THE MAFIA'S PRICE의 모든 챕터: 챕터 141 - 챕터 143

Pain had become the only language my body knew how to speak. It rose and fell in great waves that stole my breath and left me gripping the sheets with trembling hands. The hospital room felt both too bright and strangely distant. Monitors softly tracked every change while nurses moved in and out with calm efficiency. Through it all Dante never left my side. His large hand stayed wrapped around mine, steady and warm, giving me something solid to hold when each contraction threatened to pull me under.“You are doing so well,” he murmured again and again, his voice low near my ear. “I am right here. Breathe with me.”I tried. Between the peaks of pain I focused on the shape of his face, the dark intensity of his eyes, the way a sheen of worry mixed with fierce determination across his features. This man had faced guns and enemies and the weight of an empire, yet nothing had ever looked as serious on him as the sight of me in labor. The thought almost made me smile through the discomfort.

New Year’s Eve settled over the house with a soft and quiet kind of joy. Soft lights glowed along the windows and a low fire burned in the living room hearth. Outside the night was cold and clear, but inside everything felt warm and full. Riley was five months old now, a round cheeked baby with her father’s serious eyes and the pale blond hair she had taken from me. She lay on a thick play mat near the sofa, kicking her legs and making the small happy sounds that had become my favorite music.I sat on the floor beside her, one hand resting lightly on her belly while she batted at a soft toy. Six months had passed since the morning she arrived crying into the world. Those months had been the most peaceful of my life. No sudden threats. No rushing between safe houses. No heavy weight of war pressing against the windows. Dante still handled the business that needed him, yet he came home earlier most days and rarely missed the quiet evening hours we spent together as a family. The dangero