Chapter 3 - The Wolves at the Door
The storm outside raged with a vengeance, the wind howling against the leaded glass windows of the Ashford study as lightning fractured the dark Boston sky.
I sat rigidly on the edge of a leather armchair, clutching a cup of cold tea I hadn't touched. Across the room, Dominic stood by the fireplace, staring into the flickering flames with an expression so dark and unreadable it terrified me. Marcus Webb and three other senior security officers stood in the shadows, their faces tight with suppressed tension.
"How?" Dominic finally broke the silence, his voice low, rhythmic, and deadly. "How did the Barzini syndicate find out about Vivien within forty-eight hours?"
"It wasn't internal security, Boss," Marcus said carefully, shifting his weight. "Our digital sweeps are clean. But... Elena Vance has been meeting with Victor Barzini’s legal counsel for the past three months regarding corporate restructuring. She had access to the medical audit logs through our private healthcare network."
A heavy, suffocating silence filled the room.
I swallowed hard, my hand drifting protectively to my stomach. "Elena... she leaked it?"
Dominic didn't answer immediately. He turned away from the fireplace, his broad shoulders squared, his face carved from impenetrable stone. He walked slowly across the Persian rug until he stood directly in front of my chair. He knelt down on one knee, bringing his eyes level with mine.
"Pack your bags, Vivien," he said softly.
My heart hammered against my ribs. "Where are we going? Another room?"
"We are leaving Boston," Dominic replied, taking my cold hands in his warm ones. "My private jet is fueled on the tarmac at Hanscom Field. We’re flying to my estate in the Scottish Highlands. The Barzinis have reach in America, but in the Highlands, my family's ancestral fortress is impenetrable."
"Scotland?" I gasped. "Dominic, that's half a world away! I can't just—what about my doctor? What about the pregnancy?"
"My personal medical team—the best obstetricians and maternal-fetal specialists in Europe—are already on that plane," he assured me, his thumb stroking my knuckles. "I am not risking your life, and I am not risking my children's lives, while a pack of rabid dogs tries to tear down my gates."
"And Elena?" I asked, a shiver running down my spine. "What happens to her?"
Dominic’s lips curved into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. It was the smile of a man preparing an execution.
"Elena has booked a one-way flight to a very quiet, very isolated farm in Montana," Dominic said smoothly. "She will live out the rest of her days wondering how she ever thought she could betray an Ashford."
I stared at him, realizing with terrifying clarity just how powerful—and how ruthless—the man holding my hands truly was. He wasn't just a wealthy businessman; he was a king who executed traitors without blinking.
"Dominic..." I whispered, my voice trembling. "What if they follow us? What if... what if something happens to the babies?"
Dominic stood up, pulling me gently to my feet until I was pressed against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my hair.
"Nothing will happen to you, and nothing will happen to them," he vowed, his breath warm against my ear. "I would burn this entire earth to ash before I let anyone touch my family."
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Two hours later, under the cover of a blinding rainstorm and a convoy of armored SUVs, we slipped out of the estate and headed into the dark night.
But as the sleek black Mercedes sped toward the private airfield, a pair of headlights flashed behind us through the rain—a tail we hadn't shaken, tracking our every move into the shadows.
