LOGINInside the backseat, Ivy was wedged between Giulia and Evelyn, both women holding onto her as if sheer willpower could keep her grounded.“You’re doing great,” Giulia said frantically. “You’re doing so great, Ivy.”“I hate you,” Ivy snarled weakly. “Stop lying to me.”Evelyn let out a shaky laugh and said, “She’s definitely in labor.”Another contraction seized her and Ivy cried out again, clutching Giulia’s arm with surprising strength.“Breathe, sweetheart,” Evelyn pleaded. “Please breathe.”“I am breathing!” Ivy snapped. “It’s just not helping!”Giovanni twisted around in his seat. “You’re almost there. You’re doing amazing.”“Shut up,&rdquo
As they passed trees and shrubs, Ivy couldn’t hide her exhaustion anymore. She leaned her head on Giovanni’s shoulder. Then she whispered, "Thank you."Everything about the moment left Giovanni speechless. This was the same Ivy he'd once tormented, held hostage, and even hated. Now, she had become the glue that held the Martinelli family together.While she'd been in captivity in the woods, Giovanni had prayed that she wouldn't be harmed because he knew Lorenzo would never recover from such a loss. It would have shattered him and set the family back in more ways than he could count."You're welcome," Giovanni finally said, pushing past the lump in his throat.The guard drove them straight to the entrance of the solarium where Evelyn and Giulia ran out to meet them."Thank God, you're alright," Evelyn said and practically pulled Ivy off the cart and into her arms.
Ivy sat with her back pressed against the rough trunk of an oak tree, its wide branches stretching overhead like tired arms shielding her from the harsh glare of the afternoon sun.The forest around her was deceptively calm: birds chirping in the distance, leaves rustling softly in the breeze, but her body told a different story.She was parched, her throat dry and burning. Hunger gnawed at her stomach, but worse than that was the bone-deep exhaustion that made her limbs feel heavy and unresponsive.A few feet away, her captor lounged against another tree, one boot propped casually against the bark. He scrolled through his phone with infuriating calm, as though this were nothing more than a tedious wait at a bus stop.Yet the gun in his hand never wavered. It remained trained on her with chilling consistency, a silent reminder that her life, and the life growing inside her, hung entirely at his mercy
"Get in," the young man barked at Olivia."Don't take that tone with me, boy," she warned him."Or else, what?" he dared her.They engaged in a brief stare-down contest, after which the guy aimed his gun at her again.Olivia turned to look at Loren
“I should have eliminated you when I had the opportunity,” Lorenzo said coldly.The words cut through the thick haze clouding Olivia’s mind, dragging her violently out of a drug-induced slumber. Her eyelids fluttered, heavy and reluctant, as she struggled to surface from the fog gripping her consciousness.The sterile scent of antiseptic filled her nostrils, sharp and unforgiving. Slowly, painfully, the room came into focus.The first thing she saw was a pair of polished shoes.Her gaze travelled upward, inch by inch, until the man standing at the foot of the bed fully registered in her mind.Lorenzo.The expression on his face made her recoil instantly. Her breath caught in her throat as fear settled deep in her chest, thick and suffocating.For a brief, humiliating moment, she wished she could melt into the ma
Inside the Gulfstream G800, the cabin was hushed, wrapped in quiet luxury as it sliced smoothly through the sky, clouds drifting past the wide windows like slow-moving ghosts. Lorenzo sat back in his seat, stretching his long legs out in front of him, one hand resting idly on the armrest.The faint hum of the engines was steady, almost soothing. But his mind was anything but calm. He was going home. The thought alone sent a rush of anticipation through him.Ivy.He pictured her immediately: her smile, the way her eyes softened when she looked at him, the way her hand always drifted protectively to her belly these days. God, he missed her!The last few days away from her had felt longer than they should have. Too much had happened in too short a time. He should call her.Lorenzo reached for his phone, already imagining the sound of her voice, when the screen lit up in his







