Alle Kapitel von 7 Nights With My Step Brother's Rival : Kapitel 61 – Kapitel 70

"Now?" Sienna's voice went high with panic. "But it's too early. She's only thirty-three weeks.""I know. But she's decided it's time." The doctor was already moving. Calling for the NICU team. Setting up equipment. "We have specialists standing by. We'll take excellent care of her.""But her lungs." Sienna couldn't finish. Another contraction crashed through her. Stronger than anything before.Dante was beside her. Holding her hand. "I'm here. I'm right here. You can do this.""I'm scared. What if she can't breathe? What if something's wrong?""Then they'll help her. They have machines. Specialists. Everything she needs." He kissed her forehead. "You have to focus now. She needs you to be strong."The next contraction came. Sienna screamed through it. The pain was blinding. All consuming."Good," the doctor said. "That's good. Your body knows what to do."But it didn't feel good. It felt like being torn apart.The labor continued. Hour after hour. Contractions coming in waves. Each o

"I need proof."Dante was on the phone with the prison warden. Again. For the third time that day."Mr. Moretti, I understand your concern, but the autopsy confirmed...""I don't care what the autopsy said. I want independent verification. DNA testing. Dental records. Everything." Dante's voice was hard. Unyielding. "Lorenzo Santini has faked his death before. I'm not trusting prison officials to confirm this."Silence on the other end. Then. "That's... highly unusual.""So is a man who's escaped custody twice. Survived explosions. Orchestrated operations from behind bars." Dante paced. "I'm sending my own team. Experts. They'll verify the body is actually Lorenzo. They'll run tests. And until those results come back, I'm treating this as another manipulation.""Mr. Moretti, the body has already been processed. Released to the state.""Then un-release it. I'll pay whatever it costs. But I'm not accepting this is over until I have proof. Real proof. Not convenient reports from a priso

Dante called Franz the next morning."Tell me everything," he said without preamble. "Who are they? What do they want? What moves have they made?""The Syndicate. That's what they're calling themselves. Led by a man named Viktor Kozlov. Russian. Former arms dealer. Lost everything when Lorenzo's empire collapsed and the old Council fell apart.""Kozlov. I've heard the name. He had dealings with my father. Bad blood. Something about a territory dispute.""That's him. He's been rebuilding. Quietly. For years. Gathering the old families who didn't make the cut for the New Order. People who felt excluded. Resentful. Angry.""How many?""At least thirty families. Maybe more. Spread across Eastern Europe and parts of Western Europe. They have resources. Money. Connections." Franz's voice was grim. "They're not amateurs, Dante. They're organized. Experienced. And they hate us.""What have they done so far?""Started with intimidation. Letters. Threats. Then escalated. Burned Marcus's wareho

3:00 a.m. Vienna.The safe house felt like a bunker. Concrete walls. Low lights. The hum of servers and live feeds washing the room in blue.Dante stood in front of three screens.Paris. Berlin. Prague.Three cities. Three teams. One shot to break the Syndicate’s spine.He pressed a finger to his earpiece. “Team Alpha.”Sienna answered from Paris. Calm. Too calm. “In position. Twelve hostiles visible. Warehouse confirmed.”His jaw tightened. She should not have been there. But she had looked him in the eye and told him she was done being protected.“Team Bravo.”Catarina’s voice crackled in. “Berlin ready. Heavy security. We can handle it.”“Team Charlie.”Franz exhaled before speaking. “Prague set. Kozlov is inside. Visual confirmed.”Dante checked the time.3:14.Every strike synced to hit at 3:15 local time. Precision was everything. Shock. Overwhelm. No chance for coordination.He swallowed the knot in his throat.“Sixty seconds. Fast and clean. No hesitation.”Acknowledgments cam

Dante tried to step back.He truly did.For three days he forced himself to let Franz handle things. Franz coordinated the search teams, approved operations, and followed leads without Dante breathing down his neck.Dante stayed away from the war room. Stayed away from the maps and intelligence briefings.Instead he tried to be present.He spent long evenings with Sienna. They cooked together. Walked through the quiet streets outside the apartment. Sometimes they said very little. Just being close felt like a fragile victory.He called Leo and Elena every night. The kids were staying with Marta in the Azores.Leo showed him drawings. Elena waved at the screen and laughed whenever Dante made silly faces.For a moment it almost felt normal.Almost.But every update from Franz tightened the knot inside Dante’s chest.Another lead gone cold.Another sighting that turned out to be nothing.Another report that said the same thing.No sign of Kozlov.Every hour that passed without progress m