Chapter 7 - The Unbroken Man
Before Elena could take another step toward the corner, the heavy oak door of the nursery was kicked violently open.
Bang.
The door slammed back against the wall with a deafening crash that rattled the windowpanes.
Elena spun around, her eyes widening in sheer, unadulterated horror.
Standing in the doorway wasn't a helpless man trapped in a wheelchair. It was Luca Moretti.
He was standing upright, clinging to the wooden doorframe with both hands for balance. His legs trembled violently, his knees locked in a desperate, white-knuckled struggle against gravity, but he was standing. His jaw was set like carved granite, and his eyes burned with an icy, terrifying fury.
"Leave our daughter alone, Elena," Luca said, his voice echoing through the room like rolling thunder.
Elena dropped the medical case. It hit the rug with a muffled thud, vials rolling in different directions. "You... you’re in the chair. You can’t—the neurological scans said—"
"The neurological scans were forged by your corrupt doctors," Luca interrupted, taking a slow, agonizing, trembling step forward into the room. His boots scraped against the floorboards as he forced his deadened muscles to obey his will. "For four years, you kept me down. You drugged me, you lied to me, you manipulated everyone around me. But you forgot one fundamental thing about a Moretti."
Elena backed away until her spine hit the nursery bookshelf. "Luca, listen to me—it was for our future! The debts from your father’s estate were crushing us, I had to secure—"
"You tried to kill my child's spirit, and you tried to poison me," Luca snarled, taking another step closer. The distance between them closed.
With a sudden burst of adrenaline that defied every medical prognosis, Luca lunged forward, his arm shooting out with the speed of a striking cobra. His hand gripped Elena’s wrist with crushing force, twisting it upward until the heavy steel syringe slipped from her numb fingers and clattered onto the floor.
Elena cried out in pain, her face contorting as Luca shoved her back against the bookshelves, trapping her with his body weight, using the heavy doorframe and his sheer willpower to keep himself upright.
"Daddy!" Sofia screamed, running forward and wrapping her small arms tightly around Luca’s waist.
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Luca looked down at his daughter, his expression softening instantly, though his grip on Elena did not slacken by a fraction of an inch. He rested one hand gently on Sofia’s head.
"You're safe now, baby," Luca whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "Daddy's got you. Daddy's not going anywhere."
