"Stop, Father!"
Fabio's roar thundered through the room, shattering the lethal silence. Across the space, Armando stood tall, his hand steady without the slightest tremor as he aimed the black muzzle of his pistol directly at Leah. Leah cowered in the corner of the bed, shaking violently, her eyes wide with terror.
Without a thought for his own life, Fabio lunged forward. He shoved his body directly in front of the weapon, turning his back into a living shield to block the attack.
Armando did not lower his gun. His ice-cold eyes stared at his only son with a look of pure disdain. "Have you forgotten the primary rule of every mission, Fabio? Never leave a single witness alive," Armando growled. His voice was heavy, saturated with the absolute authority of the Casso group's Big Boss.
Fabio squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, letting his chest heave as he tried to control his wild, racing breath. He knew that one wrong move could make his father pull the trigger. When he opened his eyes again, they no longer held fear, but a desperate resolve.
"I understand, Father," Fabio said, his voice forced low to keep it from trembling. He turned his body slightly, gesturing toward Leah, who remained frozen behind him. "But this girl." Fabio paused, then continued with a loud voice that echoed throughout the room. "She is carrying my child. The Casso lineage you have been waiting for is inside her womb."
An immediate silence seized the room. Leah, who until then could only weep in silence, flinched in shock. Her fear was suddenly eclipsed by an overwhelming confusion. Her pale fingers moved slowly, touching her still-flat stomach, while her eyes fixed on Fabio's back with an unreadable gaze. She was caught between joy and sorrow; she was carrying the child of a man she once loved, but who had now transformed into a man she hated.
"How is that possible?" Armando's voice broke the silence. Slowly, he lowered his weapon, though his finger remained against the trigger. His searching gaze demanded an explanation.
Fabio swallowed hard, struggling to keep his voice steady under the pressure of the suffocating atmosphere. "We have been dating for a year, Father. I became her lover under the identity of Arnold Hein."
Armando's brow furrowed, the lines on his aged face deepening. "Then why was she at that location?"
Fabio took a short breath, preparing an admission he knew would trigger a storm. "She is the daughter of Jackson Sterling."
That sentence startled Armando. In a movement faster than a blink, Armando's hand snapped back up, aiming the muzzle of the pistol right between Fabio's eyes, only inches from his forehead.
"Then she must die right now!" Armando growled, his voice raspy with rage. "In that case, she must die. She is a danger to the organization!"
Fabio did not retreat a single step. He stood tall, even as cold sweat began to soak his back. He could see the muscles in his father's jaw tightening, a sign that the Big Boss was ready to execute anyone.
"I promise you, that will not happen, Father," Fabio pleaded. His voice was now an urgent whisper, trying to pierce through his father's wall of cruel logic. Fabio took a risky step forward, lowering his voice as if offering the most profitable business deal of their lives. "Father, I will handle her myself. But I beg you. Let her live. At least, give it time until the child is born."
Armando did not answer immediately. He leaned his face in, staring deep into Fabio's pupils, searching for the slightest flicker that might suggest his son was lying. "Can you guarantee that the fetus is your own flesh and blood?" he asked in a low, intimidating tone. Every word felt like molten lead.
Fabio returned the gaze without blinking, hardening his jaw. "Yes. She is a good girl, Father. I was the first for her. I took her virginity myself."
A harrowing silence hung over the room for several seconds. Armando finally took a long breath. Then, without a word, he lowered his weapon and turned away. The heavy thud of his boots rang out against the floor as he walked out, followed by his three men.
Leah remained frozen in the corner of the bed. Her fingers still gripped the fabric of her clothes over her stomach, but the expression of terror on her face slowly faded, replaced by a grief that felt like it was crushing her chest.
Once the door was shut tight, Fabio exhaled a long breath he had been holding in his throat. His tense shoulders finally slumped; he felt a massive sense of relief. Fabio turned and, with a gentle movement, sat on the edge of the bed.
"Leah," he whispered hoarsely. Fabio reached out, his fingers moving to brush her cheek as he leaned in to embrace her.
However, the moment Fabio touched her, the girl reacted. With a rough movement full of loathing, Leah slapped Fabio's hand away.
"Do not touch me!" Leah snapped. Her voice was broken, raspy from her sobbing. She stared at Fabio with swollen, tear-streaked eyes. "You should have just let me die!" she screamed. Her voice reached a high, piercing pitch. Her weeping turned into hysteria; she no longer cared about the muzzle of Armando's gun. To her, living in this cage was far worse than death.
"I refuse to give birth to a murderer's child!" Leah shrieked again. With her hands still bound by chains that clinked loudly with every movement, Leah began to act out of desperation. At the height of her hatred, she balled her hands into fists and began to beat her own stomach blindly. "This child is better off dead! It should not exist!"
"Enough!" Fabio moved like lightning. He lunged forward and grabbed both of Leah's wrists with full force, pinning her movements until she fell back against the pillows.
Fabio's breath was ragged, and his eyes flashed with a darkness Leah had never seen before. "Do you want to force me to bind you with shorter chains?" Fabio hissed. His voice was low and laden with a cold threat.
Fabio brought his face close, making sure Leah felt every word he spoke. "If I do that, you will not be able to move, not even to touch your own stomach. You will be able to do nothing but breathe. Is that what you want?"
Leah stopped struggling. Her body went limp, but her eyes remained fixed like blades on the man before her. With what little strength she had left, she threw out a question that instantly froze the air.
"When this child is born. Will you let your father kill me?" Leah asked with a trembling voice, searching for certainty in the midst of her uncertain fate.
In that instant, Fabio's grip loosened. He was stunned. The man who had just been bullying her with such authority was suddenly lost for words. Fabio turned his face toward the window, avoiding Leah's gaze as she demanded the truth.