Chapter 1 - The Blood Debt
I leaned against the cold hospital wall, gasping for air as the sterile scent of the corridor filled my lungs.
James caught my arms, his strong grip keeping me from collapsing completely onto the linoleum floor.
He looked around frantically, terrified that someone might overhear the brutal confession he was about to make.
I demanded to know exactly what he meant when he said he had always known this day was coming.
My husband took a deep breath, his voice breaking as he finally shattered the foundation of our perfect life.
He told me about a younger sister named Elena, a girl he had sworn to his parents he would always protect.
I had never even heard that name in the eleven years we had been married.
James explained that Elena had fallen into the hands of a ruthless crime syndicate in Chicago right before he met me.
He had tried to buy her freedom, but the syndicate leader, a monster named Silas Vance, refused his cash.
Silas forced James to sign a binding contract offering the first female child of his bloodline as collateral for Elena's life.
James had signed it because he thought it was a safe bet, especially after my doctor declared I could never safely have another child.
He honestly thought the curse would die with us, keeping our three boys perfectly safe from his hidden past.
But Elena had just given birth to this little girl in secret, desperately hoping to hide her from Silas.
She had dropped the baby at this hospital an hour ago, naming James as the emergency contact before vanishing into the night.
I stared at the tiny pink bundle in the bassinet, realizing this innocent child was essentially a living blood debt.
My mind raced as I thought about my three boys at home, wondering if this meant our entire family was now a target.
I asked James what Silas would do if he found out the baby had been born.
James looked at me with a terror I had never seen in his eyes before.
He said Silas would burn our entire world to the ground to collect what belonged to him.
Before I could process the absolute horror of his lies, the heavy doors to the maternity ward slammed open.
A terrified nurse sprinted toward us, her face pale and her scrubs covered in fresh, bright red blood.
She grabbed James by the shoulder, her eyes wide with absolute, uncontrolled panic.
May you like
"They found her," the nurse whispered, pointing a trembling finger toward the main elevator bank.
"Three armed men just locked down the lobby, and they are demanding you hand over the girl."
