Chapter Thirty-nine #2
Tears stream down my face so hard I can barely see. My chest tightens like a fist is squeezing my lungs. Everything she said. The ring. The Ashworth name. The story.
It wasn’t a story.
It was a confession.
My mother worked with Luciano. She helped kidnap me. She helped sell me.
And I let her into my house.
I let her hold my babies.
The babies.
Ice floods my veins.
I stumble out of the bathroom, hands shaking so badly I almost drop my phone. I dial Lorenzo. Please pick up. Please pick up. Please—
He answers on the first ring. “Hi, love.”
The sound of his voice breaks me. “Lorenzo!” I sob, already running toward the living room.
“What’s wrong?” His tone changes instantly. Sharp. Alert.
I can hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. My vision blurs at the edges. Is this what dying feels like? This helpless, frantic confusion? Not knowing what to do first?
“Please,” I cry. “Come home, my mo—”
Pain explodes at the side of my head.
Something hard hits me and my phone flies out of my hand, clattering across the floor.
I hear Lorenzo shouting through the speaker, distant and panicked. “SERENA! SERENA!”
My mother bends down, picks up the phone, and ends the call.
She straightens, clicking her tongue like I’ve disappointed her. “Looks like you’re not as dumb as I thought.”
Rage burns through the fear. “How could you?” I choke out, my voice shaking.
“There aren’t many things I’ve loved in this life, Serena,” she says calmly. “And you were never one of them.” She smiles, cold and empty. “I loved money. My career. Men.”
My tears won’t stop. Behind her, I hear Celeste stirring in her crib, a soft, sleepy sound that cuts through me like a blade.
“My family took my money,” she continues, bitterness dripping from every word. “That’s why I married that piece of shit you call a father.” Disgust twists her mouth. “Then you came along. You took my body, my freedom, my career. Everything stopped because of you.”
My stomach drops.
“So I found a way to take everything back.”
“You manipulated Luciano,” I say, my breath shaking, fury fighting its way through the fear.
“You promised him Lorenzo would marry Aurora. You made him trust you. You made him work with you.” My voice hardens.
“So he would do the dirty work while Lorenzo kept his eyes on him.” I step closer.
“You knew Lorenzo would focus on Luciano. You planned it.”
She actually looks impressed. “Very good.”
My phone lights up on the floor between us.
Lorenzo.
Calling again.
Her eyes flick to the screen and she laughs softly. “He’s desperate for you, isn’t he?”
My chest caves in.
“The honeymoon’s over, darling,” she says, stepping closer. “It’s time for you to pay the Ashworth debts. Time to pay me back.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I shout, even though deep down, I do.
Her smile turns cruel.
“And your daughter will too.”
“Don’t you dare fucking touch them,” I warn her, my voice shaking but deadly.
She smiles like I just told a joke. “Relax. Lorenzo can keep Maddox. I only want Celeste, and you.”
Ice floods my body.
I lunge toward the living room, toward the babies, but she grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks me back so hard my neck snaps.
Pain explodes across my scalp. Fuck. Long hair was a mistake.
“HELP!” I scream, my voice ripping out of me as the dogs start barking wildly.
I twist and punch her straight in the face. There’s a sick crack and blood pours from her nose, but she doesn’t fall.
She might look younger than she is, but I’m younger, stronger, and no one, no one, comes near my babies.
“What’s going on?” Bianca shouts from the hallway, eyes wide.
“Call for help!” I scream at her.
The front door bursts open.
Men in black flood into the house like a wave.
My mother laughs, blood on her teeth. “Too late.”
Gunshots explode somewhere behind me. Shouting. Glass breaking. The dogs going feral.
Adrenaline surges so hard my hands go numb. I don’t think. I don’t plan.
I just move.
I try to run again but she grabs me, and I slam my knee up into her ribs. She grunts, loosening her grip.
“Positions!” I hear Leo yelling somewhere. “We’re under attack! Send backup!”
The house is chaos now. Men everywhere. Boots pounding. Furniture crashing.
Bianca screams and then goes silent. I see her on the floor in the corner, not moving.
“No!” I cry, rage blinding me.
I grab the nearest lamp and swing it with everything I have. It smashes against my mother’s head and she collapses.
I don’t check if she’s breathing.
I run.
Every step burns. Every breath tears my lungs. I can hear Celeste crying now.
I’m almost there.
Two men step in front of me.
Before I can dodge, one punches me straight across the face. My vision flashes white. My ears ring.
I swing back anyway. I claw. I kick. I fight like an animal.
One of them doubles over when I hit him between the legs.
“Fucking bitch!” he spits.
The other one slams me to the ground. My back hits hard, air blasting out of my lungs, and then his boot drives into my stomach.
Pain explodes.
I curl instinctively, trying to protect my abdomen, gasping for air that won’t come.
“Please!” I choke out, tears blurring everything. “Help!”
And then I hear it.
Barking.
Loud. Furious. Wild.
My guardian angels.
Milkshake and Pancake come flying into the room, no hesitation, no fear. I always saw them as my babies, my spoiled little pets.
But right now?
They are killers.
Their teeth flash, metal glinting under the lights, already slick with blood. Behind them, two men are on the floor, groaning.
Pancake launches himself straight at the man who kicked me. He doesn’t bark. He doesn’t hesitate.
