34 My billionaire ex-husband divorced me after convincing himself I was the reason we couldn't have children. Years later, Luca Moretti walked into one of Chicago's most exclusive restaurants with his new wife and saw me sitting across the room with twin children. The moment he looked into their faces, the man who could negotiate billion-dollar deals without blinking froze, because both children had his unmistakable eyes.

"Arthur, think about Evelyn," Luca said, taking a slow, deliberate step toward the gun, keeping his broad back firmly between Arthur and me. "If you pull that trigger, Evelyn will spend the rest of her life as the daughter of a murderer in a federal penitentiary. Is that what you want for her?"

Arthur hesitated, his eyes flickering with a moment of doubt. "You took everything from us!"

"You took seven years of my children's lives from me!" Luca shouted back, his voice echoing off the kitchen walls. "You paid a doctor to tell me my wife was infertile! You destroyed my marriage! I should have killed you the day I found out, Shaw!"

Luca took another step forward. He was now less than six feet away from the barrel of the gun.

"Don't come any closer!" Arthur panicked, pulling the trigger.

BANG!

The deafening deafening blast echoed through the house.

I screamed as Luca lunged forward with unbelievable speed. He slammed his broad shoulder into Arthur Shaw's chest, knocking the older man off his feet and crashing onto the kitchen island. The revolver skidded across the hardwood floor toward the pantry.

The two men in hoodies tried to rush Luca, but the heavy front door was suddenly kicked open. Four of Luca’s elite private security officers flooded into the house, weapons drawn.

"FPS! Hands on your heads! Down on the floor now!" the lead security officer screamed.

Within seconds, Arthur Shaw and his two hired thugs were pinned to the floor in handcuffs.

"Luca!" I cried out, rushing to his side as he leaned heavily against the kitchen counter.

"Nia..." Luca gasped, his face turning pale as he pressed his right hand against his side. Dark, crimson blood was seeping through his dark navy sweater, dripping onto the floor.

"Oh god! Luca!" I screamed, catching him as his knees buckled. I lowered his heavy body onto the floor, tears blinding my vision as I pressed my hands firmly over his wound to stop the bleeding. "Someone call an ambulance! Call an ambulance now!"

"I'm fine... I'm fine..." Luca rasped, his hand reaching up to touch my face, his fingers leaving a smear of blood on my cheek. "Are you hurt, Nia? Did he touch you?"

"You idiot!" I sobbed, pressing down on the wound as he groaned in pain. "He shot you! Why did you step in front of the gun?!"

Luca offered a faint, blood-stained smile, his breathing shallow and heavy. "Because... I spent seven years failing to protect you, Nia... I was never going to let anyone hurt you again..."

"Mom? What's that noise?"

I looked up to see Leo and Maya standing at the entrance of the kitchen, their eyes wide with terror as they stared at the blood on the floor and their father lying wounded in my arms.

"Don't look, babies!" I cried out, my voice hysterical. "Marcus! Take them upstairs! Take them upstairs right now!"

Marcus, who had just rushed through the front door with the police, immediately scooped up Leo and Maya, shielding their eyes as he carried them away.

"Stay with me, Luca!" I begged, sobbing uncontrollably as I looked down at his fading eyes. "Don't you dare close your eyes! Do you hear me, Luca Moretti?! You just found your children! You don't get to die now!"

"Nia..." Luca whispered, his grip on my hand loosening as he slipped into unconsciousness. "I love you..."