"Don't worry. I am right here. Just don't come out. Promise me that you won't!" He squeezes her hand. Athena whimpers along with teary eyes as he gets out of the car and slams the door shut.

Athena covers her ears while clenching her eyes shut tightly. Minutes after minutes rolls by but the gunshots outside doesn't stopped. Athena slowly lifts her head up to look. Her eyes widens as they fall on Vincenzo. Blood is rolling down his arm but he looks careless. He keeps on shooting and stabbing the bad guys with his knife.

Athena whimpers loudly in fear as another bullet manage to pierce his arm again. His balance stumbled, he curses while cocking his gun back and pulls the trigger but by this he runs out of the bullets.

A limousine arrives there and a old scary man steps out from it. He points his gun directly at Vincenzo who is also staring at him with furrowed brows.

Athena feels her heart thump loudly in her chest. She doesn't understand what happened in the next second but she has thrown open the door of the car. The guard who is sitting on the driver seat yells at her to stop but Athena pretended like she didn't heard him. Within another second, she is standing in front of Vincenzo.

A sharp burning pain explodes in abdomen. Vincenzo throws the knife right at center in between the old man's eyes killing him right there instantly. He grabs Athena before she can fall down on the ground.

He looks at her face shocked watching as blood drips down her chin. Her eyes slowly closes.

His mind is still numb, in the state of shock but he snaps out of it as a tear roll down from Athena's closed eye.

"What have you done, Athena?" He wipes her tear away and carefully lifts her body in his arms being extra cautious to avoid the bullet from going even more deeper in her skin.

"Drive faster." He says to the only guard who remained alive in this massacre. Vincenzo lets out a heavy sigh and glances down at Athena's face that is turning pale with every second.

Upon reaching at their private hospital, Athena is immediately rushed in to the emergency ward. The rest of the Cortello family arrived soon. Surprisingly Ariana is also present with them.

"She is going to be ok." Luciano says while placing his hand on Vincenzo's shoulder. A doctor is removing the gun out from his arm by using a tweezer but he looks unaffected. His only worry at that time is Ariana.

"I didn't expected her to jump in front of me like this. What was she even thinking?" It is the first time the younger Cortello family members have seen such various emotions running in the eyes of their family's leader.

"I don't like her but she doesn't deserve it." Ariana mumbles weakly. Romeo who is standing next to her hears her completely. He wraps his arm around her shoulder and pulls her into a side hug.

"Don't worry. She'd be fine." He tells her.

"Who said I am worrying?" Ariana rolls her eyes sounding annoyed but Romeo can definitely see a little fear in her eyes. He faintly smiles at her actions.