Chapter 4

It was a lake house on the outskirts of New York. Beautiful scenery, but a prison without bars.

I leaned against the wall and tore another page from the calendar.

One hundred and twenty-seven days had passed since I was locked in this cage.

My belly was high and round, heavy as a boulder, making each step a struggle.

Alessandro never came.

It seemed he truly had no feelings left for me, wanting only to keep me alive until the baby was born.

All our years of love felt like a dream.

The butler and maids served me fine food and drink every day, a feast of delicacies and nutrients.

There was even a family medical team on standby here.

But I was like a walking corpse, just counting the days. Alessandro had blocked all cell and internet signals. The kind maid, Maria, was my only source of information.

From time to time, she would bring me news of Alessandro, smuggled in on creased, old newspapers.

The headlines always featured that fearsome Don, Alessandro Santoro.

He had launched a "cleansing war." Due to the Falcone family's provocations, street shootouts were constant in New York.

And always at his side was Liliana, clad in a bulletproof vest.

In the public eye, perhaps they were the perfect underworld couple.

I appeared calm on the surface, but in the middle of the night, when the pains of pregnancy woke me, I would still cry out his name.

I couldn't accept it. I wanted to ask him, "Do you really not love me at all anymore?"

"I wrote you so many letters. Why did you never write back?"

I didn't know that every cry for help I scribbled on small slips of paper and entrusted to Maria was sitting in Liliana's drawer.

Whenever Alessandro took a breath from the mountain of family affairs, he would ask about the shipment progress on the East Coast, or how I was doing.

And every time, Liliana's answer was the same: "There are some snags with the shipment; you might need to handle it personally for a few days."

"As for the Donna, the doctor says her condition is stable. It won't be too late to discuss it when you return."

Over these few months, similar scenes played out countless times.

Whenever Alessandro wanted to visit me, Liliana would "coincidentally" present urgent documents requiring his immediate attention at that very moment.

Then she would tell him that everything regarding me was normal.

And so, the days passed, one after another. When my water broke, it was far more dangerous than I had imagined.

Carrying twins meant a larger belly and double the pain.

Pain crashed over me in unrelenting waves. I gripped the bedsheets, feeling as if the lower half of my body was being ripped apart.

"Maria, the phone..." I was covered in a cold sweat. I grabbed Maria's wrist, my nails digging into her flesh. "Give it to me... I need to find Alessandro! I'm going to die..."

Maria looked at my deathly pale face, and tears streamed down her own. She bit her lip and pulled a disposable phone from inside her apron, one she had hidden for a long time.

"Donna, hurry, you only have a minute at most."

With trembling fingers, I dialed the number etched into my soul.

The first time, no answer.

The second time, the call was rejected.

I refused to give up and dialed again.

Even if there was only a one in a million chance, even if he wanted to kill me, I had to let him know these were his children.

"Hello?" It was Liliana who answered.

"Let me talk to Alessandro..." I gasped, my voice breaking. "I'm in labor, I'm begging you... the babies are innocent..."

Liliana's gentle voice came from the other end. "Donna, what terrible timing."

"The Don has no time for you right now. I just took a bullet for him in an ambush in the South Side."

"He's a little preoccupied with me right now."

Before I could process her words, Alessandro's furious and anxious roar erupted in the background. "Doctor! Where is the damn doctor! Liliana's bleeding!"

"I'm fine, Don. The bullet just grazed my arm. It only needs a bandage," Liliana's voice was perfectly frail. "Donna said she's going into labor and needs a doctor..."

"Isn't she due already?" Alessandro's impatient voice cut through the chaos of the hospital. "Isn't the family's medical team at the lake house?"

"She was fine before, she's fine now. This is a game. Liliana, you need the doctors. You took a bullet for me."

"But Donna..."

"Forget her!" Alessandro's voice was full of rage. "She's just trying to get my attention. Liliana, you took a bullet for me. How can I let anything happen to you? Your life is worth more than her petty games."

Liliana's soft sobs could be heard over the phone. "Don, don't say that... I'm sure Donna didn't mean to..."

"Enough!" Alessandro cut her off. "You rest. I'm having every doctor come consult on your case. As for her... she's fine. Let her wait!"

The line went mercilessly dead.

In that instant, a part of me died with it.

He didn't believe me.

In his eyes, Liliana, the one who took a bullet for him, was his salvation. And I was just a shameless burden, causing trouble at a critical moment.

A text from Liliana lit up the screen.

The screen showed only a few lines: "I forgot to tell you, Alessandro never saw a single one of your letters. Every time he planned to see you, a new 'family crisis' would conveniently appear."

"Right now, he's holding my hand, telling me I'm the real hero of the Santoro family. As for you, my dear Donna, you're on your own."

I stared at the words, my vision blurring.

The fragile thread of my sanity finally snapped.

A tearing pain ripped through my abdomen, as if something inside me was being violently torn away.

I wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

Darkness swarmed in, overwhelming me.

Only Maria's terrified scream seemed to come from far away:

"Oh God! Donna! You're hemorrhaging! There's too much blood!"