Chapter 1
That night felt like a straight descent into hell.
"Enemy attack! Cover Mrs. Moretti and get her to the safe zone!"
The guard's shout was drowned out by a deafening blast. RPG fire ripped through the manor's floor-to-ceiling windows, shattering them in an instant. The shockwave slammed me to the ground, my back hitting the floor hard.
A second later, a hot rush of fluid spilled out of control, soaking into the carpet. My water broke. Yet I was still two weeks away from my due date.
Sharp contractions carved through my body like a dull, rusted blade. I curled up in pain, nails clawing into the carpet. Cold sweat stung my eyes, turning my vision into a blur of red.
Bang! The heavy oak bedroom door was kicked open. Smoke and the metallic reek of blood poured into the room.
My husband, Gabriel Moretti, the undisputed ruler of Northern Unionia's underground world, strode inside. His usually spotless black trench coat was now dusted with ash.
"Gabriel..." I reached toward him with a trembling hand, pushing through the tearing pain in my abdomen. As long as he was around, the baby and I would be safe.
His combat boots crushed shards of glass as he came straight toward me. But at that exact moment, panicked screams broke out outside the window, and a red laser sight swept across the wall.
The next second, he turned without a second thought and stepped right past my reaching hand. The hem of his coat brushed my fingertips like a strip of cold wind.
Gabriel stepped forward and pulled a shaking woman into his arms. It was Elena Ferrier, who had remained in the manor under the excuse of frail health, his first love, who had been "recovering" here all along.
"Gabriel, I don't want to die." Elena clung to his shirt as if it were her last lifeline, her voice breaking. "My father was torn apart saving you back then. You promised him you would take care of me, didn't you?"
Gabriel's back went rigid for a brief second. In the mafia world, blood debts and sworn promises were law, never to be broken.
He didn't even look at me. Instead, he took the last bulletproof vest from one of his men and quickly secured it around Elena's fragile body. The crisp snap of the buckle locking shut drowned out even the gunfire outside the window.
"I owe your father my life. You'll make it out of here alive." His low voice hit my ears like a blow.
I couldn't breathe. The sheer irony and disbelief turned my stomach, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth where I had bitten my tongue.
"Gabriel..." I dragged myself forward a few inches, gripping the hem of his coat so tightly that my knuckles went white. "My water just broke. Our baby is coming."
I pleaded in complete humiliation, hoping only that he would finally look down at the blood and fluid spreading beneath me. Gabriel finally paused. He lowered his grey-blue eyes and let them fall over my drained, lifeless face, hesitating for a brief moment.
Then he pulled out the Browning pistol he never left behind and pressed it into my palm. "The safe room door can't be breached even with C4."
His voice stayed calm, absolute, leaving no room for argument. "Take it. Anyone who opens that door besides me, you shoot."
With that, he peeled my fingers off his trench coat one by one without mercy.
"Escort Sofia to the underground safe room." After giving the order, he turned and placed his body between Elena and the fire. "All units, provide cover and push to the helipad!"
All that remained for me was his cold, unwavering back. A few loyal guards tried to reach me and pull me up. Then bang, a stray round tore straight through the lead guard's forehead. Hot blood splashed across my face.
The enemy's fire had already reached the second-floor corridor. I struggled to breathe, swallowing down the tight knot in my throat. My hands shaking violently, I dragged my lead-heavy body inch by inch toward the safe room at the end of the hall under the deafening crossfire.
A dark red smear marked the floor behind me, dragged out by my own blood. Finally, my fingerprint hit the scanner on the reinforced blast door.
The green light flickered on, and the steel door slid shut. The moment the hydraulic lock sealed, a crushing wave of pain tore through me and I folded onto the cold tiles in a convulsed curl.
Then, an unsettling mechanical shutdown echoed overhead.
"Beep! The internal oxygen system has been breached—disabled from the inside."
Right after, the sound of liquid rushing filled the air as a suffocating flood of gasoline was pumped through the only ventilation shaft.