He goes for the face.
His jaws clamp down and he hangs there, suspended, his body shaking as he tears into flesh. The man screams, high and panicked, collapsing backward while Pancake thrashes his head, doing as much damage as he can.
I see blood pouring from the man’s eyes.
“Fuck! I can’t see!” he screams. “Do something!”
The second man lets go of me and reaches for his gun.
“No!” I scream, kicking out blindly and catching him in the leg.
Milkshake lunges at the same time, teeth sinking deep into the man’s groin. His scream turns animal.
“What the fuck is wrong with these dogs? Ahhh!”
A gunshot explodes through the room.
Pancake yelps.
The sound rips my heart out.
Milkshake doesn’t stop. He mauls the man he’s on, shaking him violently until he goes limp.
Dead.
Pancake’s paw is bleeding, but he’s still locked onto the other man’s face, refusing to let go. Milkshake joins him seconds later, going straight for the neck.
There’s a wet tearing sound.
The man stops moving.
Both dogs are covered in blood now, chests heaving, eyes locked on me like they’re waiting for the next threat.
I look around.
Chaos.
Leo’s men are fighting through the house. Gunshots. Shouting. Bodies on the floor. Furniture overturned. The babies are crying somewhere behind me, thin, terrified wails.
I rip off part of my shirt and wrap it around Pancake’s injured leg. He whimpers but doesn’t pull away.
“Please be okay,” I whisper, voice shaking. “Just hold on until daddy gets back.”
Both dogs stay close, watching me, ready.
I grab the fallen man’s gun with trembling hands and shove it into the waistband of my pants.
Then I run.
I scoop up the babies, one in each arm. They’re crying hard, faces red, little fists grabbing at me.
They’re heavier than I expect. My arms shake, but I hold them tighter.
“You’re okay,” I sob, kissing their heads. “Mommy’s here. I’ve got you. I’m going to protect you. I promise.”
And for the first time since this started, I mean it with everything I have.
Because I’m not prey anymore.
“Come after me,” I tell the dogs. “Come!”
They obey instantly. Milkshake stays close to Pancake, slowing just enough for him to keep up, even with his injured paw.
A man steps into my path.
I don’t hesitate.
I pull the gun from my waistband and shoot him in the head.
The sound is deafening. He drops instantly.
Adrenaline roars through me, wild and unstoppable. I finally understand those stories about mothers lifting cars off their children. When someone you love is in danger, your body stops belonging to fear.
Another man grabs my hair from behind, yanking my head back. I hold the babies tighter, refusing to let them slip.
Then I see Leo.
He’s bleeding, but he’s still fighting, still coming toward me.
“GO!” he shouts, grabbing the man and tearing him off me.
I run.
I don’t look back.
The dogs stay with me as I burst outside. Air hits my lungs like knives.
But I turn for just a second—
And I see Leo fall.
“No,” I whisper, my voice breaking.
“She’s outside! Go after her!” someone yells.
I run toward the small playhouse Lorenzo and Leo built for the babies, hidden near the trees. My legs feel like they’re giving out. My arms are shaking from the weight of the twins. My lungs burn.
I make it inside.
I lay the babies down in the cribs with trembling hands. They’re crying, scared, confused.
“I’m here,” I whisper, kissing their foreheads. “Mommy’s here.”
Footsteps crunch outside.
I don’t have time.
I give them their pacifiers, turn on their little cartoon tablet on silent, just enough movement to distract them. Milkshake and Pancake sit beside the cribs like statues, eyes alert.
I drop to my knees in front of them.
“I love you so much,” I sob to Maddox and Celeste. “More than anything in this world.”
Their tiny eyes blink up at me.
“Even if I’m not here anymore,” I whisper, voice breaking, “I will always be in your hearts. Always.”
Pancake whimpers softly. Milkshake presses against my leg.
I cup their faces. “Thank you. Thank you for saving me.”
Their eyes don’t leave mine.
“Protect them,” I beg. “Stay here. Do not follow me. Protect my babies.”
They stay.
Good dogs. Brave, beautiful souls.
I slip out, closing the door quietly behind me, and run in the opposite direction.
The yard is a war zone. Blood on the grass. Bodies near the house. Gunfire still echoing somewhere inside.
I stay close enough that Lorenzo might see me if he arrives.
“She’s there!” someone shouts.
I run again. My legs feel numb. My chest is on fire.
Please come home, Lorenzo. Please.
One of them catches me. I kick backward, driving my stiletto nails into his eyes. He screams and drops me.
“Fucking bitch!” he roars, smashing something hard against my head.
I fall to the grass, stars exploding in my vision.
“Secure her!” another voice orders.
They’re on me instantly. Hands pinning my arms. Weight crushing my legs. I fight anyway. I kick. I scratch. I bite
But they’re bigger. Stronger. And there are four of them. At least the babies are hidden. They will be safe. They will be okay. That is the last thought I cling to as everything around me starts to blur.
A sharp sting pierces the side of my neck, sudden and precise.
A syringe. Cold liquid floods into my veins, spreading fast, heavy and numbing.
My strength drains out of me in seconds.
My limbs turn useless, my body collapsing in on itself.
The room tilts, the sounds around me fading into distant echoes.
And then the world disappears.