Chapter 7 - The Takedown
Alessandro descended the metal stairs with the terrifying grace of an apex predator. His private security team flooded the warehouse, disarming Marcus’s surviving thugs and pinning them to the concrete floor.
Alessandro didn’t even look at the bleeding, whimpering man who was my uncle. He walked straight to me.
He pulled a knife from his belt and sliced through the zip-ties on my wrists. The moment my hands were free, I threw my arms around his neck, burying my face in his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered fiercely, his large hand burying itself in my wet hair, holding me against his racing heart. “I’ve got you, mia luce.”
“He had Liam,” I sobbed. “I had to come. I had to.”
“I know,” Alessandro kissed the top of my head. He gestured to his men, who immediately went to Liam, cutting him loose and treating his wounds. Liam looked at me, giving a weak, bloody thumbs-up.
Alessandro finally turned to Marcus, who was clutching his mangled hand, his face pale with shock.
“You touched what is mine,” Alessandro said, his voice devoid of any human warmth. It was the voice of the ruthless billionaire the newspapers wrote about. “You threatened the mother of my child.”
“Vitali, wait! We can make a deal!” Marcus pleaded, scrambling backward on his knees. “I have money! Property!”
Alessandro stepped forward, looking down at the pathetic man. “Your money is frozen. Your properties are being seized by my lawyers as we speak. And that ledger you wanted so badly? The police commissioner already has a digital copy. You are going to spend the rest of your miserable life in a maximum-security cell. If you ever say her name again, I will ensure you don't survive your first week.”
He turned his back on my uncle, wrapping his arm securely around my waist. “Take out the trash,” he ordered his security chief.
May you like
As we walked out of the warehouse and into the cool, rainy Chicago night, I looked up at Alessandro. He had moved heaven and earth to find me. He had risked everything.
But as the adrenaline faded, a new, heavy realization settled into my bones. He had saved me because I was carrying his child. In the mafia-like code of his empire, I was a vessel. A responsibility. But was I truly loved?
