Chapter 4 - The Medical Emergency and the Desperate Plea
Dominic dropped his father back onto the pew with a sickening thud, not sparing the old man another glance. He spun around, returning his attention to Maya and the three little boys who were shivering against her. The raw agony in his eyes was palpable, but there was no time for apologies, no time for long-overdue reconciliations.
Samuel let out a sharp, choked gasp, his tiny body suddenly going completely limp in Maya’s arms.
“Sam? Honey, look at Mommy!” Maya cried out, panic seizing her chest as the boy’s legs gave out. His eyes fluttered shut, his skin burning like a furnace while his lips turned an alarming shade of blue.
Before Maya could hit the floor, Dominic was there. He dropped to his knees on the cold marble, catching his son before he hit the ground.
“He’s burning up,” Dominic said, his voice stripped of all authority, replaced entirely by a father’s primal terror.
“I know! His platelet count dropped dangerously low this morning!” Maya sobbed, clutching Dominic’s forearm as her fingernails dug into his expensive sleeve. “He needs specialized treatment immediately, or his organs are going to start shutting down!”
Dominic didn’t hesitate. He scooped Samuel into his strong arms, cradling the unconscious toddler against his chest. He looked up at Maya, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “May I carry him to my car? Please, Maya.”
Maya looked at the man she had hated for three agonizing years. Then, she watched as little Samuel instinctively shifted, his tiny hand reaching out to blindly grasp Dominic’s black tuxedo lapel, finding comfort in his warmth.
“Take him,” Maya whispered, her voice breaking.
May you like
As Dominic turned to race down the aisle toward his bulletproof Maybach, Victor Russo stumbled out of the pew, his face contorted with malice and desperation. He pointed a shaking finger at them and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Security! Stop them! Don’t you dare touch that boy! He’s not a Russo!”
Dominic didn’t even slow down. He threw a single, murderous glare over his shoulder at his father. “If my son dies today, I swear to God, I will burn this entire empire to the ground and put you in a prison cell for the rest of your natural life.”
