Ashes of the Valentino
In the Valentino family, the rules were absolute—the title of Don passed only to the eldest son of the eldest line.
On the day I was due to give birth, my water broke. The contractions came faster and harder, each wave of pain stronger than the last, until my consciousness began to drift.
The baby's head was already crowning. Renato knelt beside the bed, gripping my hand, his eyes filled with what looked like heartbreak.
I thought he would be my strength—my anchor.
But through the haze, I heard him speaking to the midwife.
"Control the dosage. Just delay Ellen's delivery for three hours."
"But she is already fully dilated. Forcibly delaying it could be dangerous…" The midwife's voice trembled.
"It's fine. She wasn't due yet anyway. She only went into labor because she secretly used induction drugs. Delaying the birth will only benefit her."
Disbelief crashed over me. I tried with everything I had to speak—to explain.
But then I saw him glance at his watch, murmuring to himself, "My sister-in-law is only five centimeters dilated. If we stall for three hours, my brother's child will be the eldest grandson. This is a promise I made to my brother."
Terror seized me. I tried to struggle, but the needle had already pierced my skin.
In an instant, the child that had been about to emerge was forced violently back into my body.
The pain doubled, twisting through me like a storm. Darkness swallowed my vision, and I lost consciousness.
When I came to, I had been dragged into an underground storage room.
Only after his sister-in-law's son had been safely born did Renato remember me.
When he returned—holding the toy he had personally made for our soon-to-be-born child—and ordered his assistant to bring me back to the operating room…
All he found were two cold, lifeless bodies.