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.
I crept around the side of the house to find an alternate opening. I was going in blind, unsure of what I would find, and I had to maintain the element of surprise.
The front and back doors were vetoed for that exact reason, which brought me to the outside of my en suite window.
Despite the torrential rain being a pain in my ass, I was thankful for the cover as I grabbed a hefty rock and smashed the glass, the impact drowned out in the backdrop of thunder. I made quick work of the jagged pieces, ensuring the frame was clear before I popped my head through.
My breath caught as I found Angelina shrinking in the corner, eyes and mouth wide open as recognition took over.
“Dad!” she cried, leaping towards me.
“Shh, baby girl. Scoot back a bit. I’m coming in, okay?”
“Mmkay.” She sniffled, bouncing on the tips of her toes.
With some manoeuvring, I finally managed to contort my body and squeeze through the small window frame. As soon as I was clear, little arms hugged my torso, salty tears mixing into my drowned shirt.
My girl’s muffled voice then ran wild, flowing into a continuous rant of urgency. “Dad, I know you always told me not to open the door butthere’samaninthehouseandmumtoldmetowaitinhereuntilshecamebackforme—”
I dropped to my knees, pulling her in tightly. “You have done well to listen, Angelina. I’m so proud of you. Where is that man and Mum now?”
“He went into Celeste’s room. After that, Mum put me in here.”
I nodded, pulling back and smoothing her hair.
“I’m going to check on Mum and baby now, okay?
And this is what I need you to do, my beautiful, brave girl.
You are going to do what you did before.
When I leave this bathroom, you are going to lock the door behind me and not let anyone in unless it’s me or Mum, okay? ”
She started to shake her head, and I kissed her temple. “You’re such a good listener, Angelina. Such a good girl. I love you so much. Mummy, Daddy, Celeste, Austin—we all love you so much.”
I tiptoed down the corridor towards the nursery, the unyielding crashes of the storm echoing in the distance.
If only that had some calming effect on the blinding terror ricocheting through my chest as the scene played out before me.
Celeste was sound asleep in her cot, her soft snores the best sound I’d ever heard. However, relief was short-lived as my gaze zeroed in on the swaying couple.
Nico had his back to me, his hands anchored on Gabriella’s waist as her arms hooked around his neck. It was an awkward embrace, the two rocking in a slow, sinister dance that made no sense.
Anticipation held my frame tight, my body wired and ready to spring into action when Gabriella sensed my presence.
Her eyes roamed, searching the parameter for what her soul knew to be true. And when her gaze caught me in the shadows, those green irises I loved so much flared in relief, then warning.
She inconspicuously repositioned one hand, gently sliding her fingers down Nico’s spine, leading to the gun that was shoved into the back of his waistband.
He has a fucking gun!
Before she could reach the handle, Nico released a flirtatious chuckle before grasping her hands in his and placing them on his chest. “You were always so smart, wife. Oh, how I missed your clever brain.”
Bile rose in the back of my throat when he bowed his head, his intention to kiss her blaring loud and clear.
Fuck no!
Multiple things happened at once. Nico screeched in pain, Gabriella shoved hard against his chest, and I vaulted forward, snatched and chucked the gun towards the open doorway before tackling him to the ground.
I felt invincible, fucking untouchable as I let all my frustration, fear and rage out on Nico. We tussled on my baby’s nursery floor, yet he was no match against my fortitude.
He barged into my home. Punch.
He scared my daughters. Restrain.
He touched my wife. Choke.
I wasn’t one for violence. As a physician, I’d taken the Hippocratic Oath, for fuck’s sake.
But at that moment, there was no such thing as beneficence or non-maleficence, those core fundamentals lost alongside my sanity as his unforgivable actions pushed me to the brink.
All that mattered was the safety of my family.
It was my one and only, all-consuming thought.
Nico didn’t let up, his animalistic growls becoming heavy as he elbowed me deep in the ribs. I absorbed the hit, but was unable to restrain his loose arm in that split second of movement—to my eternal regret.
Using that moment of opportunity, Nico extended his hand, and an instant later, a gunshot rang out, singular and almighty.
That’s all he got.
Adrenalin spiked, and my muscles grew taut as I wrestled the gun out of his grasp, wrapped my limbs around his back and positioned my arm to lock his neck in a rear naked chokehold.
His fight was dwindling as his lungs spasmed from the lack of oxygen. I didn’t let up, refusing to relent until he passed out completely.
Then and only then did I let go, his body slumping to the side, comatose and limp.
With the immediate threat taken care of, my surroundings soon bled into awareness, bringing with them a signature pain that could no longer be ignored.
The last thing I processed was Gabriella’s broken pleas… And blood. So much blood.