Chapter Three

"It's nothing, I'll be right back," I whispered to a frightened Lauryn beside me.

I managed to uncurl her limbs from around my body before climbing out of the bed.

I shut the door securely behind me. The voices of the men were all raised downstairs.

"Do you know what you have just done?" I heard Jimmy's voice scream as I headed down the stairs of our small home, dread sinking into my skin.

"Oh, stop exaggerating, Jimmy. It can't be that bad, and he won't kill us—not when we have his daughter," my husband's voice drawled in mockery at his friend.

"You just kidnapped the daughter of a madman, Jace. This could all be some kind of setup. Why else would you get some random anonymous tip to kidnap a little girl from her school trip for ten million? Think, you idiot—it was all too easy, Jace." Jimmy paused, taking in a large breath. "These are powerful and dangerous people you do not want to mess with in your lifetime. We are talking about the De La Rosas," Jimmy all but panted as I finally reached the bottom of the stairs, his entire body tense and his expression one of horror.

"Who are the De La Rosas?" I interrupted quietly, all eyes turning towards me.

"Oh, only the biggest and most powerful mafia family in the underworld," Jace lazily drawled again. I placed a hand against my chest as I stared at them, my brows scrunching in worry and confusion.

The Mafia Family?!

"No one truly knows how big his empire is," Jimmy shakily added. "He’ll have a death sentence out for each and every one involved in this."

"For goodness’ sake, Jimmy, she cannot be his daughter. Why would a powerful man like you say have his daughter go to some random school?" Jace growled, looking fed up with the conversation. "And the De La Rosas are a myth, just meant to scare naïve people like you," he concluded with a grunt.

"Whose daughter is she?" I asked them, folding my shaking hands.

"Romero De La Rosa!" Jimmy shouted in frustration, the whole air in the room tense.

The room drowned in unease.

My instincts for danger were almost never wrong, and the itch in my chest, which had started the moment Jace threatened me into doing this, returned again with a vengeance.

"Jace, I don't care if it's true or not, just return her, please." I walked towards him, panicking. "We cannot afford any trouble, Jace, especially not one as big as this."

He pushed me away from him angrily and my butt hit the floor, but I was unable to let my fear hold me back this time.

"I'm pregnant, Jace. Please return her," I begged, tears streaming down my face now. I gripped onto his trousers, praying he would listen to me. I couldn’t afford to be on the run now—my child would be in danger.

Jace gripped my hair and pulled me up. "Take it out," he spat at me.

I stumbled away from him in shock. How could he do this to me?

I was always aware I married a cruel man who did not give a shit about me, but did he have to crush every dream and hope of mine like this?

"Since everyone is too scared, how about we go ask the little girl who her father is? Then this whole misunderstanding will be cleared right away," Jace said before heading up the stairs in a rush.

His words jolted me out of my shock, and I ran after him and the men up the stairs.

"Jace," I tried to call, my voice shaky.

I ran into the room to find him roughly holding a terrified and crying Lauryn, screaming at her.

"Jace!" I screamed, running towards the bed, but he ignored me.

"Tell me your father's name, you little brat!" he screamed at her.

"Get off of her!" I yelled, hitting his arm hard. Jace raised me by my neck and flung me against the bed, letting Lauryn go as he solely focused on me.

"You conniving, pathetic bitch! How many times have I told you to make sure not to get pregnant? Do you think I will finally give a fuck about you if you do?" he yelled, raining punches over my body. I tried to lift my arms to cover myself and my belly in vain, knowing none of his men would stop this assault.

"My father's name is Romero—Romero De La Rosa!" All our heads snapped to a terrified Lauryn, who clutched her ears with her arms in horror as she screamed her father's name, causing the entire room to darken, no one dared to breathe.

It happened in mere seconds. No one saw it coming until a gaping hole sat right in my husband's forehead, followed by bolts of multiple gunshots. Falling men, blood, and chaos surrounded us.

I stayed frozen for only a second, my terror-filled eyes unable to leave Jace's empty ones, my heart thundering in my chest.

Lauryn's bloodcurdling scream snapped me out of my frozen timeline.

I had no time to process the danger and horror in front of me as I turned to pick up a screaming Lauryn and made a run for the other side of the room. I pushed past the door and the lifeless men around me, ran down the stairs, and dashed into the kitchen. I couldn't go out through the front.

My heart didn’t stop pounding erratically inside my chest. I didn’t have time to understand what was going on as fear nearly paralyzed me.

I hid behind the counter and tried to shush a crying Lauryn down by rocking her. The entire house went completely quiet for a while before the sound of the front door being broken down filled the room.

Terror pumped through my veins at the sound of strange men filling the house. I couldn't breathe.

They spoke a language I did not understand among themselves as they went through the entire house. They went quiet again, and this time, I heard footsteps come to a stop inside of the kitchen.

I did not know how I survived the hard beating of my heart and the fear coursing through my veins. Red gunpoint light flashes appeared in front of me, and I knew we had been found, but I still did not dare to breathe.

"I know you are in there. Come outside."

The darkest and most menacing voice I had ever heard spoke so quietly, it sent a spike of fear down my spine.

"Daddy!" Lauryn screamed, and my heart stopped. My body went limp, and she ran from my arms, from behind the counter, and towards the men on the other side. I tried to reach for her, but she was gone in seconds.

She could have been mistaken.

"Mia culpa," the rumbling dark voice breathed out.

"Daddy." I heard Lauryn’s sobs muffle for a while.

"Shoot." The same dark voice commanded.

"Papa, no!" Lauryn’s small voice shouted, and I was shocked by how confident she sounded defying a man whose voice terrified my whole being.

The click of a gun flicked.

"No, Papa! You can't," she whimpered, as if unable to form any more words.

The man only spoke again after a long pause, as if assessing the situation—or his daughter—before commanding again, and I knew I would surely be killed if I didn't move immediately.

"You have three seconds to show yourself." my ribs clenched on nothing .

It wasn’t until I forced myself to my feet that I realized how heavy and weak my body felt. My thighs felt clammy and wet, but I didn’t have the time to check myself for injuries. I raised myself from behind the counter, ignoring the strain and pain rippling through me, and stepped out from behind it.

I came face-to-face with a large, bulky group of men, but the only man who caught my attention was the enormous and magnetic man holding Lauryn in his arms while staring daggers at me.

I tried to hold back the trembling of my lips. He looked nothing like the type of man who would show me any form of mercy.

I couldn't focus on anything anymore as my stomach decided in that moment to add to my suffering. The pain from moments ago sliced through me, and I had to grip onto the counter and bite my tongue. My other hand moved to hold my slightly round tummy tightly, and every person in the room followed my movement. They all continued to stare at my feet, and my eyes followed theirs.

My white, large t-shirt—reaching past my knee—was soaked red in the front, and the red liquid flowed past my legs and onto the floor. Panic seized my being all over again.

"No, no, you can't do this to me," was all I could whisper as I raised my head to stare deep into the eyes of the enormous man—

—as darkness engulfed me.