Chapter 7 - A Mother’s Fury
Before Adrian could draw his weapon, Emily acted on pure, primal instinct.
“No!” she screamed.
She shoved a heavy silver candelabra off the serving sideboard directly into Vincent’s path. The crash shattered the crystal centerpiece, throwing Vincent’s aim off balance just as a deafening gunshot cracked through the dining hall.
The bullet tore harmlessly into the ceiling plaster, showering dust onto the table.
In the next split second, Adrian closed the distance like a panther. He seized Vincent’s wrist, twisting the bone until the revolver clattered to the hardwood floor. With a single, brutal strike, Adrian drove his palm into Vincent’s chest, sending the old man crashing over his high-backed chair onto the floor, gasping for breath.
Marco and three guards pinned Vincent down instantly, zip-tying his wrists behind his back.
“Take him to the federal holding facility,” Adrian ordered, his chest heaving, his eyes burning with lethal fury. “Let him spend the rest of his miserable life rotting in a supermax cell.”
As the guards dragged the screaming, cursing old man through the heavy doors, Adrian spun around to face Emily.
“Emily!”
She was leaning heavily against the oak table, her face chalk-white, clutching her stomach with both hands. A sudden, terrifying wave of agony washed over her features.
“Adrian...” she gasped, her legs buckling beneath her emerald dress.
Adrian caught her before she could hit the floor, scooping her gently into his arms. Beneath her silk gown, a puddle of clear fluid soaked through the fabric onto the polished floor.
Her water had broken.
“The baby,” Emily cried, clutching his lapels with white knuckles as another violent contraction tore through her abdomen. “Adrian, it’s too early! She’s only thirty-one weeks!”
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Adrian felt a terror colder than any gun barrel grip his heart. He looked at Marco, his voice roaring with desperate authority that shook the chandeliers. “Get the car! Clear the highway to Manhattan Presbyterian! If anyone slows us down, shoot them!”
He sprinted through the grand estate doors, carrying Emily against his chest into the roaring rain.
