Chapter 4

I forced myself to stay calm and gave the order at once. "Move. Take as many alive as you can."

The quiet night shattered.

Victor held Demira in his arms as he fired at the Vitali men and retreated toward me. "I'll cover you. Get to safety."

There was no time to argue. Under Victor's cover fire, I pulled back quickly and reached the car.

We were almost clear. Then Demira refused to get in. She burst into tears and shrieked, "My necklace! Victor, my necklace fell on the bridge!"

I followed her gaze. A small wooden cross lay on the ground, no more than two yards away.

I snapped, "At a time like this, you still care about that worthless thing?"

Demira clung to Victor and cried harder. "My mother left it to me. It's the most precious thing I have. I can't lose it. Victor, what do I do?"

"Idiot," I spat.

The Vitali men were already closing in.

I was about to get into the car, but Demira suddenly threw herself in front of the door and blocked it. "How can you be this selfish? If you leave, what happens to me and Victor?"

Everything was falling apart, yet Victor still could not bring himself to say a harsh word to her. "Demira, be good. Get in the car first. I'll help you find it tomorrow, or I'll make you a new one myself."

"I don't want a new one. I want that one. I'm saving it for our baby."

Victor's brows tightened. He glanced at her stomach, then made his decision and charged out.

"Are you insane? Do you want to die?"

I grabbed for him, but he shook me off in a single hard motion. "Demira's necklace matters more."

He did not look back as he ran straight into the gunfire.

And just like that, he exposed my position again.

The next second, bullets punched into the car, leaving fresh holes across the frame.

I dodged and fired at the same time, but Demira panicked when rounds struck the car. From behind me, she shoved me hard.

I kept my footing, but I stood fully exposed in the enemy's line of fire.

Two shots echoed. I did not know who fired them, but both struck my lower leg.

Blood sprayed at once. A groan tore from my throat as I crashed to the ground, pain ripping through my body. White static burst across my vision, but I gritted my teeth and took down the two men rushing me.

Victor made it back then. The moment he saw the blood on me, his eyes went wild. "Lydia!"

He dropped beside me, pulled me into his arms, and began apologizing like a madman. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left. I shouldn't have left you."

"Get lost." I used the last of my strength to shove him away. Then everything went black.

In that operation, the Vitali family was nearly wiped out. Only two or three men escaped alive. The Lombardi family paid heavily as well. More than half our men were dead or wounded.

After that, a shadow fell over the entire family.

…

When I woke, four days had passed.

The doctor said I had been lucky. The bullets had torn through my calf but missed the bone and tendons. I would not be crippled.

Still, for the next two or three months, I would be confined to a wheelchair.

The maids brought tonic soup and medicine, but I could not force down a single bite. My mind remained trapped at the docks that night. It felt as if someone had carved out a piece of my heart and left the wound open.

Victor, without his memories, was colder than I had ever imagined. In his mind, my life, and even his own, mattered less than Demira's necklace.

One of the men rushed in, panic written across his face. "Donna, bad news. Demira is demanding we release the Vitali prisoners.

"Luca had to step out. Victor dotes on her as if she were his own eyes. None of the men dare lay a hand on her."

"What is that idiot trying to do now?" I jerked upright and pulled at the wound in my leg. Pain hit so hard that I sucked in a sharp breath.

I ignored it and ordered them to bring my wheelchair.

Then I went straight to the dungeon. It was dark, cold, and damp.

Before I reached the room where the prisoners were held, I heard Demira's loud, arrogant voice echo down the corridor. "I said let them go. Didn't you hear me? I'm the underboss' woman. Who dares disobey me? If you do, I'll have Victor put a bullet in your head."

"Then tell him to come do it." My voice froze the air as I rolled into the room.