with the coffees for Ben and Mr Capra Sr, as ours had finished during our stay in the cafe.

"It looks so pretty in the pictures, I can't wait to try it on," I smiled, excited for this new chapter, "have you got your gown yet?"

"Not yet, it's still being tailored," Billy giggled, "the second I receive it you'll come over, okay? We can share a bottle of wine and admire it together."

"That sounds lovely," I grinned, "as long as it's not red... the risks are too great."

We chatted a little more regarding the wedding until we arrived back at the hospital room. It was strange being in a hospital wing that was fully cleared out of everybody besides a few nurses and doctors and Ben's security team.

The two seemed to have finished their conversation, which left Mr Capra Sr slightly quieter than he normally would be.

Billy excused herself to go to the bathroom right before a nurse came in to check Mr Capra Sr's blood pressure.

Ben was sitting in the corner of a room, comfortably resting against the backrest with his coat hanging off the side. I offered him a gentle smile when I realised his gaze was locked on me as I placed Mr Capra Sr's coffee on the table next to the bed.

I began walking across the room to where Ben was sitting, holding his coffee, when I heard a noise behind that made my smile vanish and steps freeze. A gun cocking.

Everything seemed to happen slowly and fast at the same time. Mr Capra Sr sat up and yelled out something right as I carefully glanced back to see the nurse behind me, pointing a gun right at me.

"Winston sends his regards," he smiled menacingly at me.

I dropped the coffee and stumbled on my feet, eyes shutting as I awaited what was coming. The gun fired.