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I swallow. My throat’s tight. “It doesn’t feel like it.

” I whisper, tears rolling down my cheeks.

“It feels like I’m abandoning him when he needs me the most, but I can’t just let him walk into a war and get killed because of me, Bee.

I can’t.” I whimper. Bianca moves in, she pulls me into her arms and I cry.

“I know, babe. I know.” Bianca says soothingly, “It hurts like hell, and it doesn’t feel like it right now, but you’re doing the right thing for both of you.

Deep down you know that this war wasn’t going to end in his favour.

Theres an army of enemies out there thirsty for his blood.

..and the only way they know they can hurt him is through you. Which is why you need to go.”

“He’s going to come after me.”

“Maybe he will,” she replies. “Or maybe with you gone he will finally do what needs to be done and marry Giana.”

I sit down on the edge of the bed. The weight of it all threatens to crush me, but I force the words out anyway. “He won’t marry her.” I tell her. “I begged him last night to marry her and end the war but he out right refused. Said he would rather die than be with someone that’s not me.”

Bianca doesn’t say anything, just watches me with a saddened look on her face. “It’s not just about protecting him anymore.”

She frowns, brows pulling tight. “What?”

I chew on my lip, “I’m pregnant.”

Bianca’s breath catches. Just for a second, everything goes still while she stares at me stunned. Then, as quick as a flash, she’s beside me.

“You’re pregnant?”

I nod meekly. “I found out three days ago. I took the morning after pill, but I was sick after. I didn’t think it would—” I break off and shake my head. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Bianca takes my hand into hers. “Yes, you do. You’ve got even more reason to protect him now. Him and your baby. Even when he won’t protect himself.”

I nod, tears falling freely down my face. “He doesn’t know. About the baby. About me leaving...”

“You haven’t told him?”

I shake my head, eyes blurring. “I couldn’t.” My fingers drift to the bracelet on my wrist, the one he gave me without a word, the one that never leaves me. “But he’ll find the test after I’m gone. I left it in his journal.”

Bianca’s breath catches. She steps closer, brushing her fingers gently through my hair before resting her forehead against mine.

“When he does,” she murmurs, “it’ll wreck him. But maybe... maybe that’s what he needs. To know there’s still a piece of him out there, something worth holding on to. Maybe it’ll be enough to pull him out of the dark.”

My voice breaks. “I’m scared, Bee.”

Tears fall faster now, each one carved from panic. “I’m scared of leaving him. Of being pregnant and alone. What if I mess this up? What if I can’t do it?—”

“Hey.” She cups my face, firm but gentle, shaking her head. “Shh… Jordyn, you’re not alone. You hear me? You’ve never been alone.”

I close my eyes, her voice anchoring me.

“You’re stronger than you know. You’ve survived more than most people could even imagine. And you’re going to be a beautiful, fierce mum. You’ll have Aunt Cheryl, and you’ll be safe. And I’ll be there, I'll fly out, as often as you need. Whatever it takes.”

Her arms wrap around me, and I finally let go, burying myself in the only home I’ve ever known outside of him.

Bianca pulls back first, wiping her eyes her fingers before reaching for my hand. “Okay,” she breathes. “We don’t have much time. The staff will be up soon. We need to get you out of here. Come on, I’ll drive you to the airport.”

Bianca thrown on a pair of my jeans and a tee shirt. We move quietly through the manor. The corridors are still dark, cloaked in sleep. No footsteps. No whispers. Just the creak of floorboards beneath our socks and the hum of something final pressing in around us.

She leads me through the back hallway, the one staff use to bring wine up from the cellar.

It’s narrow, tucked behind the guest rooms, and opens near the garage where the security cameras don’t reach.

Bianca knows every blind spot. Every weakness in the estate’s defences.

She’s lived in this house long enough to find the cracks.

Outside, the air is damp and still, the sky beginning to pale at the edges. Morning isn’t far now.

We slip into her car without a word. I slide the backpack onto my lap, fingers twisting the strap so tightly my knuckles ache.

Bianca glances at me before starting the engine. “Breathe.”

I try. I really do. But my chest is tight, and my throat is raw.

