Chapter 3 - The Sanctuary in the ShadowsDamon’s private penthouse sat atop the highest residential tower in Beacon Hill, a fortress of steel, dark wood, and glass that overlooked the dark ribbon of the Charles River. It was a place designed for isolation, heavily guarded and invisible to the rest of the city.
By 2:00 AM, a private obstetrician—a trusted doctor who answered only to Damon—had finished examining Adriana in one of the guest suites.
Damon stood in the hallway, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, his jaw set in a hard line. When the doctor stepped out, Damon turned to him immediately.
"How is she? How is the baby?"
"She is severely malnourished, Damon," the doctor sighed, pulling off his glasses. "She’s eight months pregnant, but her body looks like she’s barely at six. She’s been working twelve-hour shifts on her feet, eating scraps, and living in a constant state of high cortisol. But the baby... the baby is a fighter. The heartbeat is strong. She needs bed rest, high-protein meals, and, above all, safety. If she goes back to that lifestyle, she won't survive the delivery."
Damon closed his eyes, a heavy weight pressing down on his chest. Eli’s child. The child of the brother who had thrown himself in front of a hail of bullets outside a warehouse in South Boston six months ago, taking the hits meant for Damon.
Damon thanked the doctor and quietly stepped into the guest suite.
Adriana was sitting up in the massive king-sized bed, wearing a clean, oversized cotton shirt. She looked tiny against the dark velvet headboard. Her hands were wrapped around a mug of warm broth, her eyes fixed on the city lights outside the window.
Damon pulled up a chair, sitting a respectful distance away.
"Why did you run, Adriana?" he asked softly. "After the funeral... I looked for you everywhere. I put half the city on alert to find you. I left bank accounts in your name. Why did you disappear?"
Adriana didn't look at him. A single tear escaped her amber eyes, tracing a path down her pale cheek.
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"Because as long as I was near you, the child in my belly had a target on its back," she whispered. "Eli loved you, Damon. He loved you enough to die for you. But look at what your love did to him. It put him in a box under the ground. I didn't want my baby to inherit his father's grave."
Damon felt the words cut through him like a blade, but he didn't deny them. She was right. His world was poison. But letting her starve in the dark was a betrayal he could not live with.
