Chapter 7 - The Vulnerable King
The world seemed to spin entirely out of control as I watched the invincible mafia boss fall.
His guards rushed forward, shouting frantically in Italian as they lifted his heavy, bleeding body.
I scrambled to my feet, clutching Mia, and ran back into the mansion right behind them.
They bypassed the grand staircase, carrying Luca onto a hidden elevator that descended deep underground.
I followed them into a state-of-the-art subterranean medical facility hidden beneath the estate.
A trauma surgeon was already waiting, stripping away Luca's ruined shirt to expose the two gunshot wounds.
"Get her out of here," the surgeon snapped at a guard, pointing a bloody glove at me.
"No," Luca groaned from the operating table, his hand reaching out blindly.
"Let her stay."
The surgeon sighed but focused entirely on digging the bullets out of the mafia boss's dense muscle.
I stood in the corner of the sterile room, rocking my crying baby, watching the man who had manipulated my entire life bleed for me.
He had taken a bullet that was meant for my chest without a single second of hesitation.
After an agonizing hour, the surgeon finally dropped two bloody pieces of lead into a metal surgical tray.
"He is incredibly lucky, the bullets missed his spine and his lungs," the doctor announced, wiping his brow.
The medical staff bandaged Luca and stepped out of the room, leaving us completely alone in the quiet bunker.
Luca lay on the bed, his skin pale, his dark eyes watching me carefully through the haze of pain medication.
"Why did you jump in front of me?" I asked quietly, walking closer to his bedside.
"Because a world without you in it is not a world I have any interest in ruling," he whispered roughly.
The raw, unfiltered honesty in his voice made my chest ache in a way I did not understand.
"You cannot force someone to love you by orchestrating their life, Luca," I told him, though my anger had faded into exhaustion.
He closed his eyes, a deep sigh rattling his bandaged chest.
"I know," he confessed softly.
"When I saw Derek breaking your heart in that hospital room, I realized my obsession had only brought you pain."
He slowly opened his eyes, and the ruthless boss was completely gone, leaving only a broken man.
"Once the Morrison family is dealt with, I will sign the annulment papers and let you go," Luca promised.
My heart gave a strange, unexpected twist at the thought of leaving him.
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Before I could respond, the heavy steel doors of the medical bunker were violently blown off their hinges.
Dozens of federal tactical agents swarmed the room, aiming assault rifles directly at my head.
