He Killed the Right Son

My husband, Alessandro Vidi, is the most powerful mob boss in Chicago.

He once swore to me that he would protect our son Leo and me with his life.

Until that soccer game. His enemies attacked the field. To shield Leo, I took a bullet through my abdomen. But Leo still got hit three times and fell in a pool of blood.

Alessandro arrived, took down the attackers on the spot, and rushed us to his private hospital.

In the hospital room, the searing pain jolted me awake briefly. I wanted to call out to him, but instead I heard his conversation with his men.

"Boss, I thought we were only taking one kidney. Why did Leo have to—"

"Elena's wound isn't fatal. Just the abdomen." Alessandro's voice was ice-cold. "I've been raising Leo for seven years just for this. Now that Luca has his kidney, keeping him around would only be a problem for Luca."

"After all... Luca is my real son."

That moment, I understood—the shooting at the soccer field was never an enemy's revenge. It was murder he orchestrated himself. He traded my son's life for his mistress's child's life.

But he will never know—

Luca isn't even his flesh and blood.

Elena's POV

"She's losing too much blood! Pressure's dropping!"

The doctor's voice pierced through my foggy consciousness.

Goddammit! Keep her ALIVE!" Alessandro roared.

I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids were too heavy. Every breath felt like the wound in my abdomen was tearing open again.

"Mr. Vidi, I need blood NOW! Six units of RH negative!"

"Boss," Marco's voice cut in, "that shipment from Eastern Europe last month—"

"NO!" Alessandro interrupted. "That blood's for Mia. She's due in four weeks."

Something inside me froze.

"But Mrs. Vidi's condition is MORE critical!" The doctor's voice rose.

"Luca needs it for backup!"

"Mia has four weeks! We can source more! Luca's recovering fine—he doesn't NEED it! But Mrs. Vidi won't make it through tonight without blood NOW!"

Dead silence.

Then the sound of a gun being cocked.

"Shut up. Use what we've got. She dies, you die."

"I...I'll do my best..."

He'd rather risk my death than compromise that woman's safety. Or her son's.

Leo... my baby... Mommy's so sorry...

Everything went black.

When I woke, white ceiling lights stabbed my eyes.

My body was too weak to lift a hand. Something cold pressed against my palm—I struggled to open it.

Leo's soccer medal.

The gold surface was stained with dried brown blood.

"Mommy, I'm gonna WIN! I'm giving this medal to Daddy for his birthday!"

Leo's excited voice echoed in my ears—the morning before the game. He'd worn his brand new jersey, his eyes bright as stars.

"If I'm the best player, Daddy will love me like he loves Luca, right?"

My poor baby.

He'd tried so hard to win his father's love, not knowing that bastard only wanted him DEAD.

I stared at the blood-stained medal. Tears slid down silently.

"Leo... my child..."

I couldn't breathe. My body shook violently. A scream tore from my throat.

I tried to sit up, to find my son, but the wound in my abdomen ripped with agony. I collapsed back onto the bed.

Memories cut through me like knives.

Mia was Alessandro's first love—the woman he'd "fallen for at first sight." She'd married someone else, but showed up at his door five years ago with her sick son Luca. Alessandro told me he just felt sorry for a single mother struggling with a sick child.

I'd been naive enough to believe him.

For years, Alessandro had been searching for a kidney for Luca. With the Vidi family's black market connections and power over Chicago's underworld, finding a suitable kidney should've been easy.

But I'd once heard him tell Mia: "Those kidneys aren't perfect enough. I'm waiting for the right one for Luca."

He'd been waiting for my son's kidney.

The door suddenly burst open.

Alessandro walked in, his expression grief-stricken and guilty.

"Elena... Christ, you're awake..." He moved to my bedside, reaching for my hand.

I shoved him away with every ounce of strength I had. "Don't TOUCH me! MURDERER!"

Ignoring the searing pain, I struggled to sit up and reached for the scissors on the nightstand. I was going to kill him, drag him to hell with me—

But he easily caught my wrist and pinned me back down.

"Elena, I know you're in pain, but you need to calm down..." His voice was low. "This is my fault. I failed to protect our son."

"Those goddamn Markov bastards—I've made them pay. I cut off that shooter's fingers one by one, then fed him to the gators myself."

I stared at him with dead eyes. "Where's Leo? WHERE IS LEO? I want to see him!"

Alessandro looked away. "Elena... Leo's already been cremated."

"WHAT?!" My voice shattered. "He just... how could you..."

"It was for your own good." He cut me off. "You couldn't handle seeing his body. Not in your condition."

He paused. "Our rules—we bury our dead fast. Can't give our enemies leverage."

LIES! All LIES!

He cremated Leo to destroy the evidence—his chest cut open, kidney gone.

I never got to say goodbye. Never got to hold him.

I collapsed onto the bed, sobbing uncontrollably.