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Aurora's words are cold and calculating, the kind that chills blood even in the frenzy of chaos. ”Either you kill him, or I will. If you die, no one gets the money. If Damien dies, I get an empire. It’s a win-win for me. You’re my leverage out of here.”
Her lips curl into a malicious smile, eyes gleaming with the thrill of her ultimatum. “You want to save your baby, right? You have to choose. Your baby or Damien.”
Desperation grips at my heart. My hand trembles, the gun in my grasp a monstrous weight. Tears sting the edges of my eyes, but my gaze fixes on Damien. My husband. My love. The man I can't imagine a life without. Somewhere deep inside, the fierce maternal instinct to protect my unborn child claws its way to the surface, demanding attention. I'm torn between an unthinkable act and an unspeakable loss.
"I don't understand," I choke out, my breath hitching with every jarring tug of my hair. "You wanted me alive for the money. Now you want to kill me?" Aurora's cold shrug seems to move in slow motion, exhibiting a callous calculation that makes my blood run colder.
"I win whether you live or die," she states matter-of-factly. Her gaze pierces into me, devoid of empathy. "I only need you alive to walk out of here. But if you kill my brother, I promise I will leave you and that bastard child alone."
"There's a problem with your thinking," Julian's voice cuts through the chaos, sharp and clear. I peer in his direction through my blurred vision. "You fucked with my sister. There's nowhere you can go that I won't hunt you down and tear you to pieces. All the Blackhart money in the world won't save you."
In that instant, Aurora's façade of control flickers, her eyes betraying a glimmer of doubt. Then, suddenly, chaos erupts. The man who had been leaning silently in the corner makes his move, a blur of motion towards Aurora. No hesitation marks her response. Her gun fires with a crack that splits the tension like thunder, and he drops, lifeless.
"No one fucking move!" Aurora's scream slices through the thick air, her command a heinous declaration above the fallen man’s silent form. The weight of my choices feels as heavy as the gun pressed into my hand.
Damien's eyes are steel as they meet Aurora's, and the words he utters are steady, filled with a terrifying calm.
"Release Isabella," he says, his voice carrying the weight of command and a trace of a plea. "And I won't retaliate. This can end without more bloodshed."
Aurora's laugh, sharp and mocking, cut the air. "You think I'm a fool?" she scoffs, pressing the barrel of the gun harder into my side. A whimper escapes my lips despite my resolve not to show fear. "Raise the gun and kill Damien, or I will kill your baby." Her threat chills me to the bone; her cruelty knows no bounds.
Then she twists the gun deeper with her next venom-dripped words. "I won't even kill you. I'll shoot you in the stomach, so you suffer the loss..." Her eyes narrow with malicious delight. "...and hope the gunshot does enough damage to where you can't get pregnant again."
My heart pounds against my ribcage like a trapped bird desperate for escape. The gun in my hand feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. I stare at Damien, my vision blurred with tears, and I see my world hanging in the balance: my future, my love, my child.
I raise the gun, its weight now an anchor pulling me into an abyss I can never return from. My hands shake uncontrollably, a physical manifestation of the unbearable turmoil churning inside me. I catch Damien's gaze. His eyes, wide with a cocktail of fear and resignation. In that brief eye contact, an unspoken conversation born of love and shared secrets passes between us.
I love Damien more than I have ever loved anything or anyone. He is my heart, my sanctuary, my steadfast ship in the most violent of storms. Equally, the love for our unborn child is a fierce, primal force. It is visceral and raw. It is my body's every instinct to protect this unseen life that has made a home within me. This cruel deadlock that Aurora has forced us into is shattering. Each second frays more of the thin fibers holding my sanity together.
A silent scream builds in my throat as I'm torn between the two loves of my life. The gun trembles in my hands like a living thing, mirroring the violent quake of my soul as every breath becomes a battle, every heartbeat a war drum signaling the approach of an unthinkable moment of decision.
"Okay. I'll do it," I whisper, feeling the words like stones in my mouth. They're heavy with a false resignation that must be convincing enough to fool Aurora for a moment.
"I know you will," she says, smirking with the assurance of someone who holds all the cards.
"First, I have to say something," I wheeze, and the tears in my eyes are real, but they're not for what she thinks.
I have to buy myself some time. My arm is shaking from the burden of the gun I'm holding. It's heavy, and my strength is waning. I need to make my move soon before my chance slips away.
Aurora's impatience is palpable. "What?" she snaps, her voice laced with threat and irritation.
I take a staggered breath and let the tale come out. "When I was young, I learned to do a flip. I've even done it with other people," I say, stalling, my words weaving a confusing web.
"What the fuck are you talking about," Aurora snaps again, her composure breaking like thin ice under the weight of her dwindling patience.
"This," I grit out, desperation lending me a momentary burst of strength.
In one fluid motion driven by adrenaline, I lean forward. The element of surprise is on my side as I use Aurora's bodyweight against her, flipping her over my head with one move. Her body hits the ground with a thud, and the air is knocked from her lungs. My foot finds its way to her chest, holding her down, my weight an advantage for the first time.
"You threatened my husband and child," I snarl. "Sister-in-law or not, you're dead to me." The gun, now more an instrument of justice than a monstrous weight, is steady in my hand as I aim it at Aurora's head.
Her eyes widen, a wordless plea for mercy she doesn't deserve, as her own fingers fumble for the gun she's lost. She lifts her arm in defiance, or perhaps one last act of desperation, but it’s too late. My resolve solidifies into action.
I squeeze the trigger, and a single shot rings out. It hits true, right in the middle of her forehead. Aurora's hand goes limp, and the gun slides out of reach. Silence stretches over the chaos of the room, and for a moment, it feels like the whole world goes silent with it.
My hands are trembling. The aftershocks of adrenaline and horror make my fingers loosen before I release the gun. It hits the ground with a thud, a metallic punctuation to the nightmare we've just lived through. A sob, raw and wrenching, erupts from somewhere deep inside me, and suddenly, Damien's arms envelop me, pulling me into a refuge built of apologies and promises.
"Isabella, I'm so, so sorry... This should never have happened to you," he murmurs against my hair. His voice is thick with regret, shaking with an intensity that resonates through his embrace.
