“Have you found them?”


    “Have you seen anyone?”


    “There’s blood here… Damn it!”


    Amidst the chaotic sound of footsteps overhead, Mare realized the urgency and, disregarding his own injuries, swiftly led Vivian to the safety door on the basement level. The safety door was extremely heavy, and the pain from his broken bones caused his strength to rapidly diminish. Just as he managed to push the safety door open a crack, it mmed shut again due to his waning power.


    “What’s that sound?”


    “They’re downstairs, they’re downstairs.”


    Bang!


    Bullets struck the handrail of the staircase, sparking against the stainless steel surface. Mare instinctively shielded Vivian and, with his pistol aimed and loaded, fired a session of shots, forcing the individuals at the stairwell to take cover.


    Since the pistol bullets were limited, such blind firing only depleted ammunition without any real value.


    The Bratvas hiding around the corner were all waiting for the moment when Mare’s bullets ran out, and Vivian also realized this issue. Her worried gaze shifted between Mare and the corner, failing to notice the safety door behind her being forcefully pushed open.


    Dim light from the underground garage slipped in. Vivian looked in astonishment at the abruptly opened half-door and shakily raised her pistol.


    At that moment, Mare’s bullets ran out. Seizing the opportunity, a Bratva member rushed down and aimed at Mare, firing a shot.


    “Don’t shoot, it’s Diego… Ugh!” Mare pushed Vivian through the open safety door, but a bullet struck his shoulder, causing blood to gush out, leaving Vivian feeling her back dampen.


    “Mare!” Vivian cried out Mare’s name in terror, and as Diego raised his hand to shoot at Mare’s back.


    Mare pushed Vivian through the safety door, Diego released his grip, and the safety door mmed shut once again.


    Diego secured the door with an iron chain, ensuring it couldn’t be opened temporarily, then quickly caught up with Mare and Vivian ahead.


    “We need a doctor,” Mare said as he helped Vivian into the car.


    “Lie down!” Mare’s hand pressed on Vivian’s back, indicating she should lower herself.


    Diego quickly got in the car, stepped on the gas, and the engine roared as the car surged forward.


    Just as they drove a short distance, two cars suddenly darted out from the corners, one from the left and one from the right, sandwiching them in the middle.


    Vivian had just fastened her seatbelt when she felt a fierce impact, her body thrown forward and then pulled back by the seatbelt. The belt cut into her stomach, and the ignored pain struck again as Vivian curled up in the back seat.


    Diego forcefully steered the car, almost ramming the car on the left as the ck car on the right circled around for another collision. Mare’s left shoulder was almost immobile, but that didn’t stop him from raising the pistol in his right hand, now refilled with bullets, and shooting, shattering the opponent’s windshield.


    Just as the sniper on the passenger side of the other car raised his gun to shoot, jos finally arrived. He maneuvered the car and raced in at 120 miles per hour, crashing into the enemies’ vehicle in the underground garage, sending both the car and its upants flying.


    Behind jos, car after car drove in, the massive roar of the engines sounding like imprisoned beasts suddenly unleashed, roaring as they charged forward.


    Simpson led his soldiers in a fierce gun battle against the Bratvas, and amidst the continuous gunfire, jos rushed to Vivian.


    “Vivian, Vivian!”


    “jos, you’re here.” Vivian curled up in the back seat, the pain making her dizzy. She shook and reached for jos’s face, surprised it wasn’t an illusion, seeing her hand covered in blood.


    “I… ” Vivian raised her hands, murmuring absentmindedly, “I killed someone, I killed someone.”


    “It’s not your fault.” jos unfastened Vivian’s seatbelt and held her in his arms,forting her and patting her back, kissing her head, “They wanted to kill you, that’s their fault.”


    “Don’t be afraid, Vivian.” jos kissed the corner of her mouth, his tone gentle yet filled with temptation. “You’re brave. You protected yourself and our child.”Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    “Brave girl, you should be proud of your strength, not afraid of it.”


    Vivian nestled in jos’s embrace. She wanted to shake her head, she wanted to say it wasn’t like that, she didn’t raise the gun to kill. But she couldn’t speak. She knew jos was right; she wanted to protect herself, and to do that, she had to kill anyone who tried to harm her and her child.


    Her handswere destined to be stained with blood.


    This was just the beginning.


    Diego drove them to the hospital. The shooting at the downtown mall couldn’t be kept under wraps; many innocent bystanders were affected. The hospital was filled with casualties brought in from the shooting, and Vivian and the others were not the first, nor would they be thest.


    So,ing to the hospital at this time, they weren’t afraid of being questioned by the doctors, exposing their ties to the mafia.


    Mare was quickly taken into the operating room for surgery, and Vivian was transferred to the gynecology department for a series of examinations. jos stood by her side, tightly holding her hand. This finally allowed Vivian, who had been tense all day, to rx, and she eventually fell asleep amidst the numerous examinations.


    When she woke up again, it was already pitch ck outside. Only a smallmp was lit in the ward, casting a soft, non-ring light.


    Vivian was startled awake by a nightmare. She had dreamt that the man she had stabbed through the heart hade back to life, grabbing her by the neck and pinning her against the mottled wall of the stairwell, before viciously punching her in the stomach.


    Before the intense pain could manifest, Vivian was pulled out of the dream. She sat up abruptly, feeling the suffocation extend from the dream into reality, breathing heavily as if a drowning person struggling to the surface, the relief of survival made her unable to hold back tears.


    “Was it a nightmare? Or do you feel unwell?” A broad hand rested on her shoulder, while the other gently patted her back, soothing her as it followed the curve of her spine with each pat.


    Tears blurred Vivian’s vision, but it didn’t hinder her from recognizing the personforting her.


    “Vilem!”


    Before Vivian could contain her surprise, she reached out and embraced Vilem, unable to hold back her tears, as if she wanted to cry out all the grievances and fears.


    She cried so hard that Vilem was taken aback, fearing she was in pain or difort. But Vivian was beyond words, so Vilem could only hold her, letting her cry until she was exhausted, then handed her a tissue to wipe her eyes.


    The tissue quickly soaked up the tears, and Vilem handed her another, which she took, embarrassed, and wiped her tear-stained face. “I’ve missed you, Vilem.”


    “I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long.”


    “No need to apologize, I know you’ve been busy with work,” Vivian leaned against him, softly sobbing, “I’ve been weak.”