Chapter 4 - A Child Born Under Siege
The contractions changed immediately.
They were no longer distant cramps caused by fear. They arrived with crushing force, wrapping around Isabelle’s back and abdomen until she could barely remain standing.
Harrison checked his watch.
“How far apart?”
“I do not know.”
Another shot struck the concrete pillar.
Vincent reloaded behind the corner of the building.
“We need to move.”
“She may be entering premature labor,” Harrison warned.
“Then we return to the estate.”
“The street is blocked.”
Dominic pointed toward a delivery van parked behind the diner.
“I can get it running.”
“Do it.”
Vincent fired toward the sedan, forcing the attackers behind cover. Dominic crossed the alley and shattered the van’s side window.
Harrison supported Isabelle while she struggled forward.
“Breathe slowly.”
“I am trying.”
A contraction stopped her.
Vincent reached her in two strides and lifted her again.
“I can walk,” she gasped.
“Not quickly enough.”
He carried her to the van as Dominic forced the ignition. Harrison climbed into the rear compartment, followed by Vincent and Isabelle.
The vehicle accelerated from the alley.
A bullet broke the rear window, but they turned the corner before the attackers could follow.
Harrison placed folded blankets beneath Isabelle and checked the baby’s position.
“We need a hospital.”
“No public hospital is secure,” Vincent said.
“We may not have a choice.”
“How long?”
“Premature labor can stop, or the child could arrive within an hour. I cannot predict it from the back of a van.”
Isabelle gripped Vincent’s hand during another contraction.
He looked down at their joined hands.
She had not chosen him. Pain had.
Still, he closed his fingers around hers.
“Stay with me,” he said.
Her eyes opened.
“I barely know you.”
“You know enough to argue with me.”
Even in pain, she gave a weak, disbelieving laugh.
The sound affected him more than gunfire ever had.
Dominic drove toward a small medical center controlled by one of Harrison’s former colleagues. Vincent contacted his security teams, but several did not answer.
The betrayal was wider than Vale.
At least two senior captains had disabled their phones. One warehouse had stopped reporting. Armed men were gathering near Moretti businesses throughout the city.
Vale had not merely planned an assassination.
He had launched a coup.
“Boss,” Dominic said from the front. “We received a message from Carlo.”
“Read it.”
“He says Vale contacted him. Vale will trade the estate staff for the woman and the flash drive.”
Vincent’s expression turned lethal.
“He has hostages?”
“Vale’s men seized the west wing after we left.”
“Carlo?”
“Still free. He is hiding near the old chapel.”
Isabelle heard every word.
“This is because of my baby.”
“No,” Vincent said. “This is because Vale believed my family existed for him to exploit.”
“He wants the drive.”
“He wants Luca’s evidence destroyed.”
“And if we give it to him?”
“He will kill us afterward.”
She turned her face toward the ceiling.
Another contraction came. Vincent allowed her to crush his hand until it passed.
“Luke wanted our son away from this,” she whispered.
“He will be.”
“How can you promise that when men are fighting over whether he inherits your empire?”
Vincent did not answer.
Because she was right.
As long as the succession charter existed, Luca’s child would remain valuable to ambitious men. Some would attempt to control him. Others would seek to eliminate him.
The Moretti name had already reached into the womb.
Vincent looked at the ultrasound image still folded inside his jacket.
He had spent years preserving an empire that had taken his wife, his child, and his brother.
Now it threatened Isabelle and Luca’s son.
For the first time, Vincent questioned whether the empire deserved to survive.
The delivery van reached the clinic twelve minutes later.
Harrison’s colleague, Dr. Melissa Grant, met them at a private entrance with two nurses and a stretcher.
Isabelle refused to release Vincent’s hand as they moved her inside.
“Do not leave,” she said.
The request surprised both of them.
“I will be outside.”
“No. Luke is gone. My mother is gone. I cannot do this alone.”
Vincent looked toward Harrison.
The elderly doctor nodded.
“You can remain until we determine what is happening.”
Inside the examination room, medical staff worked quickly. Isabelle was thirty-one weeks pregnant. The baby’s heartbeat remained strong, but labor had progressed further than Harrison expected.
