All Chapters of When Labor Became My Prison: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

My head was spinning. They pushed me into a storage room in the hospital basement. A makeshift cell."Put her here."I knew that voice.Elena Falcone. My husband's sister.She moved closer. A cold blade touched my cheek. That's when I saw the scalpel in her hand."Don't blame Vittorio, Alessia," she said, looking down at me. "The baby in Ornella's belly is my dead brother Marco's only child. He's the only one who deserves to be the heir.""I never... I never wanted to compete with her..." I whispered.She clamped her hand over my mouth before I could finish."Your pathetic acting makes me sick! Did you forget pushing Ornella down the stairs last month? A pregnant widow who just lost her husband?"My eyes shot open. "I didn't...""She almost lost the baby!" Elena’s voice was a shriek. "If the maid hadn't found her, Marco's only bloodline would have ended because of a snake like you!"A tearing pain ripped through my belly. I couldn't breathe.Elena sneered. She dragged the flat of the b

Dr. Russo laid me on the floor of the empty room and ran out."I'll check the nurses' station for supplies!" he yelled.Elena leaned against the doorframe, enjoying the show."So dramatic," she said, examining her nails. "Still needs work on your acting, though."Another contraction ripped through me, and I curled into a ball.Blood kept pooling under me, spreading across the white marble floor.Two minutes later, Dr. Russo ran back in.Empty-handed.His face was white as a sheet."There's nothing at the station," he said, his voice trembling. "Not even a basic hemostat. No gauze."Elena chuckled. "Oh, those? They were sent to Ornella's room, too. Vittorio's orders.""This is murder!" Dr. Russo shouted. "She'll die! The baby will die!""That's fate," Elena shrugged. "The needs of the Family come first."Dr. Russo knelt beside me and took my hand."Signora, I'm so sorry," he said, tears in his eyes. "I have no equipment, no medicine. Nothing.""Then use your hands!" I grabbed his collar

Luca’s men swarmed the hall.A minute later, the place was on lockdown.The elevators shut down. The stairwells were choked with men in black suits."Where's the goddamn med team?" Luca roared."On their way up!" a voice shouted back.I lay on the cold floor. Life was draining out of me. Every breath was a final gasp for air."Hang on, Signora," Luca said, grabbing my hand. "Your father taught us one thing: Morettis never abandon their own."Footsteps thundered down the hall before a medical team burst in, shoving a gurney."We have a mobile OR downstairs," the lead doctor barked, kneeling beside me. "Prep for transfer!"They lifted me onto the stretcher, gentle but fast.They rushed me into a vehicle that looked like a regular cargo van. But when the doors opened, the inside was a full surgical suite.Monitors, ventilators, an operating table—it had everything."BP sixty over forty!" a doctor yelled. "She's bleeding out! Hypovolemic shock!""Fetal monitor shows distress!" another voic

The small chapel on the Falcone estate. Candles flickered, casting long, dancing shadows.Vittorio carried the small, shrouded coffin himself. He placed it before the altar.He waved everyone away."Don, you need to rest—" one of his men started."Out," Vittorio’s voice was ice. "All of you. Out."The doors closed, leaving him alone with the coffin.I watched it all through a hidden camera.Vittorio knelt before the coffin, perfectly still.Hours passed. The sky outside grew dark. He didn't move."What's he doing?" my father asked from behind me."His performance," I answered, my voice flat.The next day, and the day after that, Vittorio was still there.No food. No water. He didn't even stand up.His suit was a wrinkled mess. His face was covered in stubble, his eyes sunken.On the third night, Ornella finally showed up.She was holding the baby, dressed in an elegant black mourning dress.The hypocrisy of it all."Vittorio?" she called softly.Vittorio didn't turn around."You haven'

Vittorio summoned his most trusted men that night."I want to know everything about the oxytocin," his voice was ice. "Every single detail.""Don, we already confirmed Ms. Ornella picked it up—""I want more," Vittorio cut him off. "Why did she want it? Who did she talk to? I want to know her every move."Three days later.Luca walked into my room with a satisfied smile."Signora, we have all the proof you wanted."He placed a file in front of me.The first photo made my blood run cold.Ornella in a motel room with a man who wasn't Vittorio.Her body was pressed against his, their lips locked.The time stamp on the photo: two months pregnant."Who's the man?" I asked."Roberto Santini. Second-in-command of the East Side crew," Luca answered. "A sworn enemy of the Falcones."I flipped the page.A DNA report.Subject: Son of Ornella Ricci.Alleged Father: Vittorio Falcone.Probability of Paternity: 0%.I laughed coldly. The so-called "heir" was the enemy's bastard."Has Vittorio seen thi