Chapter 5 - The Twin Reunited
I didn't think; muscle memory and raw fatherly instinct took complete control. In a single explosive blur of motion, I closed the gap, threw my rifle aside, and lunged up the wet aluminum stairs. Vance realized his mistake and tried to pull the hammer back, but my hand clamped down over the cylinder of his revolver with crushing force, locking the mechanism completely.
With a brutal twist, I snapped his wrist with an audible crunch. Vance screamed in agony, dropping the weapon down the steps.
Before the infant could fall from his failing grip, my left arm swept beneath the blanket, tucking the small, fragile weight securely against my chest. With my right fist, I struck Vance across the jaw, sending him hurtling backward into the aircraft cabin, unconscious before his head hit the bulkhead floor.
Marco and Dominic swarmed the steps instantly, zip-tying the doctor and securing the aircraft interior, but the rest of the world faded into complete, utter silence.
I stood on the wet tarmac, looking down at the bundle in my arms.
The rain cascaded over my face, mixing with tears I hadn't realized were falling. The little girl had the exact same delicate porcelain skin, the same dark curls clinging to her forehead, and when her big eyes fluttered open against the bright lights, they were the very same brilliant emerald green as Bella’s. Around her tiny wrist, gleaming under the Indiana rain, was the small gold bracelet.
""Daddy?"" a tiny voice called from below.
I slowly descended the stairs. Clara was standing in the downpour, trembling uncontrollably, Bella clinging to her hip.
I stopped right in front of them and gently extended my arms, parting the heavy wool blanket.
Clara let out a choked, ragged sob that seemed to tear straight from the depths of her soul. She fell to her knees in the wet gravel, pulling both babies into her embrace. Bella immediately reached out her tiny hand, stroking her sister’s cheek with pure, unfiltered joy.
""Sissy!"" Bella cheered, giggling through her own tears. ""Wake up, sissy! Mama here! Daddy punch bad man!""
The twin blinked sleepily, her tiny lower lip quivering before she nuzzled her face directly into Clara’s neck, letting out a soft, contented sigh. An eighteen-month nightmare of grief, separation, and mourning vanished in a single, sacred heartbeat on that cold runway.
""What is her name, Clara?"" I asked, kneeling beside them in the mud, wrapping my massive arms around all three of them, shielding them from the wind and the freezing rain.
Clara looked up, her face radiant despite the exhaustion and sorrow etched into her skin. ""I named them before they were born, when I was sitting alone in that clinic room. Bella and Bianca. Beautiful and pure.""
""Bianca,"" I whispered, gently touching the baby's tiny chin. She wrapped her miniature fingers around my pinky, squeezing with surprising strength. ""Welcome home, Bianca Romano.""
Marco approached cautiously, holding an encrypted radio. ""Boss... we have a situation back at the estate. Donna Sophia realized the doctor was intercepted. She’s attempting to access the family vault and has called in her private loyalists from the old guard. If we don't return immediately, she’ll empty the offshore accounts and torch the records.""
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I slowly stood up, my jaw hardening into stone. The warmth and vulnerability that had cracked my hardened exterior vanished, replaced once more by the terrifying aura of the Romano Don.
""Let her try,"" I said, helping Clara to her feet and ushering her back toward the warm interior of the armored SUV. ""It's time to clean our house once and for all.""
