“What is the meaning of this intrusion?” Dr. Voss asked, her voice calm but steel-cold. “I told you, Mr. Romano needs absolute quiet if the treatment is to work.”

“The treatment is not working, Doctor,” Luca said, walking slowly toward the bed. “Look at him. He looks like a corpse.”

“He is fighting a severe toxin,” Dr. Voss said, wiping Alexander’s brow with a damp cloth. “It takes time.”

“We don’t have time,” Luca said. “The captains are asking questions. The streets are getting restless.”

He stopped at the foot of the bed, looking down at his cousin with a look that was not pity, but calculation.

“We need to know who did this,” Luca said, his voice rising. “We need to search this room. The poisoner could have left something behind.”

“This is a medical room now, Luca,” Sofia said, stepping between him and the bed. “You have no right to tear it apart.”

“I have every right,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “I am protecting what is left of this family.”

He waved his hand at the two guards.