But my husband, Vito Falcone, underboss of the family, had locked me away. He held me in a sterile underground medical room and injected me with a labor suppressant.
As I screamed in agony, he coldly told me to endure it.
Because his brother’s widow, Scarlett, was expected to go into labor at the exact same time.
A blood oath he’d made with his late brother declared that the firstborn son would inherit the family’s lucrative West Coast territory.
“That inheritance belongs to Scarlett’s child,” he said.
“With Daemon gone, she is utterly alone and destitute. You have my love, Alessia. All of it. I just need her to deliver safely. Then it’s your turn.”
The drug was a constant, agonizing torment. I begged him to take me to a hospital.
He grabbed me by the throat, forcing me to meet his icy gaze.
“Stop the act! I know you’re fine. You’re just trying to steal the inheritance.”
“To get ahead of Scarlett, you’ll stop at nothing.”
My face was ashen. My body convulsed as I managed a desperate whisper.
“The baby’s coming. I don’t care about the inheritance. I just love you, and I want our child to be born safely!”
He sneered. “If you were really that innocent, if you had an ounce of love for me, you wouldn’t have forced Scarlett to sign that prenup, waiving her child’s inheritance rights.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back for you after she’s given birth. you’re carrying my own flesh and blood, after all.”
He kept a vigil outside Scarlett’s delivery room all night.
It was only after seeing the newborn in her arms that he remembered me.
He finally sent his second in command, Marco, to release me. But when Marco finally called, his voice was shaking.
“Boss… the missus and the baby… they’re gone.”
In that moment, Vito Falcone shattered.
…
Heavily pregnant, I dragged myself across the floor, crawling toward the heavy steel door.
Just as the heavy door slammed shut with a deafening bang, my fingers were caught in the jamb.
I heard the sickening crunch of bone.
A fresh wave of agony ripped through me, overwhelming the torment of the drug. A piercing scream tore from my throat.
But Vito’s mind was entirely on Scarlett. He was deaf to my cries.
Suddenly, warm fluid leaked down. I knew my water had broken.
Fear, cold and absolute, consumed me.
My only light was the faint, ghostly green glow of a single emergency exit sign above the door.
I forced myself to stay calm, pounding on the door and screaming for help.
But this was Vito’s private surgical room, isolated and soundproof, where was plunged into near-total darkness, with no windows to the outside world.
No one could hear my weakening cries.
The baby inside me kicked violently, as if trying to break free from this cold prison.
I was soaked through, though I couldn’t tell if it was with sweat or blood.
The toxins in the labor suppressant were sapping my strength, draining the life from me with every passing second.
I summoned my last ounce of energy for one final, desperate scream.
Finally, I heard footsteps outside.
“Please, help me!” I shrieked, my voice raw. “I’m locked in the surgical room! I’m in labor!”
