My Don’s Deadly Choice

I was eight months pregnant, at a charity gala with my husband, Don Massimo, when a rival family hit us.

The crowd panicked. I was shoved to the floor, hard. Blood everywhere.

Massimo lost his mind, screaming for medics, desperate to save my baby.

But when I woke up, they were gone. Both of them. No baby, no Massimo.

I remembered the gunfire, Massimo shielding me with his body. A cold dread washed over me.

I hauled myself into a wheelchair and raced down the hall. That’s when I heard them—Massimo and the doctor.

"Boss, I'm sorry. We did everything we could. The baby… he didn't make it."

Tears streamed down my face. They killed my baby. The rival family killed my baby. But his next words shattered my world.

"There was only one medical team. I had to make a choice. Bianca… she was carrying my child, too."

Massimo sighed, then gave the order.

"No one tells Arabella. She'll raise Bianca's son as her own. He will be my only heir."

I slapped a hand over my mouth, my vision blurred by tears as I turned away.

The man I loved was a lie.

Fine. If he wants a war, he'll get one.

I woke up from the nightmare of my stillbirth only to find a new one waiting. In the hallway, I heard my husband, Don Massimo, plotting with the doctor.

"Boss, the baby's dead. What if the Donna suspects something?" Valenti, the doctor, added nervously.

Pain ripped through my stomach, but I had to hear the rest of his twisted plan.

"She won't," his voice was terrifyingly calm. "I'll bring her Bianca's son. I'll tell her he's ours. As for the other one, the dead one… wipe the records clean."

"He was my son, too. But he's dead. Find a decent plot and bury him," his voice cracked for a fraction of a second. Then the ice returned.

"And one more thing. That new sterilization drug the hospital has? Give it to Arabella."

Dr. Valenti's voice trembled. "Boss, that drug… the Donna just delivered a stillborn. Her body is extremely weak. She'll be barren. Permanently."

"Do it," Massimo's voice was ice. "I promised Bianca her son would be my only heir. Arabella can't have any more children. No loose ends. A single shot is kinder than making her suffer through one 'accident' after another. You get me, Dr. Valenti?"

I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood, fighting the urge to scream.

"Jewels, money, a goddamn mansion… I'll give her anything she wants. It'll make up for it."

No jewel in the world was worth more than my child.

I controlled my shaking body and hid in a stairwell, forcing myself to stay silent.

But when Massimo's deputy, Alex, arrived, my world shattered completely.

"Boss, we looked into it… The Moretti family's attack… it looks like an inside job. Our guys at the east gate were pulled away by a forged transfer order. And the order