Chapter 7 - The Return of the KingThe entire room fell into a terrified, dead silence.
Standing in the doorway was Gabriel Russo, wearing his signature charcoal coat, his posture straight and unyielding. But it wasn't Gabriel alone that made the assembled capos gasp and recoil in horror.
Walking right beside him, holding his arm with steady, unbroken resolve, was me.
My oversized sweater was gone, replaced by a sleek, emerald-green maternity gown that highlighted my advanced pregnancy—and, running clearly visible along my side, the jagged, unmistakable scar from the night Daniel tried to murder my child.
Whispers erupted through the crowd like wildfire.
"She's alive..." "It was Daniel all along..." "Look at the scar..."
Daniel stumbled backward on the stage, his eyes wide with sheer panic as he stared at me as if I were a ghost risen from the grave. "Clara... No... that's impossible..."
Gabriel walked down the center aisle, the crowd parting before him like the Red Sea. No one dared to breathe, let alone reach for a weapon. His loyal enforcers blocked every exit, sealing the trap completely.
When we reached the foot of the stage, Gabriel stopped. He looked up at his traitorous lieutenant with eyes as cold as winter ice.
"You said I killed her, Daniel," Gabriel's voice boomed across the silent hall, carrying a terrifying authority. "You said she betrayed us. But the only traitor standing in this room is the rat who tried to cut my heir out of her womb."
Daniel scrambled backward until he hit the edge of the stage, his hands shaking. "He's lying! Look at him, he's lost his mind over a woman!"
"Am I?" Gabriel asked softly.
He stepped up onto the stage, closing the distance between them with terrifying speed. Before Daniel could reach for the pistol hidden inside his jacket, Gabriel grabbed him by the lapels of his expensive tuxedo and slammed him against the mahogany podium with bone-crunching force.
"Please, Gabriel—" Daniel choked out, blood trickling from his lip. "We were brothers—"
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"You stopped being my brother the moment you laid a hand on her," Gabriel whispered, his voice deadly calm.
Just as Gabriel raised his fist to deliver the final blow, the sound of glass shattering echoed from the balcony above.
