Chapter 8 - The Birth in Blood
I threw my entire body weight against the heavy iron gate, but it refused to budge.
Vincenzo's cruel laughter echoed up the stone stairwell, mixing with Grace's agonizing screams of labor.
I ordered my demolition expert to blow the lock, but he warned me the explosion would collapse the ancient ceiling.
I was completely trapped, forced to listen to my wife suffer in the dark hands of my enemy.
I pulled out my pistol and shot the ancient stone hinges, desperately trying to weaken the iron frame.
Every time Grace screamed, a piece of my soul completely shattered.
I promised her I was coming, yelling her name until my throat was raw and bleeding.
Vincenzo taunted me from below, narrating every terrifying moment of the chaotic birth.
He told me the baby was crowning, mocking my absolute helplessness as a father.
I stepped back and ordered my men to tie a heavy steel cable from the SUV to the iron gate.
The driver slammed on the gas, the tires smoking on the marble floor as the truck pulled forward.
The heavy iron gate groaned violently before ripping completely out of the ancient stone wall.
I didn't wait for the dust to settle before I plunged into the dark, damp crypt.
The underground chamber was lit only by flickering candles lining the stone walls.
Vincenzo was standing in the center of the room with his back to me, holding a bloody surgical knife.
Grace was lying on a cold stone altar, completely exhausted and covered in sweat.
She looked at me with wide, terrified eyes, too weak to even speak my name.
I raised my gun and aimed it directly at the back of Vincenzo's head.
I ordered him to drop the knife and step away from my beautiful wife.
Vincenzo slowly turned around, dropping the bloody knife onto the stone floor with a loud clang.
He raised his hands in a mocking gesture of surrender, a wicked smile spreading across his face.
I rushed to Grace's side, pulling off my heavy jacket to cover her shivering body.
I kissed her forehead, promising her that the nightmare was finally over.
But when I looked down at the bloody blankets on the altar, my heart stopped completely.
The blankets were completely empty.
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Grace grabbed my bloody shirt, her voice breaking into a hysterical, heartbroken sob.
She screamed that Vincenzo had handed the baby to a guard who escaped through a secret tunnel.
