Chapter 3 - The Fortress
I spent the next three days recovering in the hospital. Adrian never left the building.
He didn't just sit by my bed; he annexed the entire maternity wing. His men, dressed in impeccable suits, guarded every entrance and exit. The nurses, initially terrified of the mafia presence, quickly warmed to Adrian when they realized he treated them with absolute, terrifying respect—and tipped them in hundred-dollar bills for bringing me extra pillows or fresh ice water.
Every evening, he wheeled me down to the NICU. We would sit in silence in front of the incubator, watching our tiny daughter. We had named her Eliana.
"She has your nose," Adrian observed one night, his massive hand resting gently on my shoulder as I sat in the wheelchair.
"She has your temper," I countered weakly. "She ripped her IV out twice yesterday."
A soft, genuine chuckle rumbled in Adrian's chest. It was a sound I hadn't heard in nearly a year. "She is a Moretti. We do not like being tied down."
"Adrian," I said softly, reaching up to touch his hand. "The war... the Russians. Is it truly over? Are we safe?"
His grip tightened slightly. "The Russian leadership is gone. But in my world, power vacuums create opportunists. The moment the city finds out that the Moretti boss has a newborn daughter and a wife he never actually stopped loving... we become targets again."
"So what do we do?" I asked, fear creeping back in.
Adrian stepped around the wheelchair and knelt in front of me, just as he had done in the clinic. "We don't hide anymore. Hiding makes you look like prey. Tomorrow, Dr. Sloan is releasing you. Eliana needs to stay for another week, but she will be guarded by a dozen of my best men."
He looked deeply into my eyes, the ruthless king of the underworld completely submitting to the woman in front of him.
"Come home with me," Adrian pleaded. "Let me protect you the way I should have from the beginning. Let me be a father to our daughter. Give me the chance to spend the rest of my life making up for the six months I stole from you."
May you like
I looked at the man who had broken my heart to save my life. The man who had dropped to his knees the moment he realized he was a father.
I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. "Take us home, Adrian."