She doesn’t push. Just shifts the car into gear and pulls away from the manor, headlights off until we’re far enough from the house to risk it.

The road is quiet, nothing but trees and shadows and the crunch of gravel beneath the tyres.

“I’ll text you when I land,” I whisper.

“Good,” she says, her voice tight. “And when you’re lonely. And scared. And need someone to remind you who the hell you are.”

I manage a broken laugh. “You’re not going to let me forget, are you?”

“Not a chance in hell.” She adds with a smile. “I’m going to be there when my nephew or niece is born. You can count on that.” A fresh batch of tears well up in my eyes again, but I nod.

We fall into silence again. The good kind. Heavy, but full of love.

We’re less than fifteen minutes from the airport. I can see the edge of the industrial district rising through the trees. I let myself believe, just for a second, that maybe this is actually going to work.

Then Bianca’s foot eases off the accelerator.

“What—” A black SUV is parked across the road ahead, idling. Headlights off. Windows tinted.

Another suddenly appears in the rearview mirror, pulling in behind us.

Bianca curses. “Fuck.”

My stomach drops. “Bianca…”

“I know, just stay calm.” The SUV in front begins to move. Slowly. Purposefully, blocking us.

The second one behind us cuts off the road boxing us in.

“Shit!” Bianca throws the car into reverse, but the one behind matches her, bumper to bumper. She slams on the brake and twists to me, her voice suddenly sharp, urgent.

“Run.”

“What?”

“Jordyn, run!”

“I can’t leave you!”

“Jordyn, go!” She flings her door open and launches herself out of the car. “Go!”

I don’t have time to hesitate. The men are already walking toward us.

I grab the handle, shove it open, and bolt into the trees.

My feet slip on the dirt, shoes catching on undergrowth, branches clawing at my arms. I hear her scream behind me, my name, followed by the sound of a struggle, but I don’t stop. I can’t stop.

Leaves whip past my face. My lungs burn, but they’re faster.

I reach into my back pocket to try and call Ares, but a hand grabs my hoodie from behind, jerking me back with such force that I hit the ground hard. My phone falls out of my hand and skitters across the dirt.

I scream, clawing at the forest floor, kicking at the body above me. Another pair of hands grabs my arms and twists them behind my back.

“Let me go!” I cry, panic tearing through my throat. “Get your hands off me?—”

“Don’t touch her!” Bianca’s voice cuts through the trees, raw and furious.

I twist my head. She’s fighting, wild and reckless, until one of them slams her against the hood of her car, a gun pressed to her temple.

“No!” I sob. “Bianca!”

The grip on my arms is bruising as they drag me toward the waiting SUV, boots crunching against gravel, my heart pounding so hard it feels like it might tear straight through my chest.

Bianca’s screaming. “Please! Don’t hurt us! My husband is Enzo Russo! He’ll pay, whatever you want, just please, please don’t hurt us.”

One of the men growls at her to shut up, shoving her forward.

But I’m not going down that easily. Ares taught me better than that.

Lifting my foot, I slam my heel into the shin of the man dragging me. His leg buckles, and he stumbles with a curse, loosening his grip for just a second, just enough. I twist, drive the heel of my palm into the soft joint beneath his thumb and wrench his hand back.

“ Ahh ! Fottuta puttana! ” He yells in pain, and the moment his grip loosens, I wrench my arm free and bolt across the gravel, legs burning, lungs heaving.

But I don’t get far.

A thick arm catches me around the waist, yanking me backwards mid-sprint. I scream, thrashing, kicking, until I feel the cold bite of metal pressed against my ribs.

“Try that again, puttana.” The man snarls into my ear, “and I’ll break you myself before Nicolai gets the chance.”

Fuck. Nicolai.

Bianca sobs behind me. “Please…don’t hurt my sister…” The man only laughs and shoves me hard toward the car.

Bianca is already huddled in the corner, tears streaming down her cheeks, her face pale with fear, her lip bleeding.

The doors slam. My ears ring in the silence.

No sirens. No help. Just the sound of tyres spinning on dirt as the car disappears into the bleeding morning.

We’re gone. Taken. Before anyone even knows we left.