Chapter 8 - The First Breath
The terrifying sound of a drill echoed from the bunker door.
Dominic ignored the impending doom and focused entirely on Layla.
"Push," he commanded gently, wiping the sweat from her beautiful face.
Layla let out a deafening scream that echoed off the cold concrete walls.
Dominic guided the first baby into the dim light of the lantern.
It was a boy.
The infant let out a loud, healthy cry that brought tears to Dominic's eyes.
He quickly wrapped his son in a clean jacket and handed him to Matteo.
"The second one is coming!" Layla gasped, her body trembling violently.
Minutes later, Dominic delivered a tiny baby girl.
His heart plummeted into his stomach.
The little girl was completely silent and terrifyingly still.
Layla passed out from sheer exhaustion and blood loss, her head rolling to the side.
"Breathe, please breathe," Dominic begged his tiny daughter.
He used two large fingers to perform delicate, desperate chest compressions on the infant.
He breathed tiny puffs of air into her mouth, praying to a God he had long ignored.
Suddenly, the little girl coughed and let out a weak, beautiful wail.
Dominic collapsed back onto his heels, completely overwhelmed by a love he had never known before.
He held his daughter close to his chest, feeling the fragile beating of her heart.
A massive explosion suddenly ripped the steel door entirely off its hinges.
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The heavy metal slab crashed onto the bunker floor in a cloud of gray dust.
Celeste walked through the smoke with a suppressed pistol pointed directly at Layla's unconscious head.
