Lahat ng Kabanata ng MARRIED TO THE MAFIA: Kabanata 171 - Kabanata 180

LenaI didn’t think.I just moved.The second the call to Luca ended, I set my phone on the bench and crouched in front of Lila again, my heart slamming against my ribs so hard I thought it might crack them.“Lila,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm, “I’m going to get you to the car, okay? We need to get you to the hospital.”Her eyes fluttered open, glassy with pain.“I can’t”“Yes, you can,” I told her, and even though my hands were shaking, my voice came out steady. “You’re stronger than you think. But we have to go now.”She nodded once, her lips pressed together to keep another cry from escaping.I swallowed, glanced around the empty hall one last time, and wished with everything in me that I could just yell for help and have someone materialize.But there was no one.And I didn’t have time to wait.I slid my arm around her shoulders, bracing my other hand under her elbow, and slowly helped her up.She whimpered as she straightened, her knees buckling for a second.“You’re okay

LucaI thought I knew what pain looked like.I’ve seen men shot, broken, and burned alive for crossing the wrong line. I’ve seen mothers weep over their sons. I’ve watched my own empire built on blood and silence. I thought I understood agony.But watching Lila in labor watching her fight for every breath, for every second made me realize I knew nothing.She was drenched in sweat now, her lower lip raw from biting down, her hands gripping mine like a lifeline. The monitors beeped steadily in the background, giving numbers that meant nothing to me except that they represented how close or far we were from holding our baby.“It’s almost time,” the nurse said softly. “Her contractions are two minutes apart. We’re getting close to delivery.”I nodded, but my eyes never left Lila’s face.Her brows were furrowed, jaw clenched, but when her eyes flicked open and met mine, I saw it fear. Pure, sharp, and real. And she didn’t try to hide it from me.“Luca,” she whispered, barely more than a bre

LucaI’d never known a moment so quiet.Not the hush before a gun went off.Not the silence after a man took his last breath.Not even the bone-deep stillness of lying awake at night, wondering if I’d made the right choices.None of that compared to the silence of sitting in this hospital room, watching my son sleep against Lila’s chest.He was finally here.A part of me one I hadn’t even known existed felt anchored by that truth.But under the relief and the wonder, there was something darker, too.A coil of dread that tightened around my ribs every time I looked at him.Because I knew exactly what kind of man my father was.And I’d spent my entire life trying to prove I was nothing like him.But now, holding my son’s entire future in my hands, I couldn’t help wondering what if the rot was already in me?What if I became him?What if, one day, this little boy looked at me the way I used to look at Richard Romano with fear instead of love?The thought made something in my chest seize s

LilaThe first thing I realized when they wheeled me out of the hospital was that nothing felt normal anymore.Not the hum of the automatic doors sliding open.Not the warm breeze on my face.Not the way Luca walked beside the wheelchair, one hand resting protectively on my shoulder, as if he thought I might vanish if he let go.Everything felt raw and unfamiliar, like the world itself had shifted while we were inside those hospital walls.And maybe it had.Because nothing could ever be the same again.Gabriel was bundled in my arms, warm and impossibly small. He made a soft, hiccupping sigh, and I pressed my lips to the top of his head, breathing in that sweet, milky scent.I still couldn’t believe he was real.Luca had arranged for a black SUV to meet us at the curb. One of his men opened the back door, and Luca turned to help me in, his jaw tight with concentration.“You okay?” he asked gruffly.I nodded, though my whole body ached in ways I didn’t even have names for. My arms felt

LucaBlood.It has a smell. A weight in the air.Even when there’s no body, even when the mess is cleaned up, you can feel it.And tonight, it clung to every surface like a warning.The halls were quiet now too quiet.Enzo’s men had contained the breach at the gates. The attackers never made it past the courtyard, but they came close. Too damn close.I stood in the war room what most people would mistake for an ordinary library but the hidden screens and intel boards flashing live feeds and encrypted messages told another story.I couldn’t sit. My leg throbbed, the old injury flaring up from the sprint down the hallway. But I couldn’t sit still. Not when my family had just been attacked in our home. Not when someone had tried to touch what was mine.Lila. Gabriel.I ground my teeth until my jaw ached. My hands fisted at my sides. If Enzo hadn’t gotten them to the panic room in time…No. I couldn’t go there.I couldn’t afford it.A dozen scenarios ran through my head. Old enemies. Betra