Page 49 of Medical Malpractice

Her tiny chin lifted towards the hallway, in the direction of Celeste’s room.

Nononononononono.

Squeezing Angelina’s tearstained face between my palms—probably a little too tightly—I instructed her to lock herself in my en suite bathroom and not to open the door for anyone but me.

She shook her head, latching on tightly. “I can’t, Mum. I can’t.”

I kissed her face. “You can, my big girl. Do this for me, please.”

It had been mere seconds, yet I didn’t have time to spare. Although it was torture to shove Angelina into the bathroom, I knew I had no other choice. I needed to know she was safe, so my focus was solely placed on the danger elsewhere.

Guilt crushed me as I left my crying firstborn with a few placating words, then turned away. I spared a quick glance for my phone, then remembered sending my latest text to Alexis and stupidly leaving it in the nursery—where the threat lay, along with my sleeping baby.

I raced towards it, red invading my mind, dread and bloodlust clashing together to create a maelstrom inside me, directly in line with the weather outside.

And when I opened the door, the vision before me nearly dropped me to my knees.

Next to the cot stood Nico, rocking from side to side as he held my sleeping baby in his arms.

I catalogued the scene in quick succession. My phone screen flashed on the dresser, with Leonardo’s contact calling. The baby monitor in pieces on the ground. The stark, black pistol half stuffed in the back of Nico’s waistband. My baby’s chest, which steadily rose and fell with her regular respirations.

Then, as if in slow motion, his unhinged eyes rose to mine, possession igniting in their depths as they made contact.

“I’ve missed you, wife.”

Chapter 28

LEONARDO

It was a series of events that made me check the latest notification lighting up my lockscreen. I’d stabilised my client, grabbed something quick to eat, then returned to my office to have a five-minute breather, where my phone lay on my desk.

Any other time, I would have missed it.

There wasn’t anything particularly alarming about the security system alert. I usually got multiple a day, and enjoyed periodically checking in on my girls. So why does this one feel different?

My trembling fingers reached for the device as my intuition flared in warning. I moved on autopilot, swiping open the feed from two minutes before, and what I found made my stomach drop.

The camera footage was of my baby girl, Angelina, opening the front door to Nico. He immediately shoved through the gap, and my soul shattered when I watched her little face crumble as she witnessed the stranger invade her home.

Everything after that was pure adrenalin as I reacted on instinct.

I bolted for the exit, screaming at the receptionist that I had a family emergency. I reached my vehicle within seconds, barely registering the rain soaking me through as I sped out of the car park.

Gabriella’s number was my first point of contact, which rang and rang and fucking rang. My scalp was screaming from how hard I was pulling on my hair. I hit redial repeatedly, always greeted with an endless call tone, then her sweet voice in an automated message.

I was at my wit’s end when a flash of logic managed to seep through. Call the police, you moron.

The next call was to emergency services, giving them a quick rundown of our history with Nico and the immediate danger my family was in.

When my house finally came into view, I could distantly process the operator advising me to wait, to let the authorities do their job and handle the situation appropriately. But fuck that.

My family was in that house, which meant I was going to follow. After confirming that the police had been dispatched and were on their way, I hung up and parked behind my neighbour’s shrubbery, ensuring my car was hidden from view.

Nico couldn’t see me coming. I wouldn’t let him.

Squeezing the steering wheel in a death grip, I inhaled deeply, locking in on the task at hand.

Save my wife, my girls, my family. Whatever it takes.