I Gave Birth to a Mafia Boss’s Son Under a Contract—Then My Secret Family Ring Revealed My Father Once Saved His Life.

"DeLuca! Fall back!"

Marco’s shout came from the hallway, followed immediately by the staccato rhythm of close-quarters automatic fire. Smoke billowed through the shattered entryway of the library, smelling of cordite and burning drywall.

Adrian reacted with the terrifying speed of an apex predator.

He didn't hesitate. He tossed the silver ring back to Melissa. "Get inside the passage! Now!"

Melissa hesitated, looking down at his legs. "Adrian, you can't walk—"

"I don't need to walk to pull a trigger," Adrian snarled, raising his Sig Sauer and aiming directly through the smoke at the library entrance. "The passage leads to an underground bunker beneath the carriage house. It has food, water, and an armored vehicle. Take Matteo and go!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Melissa snapped, her Romano blood flaring to life. "This house has a lockdown switch inside the passage! It seals the blast doors on the entire floor! If you come inside, we can trap them in the corridor!"

Adrian looked at the threshold. The hidden passage was elevated six inches above the floor—a barrier his luxury wheelchair could not easily clear under fire.

A mercenary in unmarked tactical gear rounded the splintered doorframe, his rifle raised.

*Bang! Bang!*

Adrian fired twice with lethal, pinpoint precision. The intruder collapsed instantly to the rug without a sound, his weapon clattering across the floor.

Another burst of automatic fire chipped the heavy mahogany desk, sending wood splinters raining down on them.

Marco dove through the doorway, his shoulder bleeding, his jacket shredded. He slammed the heavy mahogany doors shut and threw the manual deadbolts. "There's at least twelve of them, boss! Salieri sent his best cleaners! The exterior perimeter is overrun!"

Melissa didn't ask for permission. She set Matteo down inside the safe opening of the stone passage, cushioned by her cashmere coat, and lunged forward.

She grabbed Adrian by his tactical vest. "Marco, lift his right side! Now!"

Marco didn't question her. With a brutal grunt of effort, Marco and Melissa hooked their arms under Adrian’s shoulders, dragging him bodily out of the wheelchair.

Adrian gritted his teeth, his jaw working as he shoved off the ground with his left foot, refusing to be dead weight. Through sheer willpower and agonizing effort, he vaulted over the stone threshold into the secret tunnel.

Marco dove in behind them.

Melissa slammed her palm against the emergency release mechanism on the interior wall of the passage.

With a massive hydraulic roar, the eight-foot stone bookcase slammed shut, followed by three loud, metallic thuds as titanium locking bars engaged along the seam.