CHAPTER 4 — “Dominic Arrived… Seconds Too Late”
Outside, chaos erupted.
Residents poured into the snow-covered street, shouting as smoke billowed from a delivery van that had exploded near the apartment entrance.
It wasn't a bomb meant to kill.
It was a distraction.
Across the street, three black SUVs screeched to a stop.
Men in black tactical clothing jumped out with military precision.
None wore masks.
They didn't need to.
They expected no witnesses to survive.
Victor pushed Meline toward the back exit.
"Go!"
"What about you?"
"I'll buy you time."
She shook her head frantically.
"They'll kill you!"
Victor smiled sadly.
"They've been trying for twenty years."
He pulled a pistol from inside his coat.
The first gunshots echoed through the alley.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Victor fired with terrifying accuracy, dropping the first attacker before disappearing behind a brick wall.
Meline ran.
Snow crunched beneath her boots as her heartbeat pounded louder than the gunfire behind her.
Her baby kicked violently.
"It's okay," she whispered through tears.
"I'm getting you out."
But someone stepped into the alley.
A woman.
Elegant.
Perfectly dressed in a white cashmere coat despite the falling snow.
Long black hair.
Diamond earrings.
Cold gray eyes.
Seraphina Duca.
She smiled as though greeting an old friend.
"So..."
"This is the woman who made Dominic forget an empire."
Meline immediately turned to run.
Two armed men blocked the opposite end of the alley.
She was trapped.
Seraphina slowly approached.
Her heels clicked against the frozen pavement.
"I've imagined this meeting for months."
She glanced at Meline's rounded stomach.
"So the rumors were true."
"You really are carrying his child."
Meline stood protectively, one hand over her belly.
"You'll never touch my baby."
Seraphina laughed.
"Oh, sweetheart..."
"I don't need to."
She nodded toward the rooftops.
A tiny red laser dot appeared on Meline's chest.
Then another.
Then a third.
Snipers.
Hidden above the alley.
"If Dominic can't have an heir..."
Seraphina whispered,
"...neither can anyone else."
She slowly raised one finger.
The snipers prepared to fire.
Then—
A deafening roar exploded overhead.
WHUMP!
WHUMP!
WHUMP!
A helicopter descended so low that snow blasted through the alley like a blizzard.
Every attacker instinctively looked up.
The side door slid open.
Dominic Valente stood inside.
One hand gripping the frame.
The other holding a rifle.
His eyes found Meline instantly.
For one heartbeat...
The entire world disappeared.
She looked thinner.
Paler.
Terrified.
But alive.
And carrying their child.
Dominic's voice thundered across the alley.
"GET AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!"
The first shot rang out.
One sniper fell from the rooftop.
Chaos erupted.
Gunfire exploded from every direction.
Seraphina smiled instead of panicking.
Because this had never been about killing Meline.
It had been about forcing Dominic into the open.
Hidden two blocks away...
Another sniper adjusted his scope.
His real target...
Was Dominic Valente himself.
The crosshair settled directly over Dominic's heart.
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Then...
The trigger began to move.
