Chapter 3 - SAFE HOUSE OF THORNS: A Monster's Sanctuary
"Get down!" Damian roared.
He tackled Elena to the floor just as a second burst of gunfire shredded the cheap mattress above them. Wood splinters and stuffing rained down on them.
Damian didn't hesitate. He pulled his Beretta, rolling onto his back, and fired three blind shots through the shattered window. A grunt of pain echoed from the balcony outside, followed by the heavy thud of a body hitting the concrete walkway.
"Can you run?" Damian barked, his hand gripping Elena's arm.
"Yes!" she gasped, coughing through the dust and gunpowder smoke.
"Stay low. Follow me."
Damian led her toward the back bathroom. He kicked open the small, frosted-glass window that led to the alleyway behind the motel. He scrambled through first, dropping onto the wet asphalt, then reached up to catch Elena as she tumbled out after him.
The rain was blinding. In the distance, sirens wailed, but Damian knew they couldn't wait for the police. The police in this district were paid for by the very people trying to kill them.
He guided her through the labyrinth of alleys to where Elias was waiting in a backup sedan. The doors unlocked, and they scrambled into the leather interior, the engine roaring to life before the doors were even fully shut.
"Boss! Are you alright?" Elias asked, checking his rearview mirror as he sped away from the motel.
"We're alive," Damian said, his breathing heavy. He looked at Elena, who was shivering violently in the backseat beside him. Her clothes were soaked, and she was clutching her arm where a stray piece of glass had cut her.
"Elias, change of plans," Damian ordered. "We aren't going back to the estate in the city. Drive to the Fortress. The upstate house."
"But what about Leo?" Elena asked, panic in her voice. "We can't leave him at the hospital!"
"He's already being moved," Damian said. "I had a private medical transport prepped the moment we left. He is being taken to a secure, private wing in my upstate estate. It has military-grade security. No one gets in. No one gets out."
He turned his dark eyes back to Elena. "Now. Explain. Everything. If you lie to me again, I will throw you out of this car myself."
Elena swallowed hard, rubbing her arms for warmth. "Sofia... she was always the golden child. Our father was a powerful man in the Russian syndicate, but he wanted out. Before he was killed, he hid over three hundred million dollars in a Swiss trust fund. He set it up so that only Sofia, or her direct biological heir upon turning five years old, could access it."
"Leo turned five last week," Damian muttered, the puzzle pieces falling into place with terrifying precision.
"Exactly," Elena said. "Sofia didn't die in that car bombing. She planned it with the Bratva. She used the explosion to erase her identity so she could disappear. But she couldn't access the money without Leo's DNA verification at a verified Swiss bank branch. She tried to wait, to find a way to forge it, but the Bratva grew impatient. They want the boy. They want to kidnap him, take him to Switzerland, force him to sign the release, and then... they will discard him."
Damian’s hands clenched into fists so tight his knuckles turned white. He felt a sickening betrayal wash over him. He had spent three years mourning Sofia. He had kept her picture by Leo's bedside. He had told his son that his mother was an angel watching over him.
And all the while, she was a demon waiting in the dark to sell him out.
"Why didn't you go to the police?" Damian asked.
"Because the Bratva has eyes everywhere. Even in the FBI," Elena said, her voice trembling. "I tried to get close to Leo to protect him. I took the job at the hospital because I knew from my sources that they were going to poison him to get him admitted to a vulnerable location. I didn't have time to warn you. I barely got to his room in time."
Damian stared at her. "You risked your life for a nephew you’ve never met. Why?"
Elena looked out the rain-streaked window. "Because he is innocent. And because Sofia... she destroyed our family. I couldn't let her destroy her own child."
Two hours later, the car pulled up to the upstate estate. Nestled deep in the woods of Westchester, the "Fortress" was a massive, modern stone mansion surrounded by twelve-foot high electrified fencing and manned by heavily armed security guards.
As soon as they entered, Damian was met by his private medical team.
"Mr. Costa," the doctor said. "Leo has arrived. He is sleeping peacefully in the medical wing. Vitals are excellent."
Damian let out a breath he felt like he’d been holding for years. "Take Elena to the guest wing. Get her dry clothes, treat her wounds, and feed her. She is not to leave the estate."
"Am I your prisoner?" Elena asked, turning to face him.
May you like
Damian stepped close to her, his gaze intense. "In my world, Elena, the only difference between a prisoner and a guest is who holds the key. For now, consider yourself protected. But do not forget—I still don't fully trust you."
"I don't expect you to," she said quietly. "But I love that boy. And I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe. Even from his own mother."
