Chapter 1

SANCIA ALEKSEEV's POV ‘Yesterday, I think I saw you with a woman...’ I asked softly, my gaze fixed on my husband. ‘A woman? What woman?’ Viktor looked confused. His flawless expression made me doubt whether I had seen it wrong... But... " HEY, PRINCESS! Can we not talk about these irrelevant things for now? IT'S THE BIGGEST DAY OF MY LIFE!! I AM GOING TO BE A FATHER!!!" Viktor shouted from the top of his lungs, his lips never stopped smiling. He was so happy, driving fast on the road, loudly announcing to everyone that he was going to be a father. He's so excited about the arrival of the baby, but will he betray me? Viktor and I married each other not too long back. Three years of marriage was still new and refreshing to me. I had never thought that an arranged marriage could be so blissful. So far, I believed that Viktor was the best husband that I could ask for in my whole life especially when we both came from the Mafia family. Yesterday, after leaving the hospital from my check-up, I caught a glimpse of my husband. Normally, Viktor travels with a great deal of fanfare, surrounded by layers of bodyguards, sealing him off from everything. But yesterday, there weren't many people—just a woman standing by his side. They were holding each other's hands tightly, like lovers in the heat of a romance. I was about to approach them to see what was going on, but they left before I could. I tried to convince myself that I must have been mistaken—Viktor wouldn’t betray me. I hesitated for a long time in the car before finally telling him about it, partly to test his reaction. So far, he hasn't shown any signs of guilt. I think I must have been mistaken. Viktor sped on the car more, snapping my attention back at him. I felt a little scared to see no one around. Naturally, we went outside with our guards. Today was the only exception since my excited hubby couldn't wait until I told him about the symptoms of pregnancy. I tried to stop him, pinching his left thigh, " SLOW DOWN!!! We have no fucking guards around to control us!" Viktor returned a huge grin, his tone happy and proud, " Come on, baby! We got the Don here! You still need guards to protect you?" I rolled my eyes at him in annoyance. Whenever I tried to correct him, he always pulled the statement of being the Mafia Don. Our families were allies for years. Hence, our marriage was decided when we were just two years old. Mafias tied in blood and loyalty. However, my unexpected marriage was the best thing of my life. We crossed the highway pretty fast. Right after crossing downtown, the streets began to turn more and more empty. It was twelve last night. The weather was rough today. The rain was knocking at the door to pour down from the sky. Viktor raised my left hand and kissed our wedding ring, making a promise, " When we will have our child, I promise to keep him or her out of this bloodshed. Even my arrogant stepbrother, who thinks he can control everything, cannot harm my child. I give my words, darling!" I smiled big in return as we shared a look of happiness until Viktor pulled on the break all of a sudden. The car stopped abruptly on the dark street. When I raised my head to look at the street ahead, my blood turned cold immediately in fear. Many men were standing on the road. All of them wore red, the same as the organization that Viktor's brother ruled. Viktor pulled his guns out swiftly, and said to me firmly, " Stay in the car! No matter what happens, don't go out! You hear me??" I tried to stop him but he was already out with his weapons. Usually, these flights were normal for us but today I was scared for our child. I kept sitting on the seat, one hand clutching my belly. My eyes were fixated on the guys. They behaved normally when Viktor approached them. It seemed like a normal meeting but the way Viktor's face tensed up, I certainly had a chest-tightening feeling. I held my breath as they started to have some heated conversation, one of their guys was coming to hit Viktor but was getting stopped every time. For more than ten minutes, I calculated my heartbeat. They continued with the bickering and bantering which I couldn't hear because of the thick walls of our car. The rain started hitting already. It was slow and gentle but they barely cared. Thankfully, their heated conversation ended. When Viktor turned to walk back to the car without staining his hands with blood again, relief washed over me. However right before he could pull open the door, a firing shot hit Viktor from behind. More than four shots were hit consecutively. I let out a horrifying scream, his blood spilled on the car glasses. I forgot all about his darn warnings and got out of the car to catch Viktor. He was bleeding profusely. Holding him up in my arms, I began to shake him, " VIKTOR!! No!! Please... Don't leave me...They will be here soon...Our people will be here definitely.." At that moment, I didn't care about anything else in my life. How could I care about my own when the love of my life was dying in front of my eyes? Viktor opened her eyes groggily, and looked somewhere at the guys before whispering, " RUN! Sancia...ru...ru..nn.." I kept shaking my head, tears pouring from my eyes, " I CAN'T!! I am not leaving you... Viktor...I can't...Aaahhh" BANG!! The next shot went straight into my back, piercing through my belly. Before I could struggle, my numb body fell to the ground with a thud. In my dizzy state, the last thing that I heard was people shouting my name together. What happened? ______ " Daaad....." I tried to speak properly but my voice was failing. I couldn't remember anything else after the shot went past my body. My dad held me up carefully, his face was full of worries, " My dear! Lie down! You aren't healed yet!" Suddenly my brain was awake and began to recollect the incidents that happened before falling unconscious after the shot. Reality knocked me hard as I looked up at my father to ask anxiously, " Viktor...Dad... Viktor was with me. Where is he? Viktor...Where is he?" My dad said nothing in return. His broad arms only hugged me tighter as he cajoled me, " Calm down! We will talk about this later!" I had a terrible feeling about his words. Panic rushed to my veins as I became more desperate to have his answer, " NO!!! Don't...I need to see Viktor..where is he? How is he? Please, Dad! Let me see him once!!" I struggled to get up from my hospital bed but my dad pulled me down again. When I grew desperate to run outside, he slammed the truth on my face with a break, " VIKTOR IS DEAD!! HIS FUNERAL HAD BEEN DONE TOO!!" I stopped struggling suddenly. All the strength in my body had flown away. I felt like a paralyzed person who didn't have the person to move a single limb. The picture of our happy marriage, and our baby all began to display in my mind. Holding onto my stomach, I let out a shouting cry, " VIKTORRRR!! YOU ARE LYING! HE PROMISED TO BE BY MY SIDE ALWAYS! NO DAD! YOU ARE LYING... LYING..." I burst into tears in his arms. After a moment of realization, I sensed the bandage around my waist. My heart sank deeper when reality kicked me hard. Raising my head, I asked my father with tears that I had never seen broken like this before, " Dad... my child..my baby?? Dad...." He didn't say a word, only held me tighter as he burst into tears. I didn't need any words to understand what happened to my child as well. All of a sudden, I couldn't find the tears to cry anymore. I asked him coldly, my eyes staring blankly at the walls ahead, " Who did this to me.. father? Who...who has taken..the meaning of my life?" My dad freed me from his arms. Wiping his tears, his brows pulled together into a tight knot. He gave me a name that awakened all the veins of my body, " Vincenzo.. Vincenzo... Russo...the self-announced new Don of Mafia..."