Chapter 9 - THE ULTIMATE BETRAYALThe warehouse fell into an eerie, suffocating silence. The gunfire stopped. The only sound was the distant dripping of water from the rusted roof and the frantic beating of my own heart.
"Drop it!" Thomas snarled, pressing the barrel harder into my skull.
I let go of the rifle. It hit the concrete with a heavy, metallic clatter.
Matteo stood frozen by the steel pillar, his gun still raised, but his finger locked on the trigger, trembling slightly. His dark eyes weren't looking at Thomas—they were locked directly onto mine.
"Smart girl," Thomas sneered, dragging me backward by my collar until my spine pressed against his chest. He looked across the room at the mafia boss. "Drop your weapon, Matteo. Unless you want the mother of your child—and the boy himself—to pay for your stubbornness."
The mother of your child.
The words hung in the damp air like a grenade waiting to detonate.
Matteo’s jaw tightened. "She's not his mother."
"Oh, please," Thomas laughed darkly. "Do you take me for an idiot? Why do you think I planted her in your house? I knew you were looking for a nanny with an untraceable medical background. I provided her file. I orchestrated her 'disgrace' at Saint Jude so she would be desperate enough to take any job—even in a monster's mansion."
My breath hitched. I stopped breathing entirely.
I looked at Matteo, searching his face for a denial, for a lie, for anything that would prove Thomas wrong.
Matteo didn't look away. His dark eyes were swimming with a heavy, agonizing guilt.
"You knew," I whispered, the words tearing my throat apart. "From the very first night... you knew I was sent by him."
"Not by him," Matteo’s voice cracked, raw and broken. "I knew someone planted you. I just didn't care who. Because the moment you looked at my son with those hands... the moment you saved his life without hesitation... I knew you were the only real thing in this entire rotten city."
Thomas sneered. "A romantic story for a tragic ending. Now, Matteo... drop the gun, or I execute her right here."
Matteo slowly lowered his weapon. His finger slipped off the trigger. He let the pistol slide from his hand, watching it hit the floor with a dull thud.
"Good dog," Thomas whispered, raising his own pistol to point straight between Matteo’s eyes. "Now, say goodbye to your nurse."
May you like
He smiled, his finger tightening on the trigger.
Then, from the shadows directly behind Thomas Vance, a soft, metallic click echoed through the room.