Dr. Grant administered medication to slow the contractions.
“We will attempt to delay delivery,” she explained. “Every additional day helps, but the ruptured membranes increase risk.”
Isabelle stared at Vincent.
“What happens if they cannot stop it?”
“The baby will be delivered and cared for in the neonatal unit,” Harrison answered.
“Will he survive?”
“The odds are good at this stage, but there may be complications.”
Vincent stood near the bed, feeling the same helplessness that had haunted him for five years.
Isabelle reached toward him.
He took her hand again.
“Luke said you protected him when he was young,” she said.
“I tried.”
“Then protect his son.”
“I will.”
“Not by making him powerful.”
Vincent understood.
“By making him free.”
Her eyes closed with relief.
Dominic entered the room.
“Boss, we found Vale.”
“Where?”
“He has taken control of the Moretti Foundation building downtown. Three captains joined him. He is telling our people that Luca’s child will replace you and that you intend to punish anyone who questions the succession.”
“He is manufacturing a civil war.”
“He has called a council meeting for sunrise.”
Vincent checked the time.
Less than three hours remained.
“If you do not attend,” Dominic continued, “he will declare you medically unfit and transfer control.”
“On what authority?”
“The charter.”
Isabelle opened her eyes.
“The same charter that threatens my child.”
“Yes.”
She looked toward the flash drive on the counter.
“Then use Luke’s evidence.”
“Evidence can expose Vale’s crimes, but some men will still support him because they fear losing their positions.”
“What would stop them?”
Vincent stared toward the dark window.
“Ending the reason they are fighting.”
Dominic understood.
“You cannot dissolve the organization overnight.”
“No. But I can surrender the succession claim and transfer the legal businesses into a protected trust.”
“For the child?”
“For employees who have nothing to do with our wars. The criminal operations end.”
Dominic’s face changed.
He had followed Vincent for seventeen years. The Moretti organization was not merely his employment. It was his identity.
“Many will resist.”
“Then they can explain their resistance to federal prosecutors after Luca’s files are delivered.”
Isabelle studied Vincent.
“You would destroy your own empire?”
“It destroyed my family first.”
Harrison stepped closer to the bed.
“The contractions are slowing.”
Everyone turned toward Isabelle.
“The medication is working,” he said. “But she must remain under observation.”
Relief spread through the room.
Vincent reached inside his jacket and placed the ultrasound image beside Isabelle.
“Your son is not being born under siege tonight.”
She looked at the image.
“You sound certain.”
“I am accustomed to making certainty where none exists.”
Vincent moved toward the door.
Her hand closed around his wrist.
“You promised not to leave.”
“I promised to protect him.”
“You cannot protect him if Vale kills you.”
He looked down at her fingers.
“What would Luca tell you to do?” she asked.
Vincent thought of the letter.
North still points home.
“He would tell me I am being an arrogant fool.”
“Then listen to him.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“We can transmit the files to every captain before the council. Vale loses control of the story.”
Vincent looked toward the flash drive.
“Copy everything. Send one set to our attorneys and one to a federal contact Harrison trusts.”
Dominic blinked.
“You are involving the government?”
“I am ending this.”
Before Dominic could leave, Vincent’s phone rang.
Carlo’s name appeared.
Vincent answered.
His uncle’s breathing sounded strained.
“Vale knows you have the letter,” Carlo said.
“Where are you?”
“The estate chapel. I released as many staff members as I could.”
“Get out.”
“I cannot. Vale placed men at every exit.”
Gunfire sounded faintly through the call.
Carlo lowered his voice.
“Vincent, I am sorry about Luca. I thought secrecy would save him.”
“It gave him five years.”
Carlo went silent.
It was not forgiveness, but it was more than he expected.
“Vale is coming to the clinic,” Carlo said. “One of your guards gave him the location.”
The line abruptly disconnected.
Vincent turned toward the corridor.
At the same moment, the clinic lights went out.
Emergency generators activated seconds later.
Dominic drew his weapon.
May you like
From the floor below came the sound of breaking glass.
Vale had arrived.
