Chapter 3 - A Father's Vow
The sharp click of heavy boots echoed down the quiet hallway, cutting through the low hum of the emergency red lighting. I instinctively moved toward the incubator line, but Sebastian was already on his feet. The shift in his posture was instantaneous; the gentle, grieving man who had been cradling a fragile infant vanished, replaced by an apex predator defending his den.
"Stay behind me, Sarah," Sebastian ordered, his voice dangerously low.
Three men in tactical gear entered the outer lobby of the NICU. They weren't dressed like street thugs; these were high-end mercenaries hired by Victor Rossi. They had exploited the power dip to slip past the ground-floor security.
"Moretti!" the lead mercenary called out, his hand resting on the hilt of a concealed weapon. "Rossi sends his regards. He says it’s time to stop playing nursemaid and face the council."
Sebastian didn't flinch. He didn't even look at the weapon. He slowly stepped into the corridor, closing the heavy glass doors of the NICU behind him to muffle any sound from reaching the delicate ears of the babies inside.
"You brought weapons into a children's ward," Sebastian said softly. The coldness in his tone made the hair on my arms stand up. "You brought dirt into a sterile room."
"We don't care about your little charity case, Moretti," the lead man sneered, taking a step forward. "You come with us quietly, or we tear this floor apart."
What happened next lasted less than ten seconds.
Sebastian moved with terrifying speed. Before the mercenary could draw his gun, Sebastian closed the distance, grabbed the man’s wrist, and twisted it until a sickening crack echoed through the hallway. He disarmed the man in one fluid motion, used him as a human shield against the second mercenary, and slammed the third against the concrete wall with enough force to shatter the plaster.
Before the second man could recover, Marco and three of Sebastian's trusted guards burst through the stairwell doors, weapons drawn and silencers attached. Within seconds, all three intruders were zip-tied and pinned to the floor, completely neutralized.
"Clean this up," Sebastian commanded Marco calmly, adjusting his cuffs. "Take them to the warehouse on 5th. I’ll deal with Victor personally when Leo is out of the critical window."
"Yes, Don Moretti," Marco replied, executing the order without hesitation.
I stood behind the glass doors, my heart pounding against my ribs like a trapped bird. I had just witnessed a brutal act of violence, yet my primary feeling wasn't fear of Sebastian—it was a strange, overwhelming sense of security. He had eliminated a threat to the hospital without letting a single loud noise disrupt the babies.
Sebastian turned, washed his hands thoroughly at the sanitation station, sanitized his arms up to his elbows, and walked back into Leo's room as if nothing had happened.
He sat down in the rocking chair, gathered tiny Leo into his arms, and gently placed the baby back against his chest.
"Is he okay?" Sebastian asked me, his voice returning to that soft, warm rumble. "Did his vitals jump?"
I checked the monitor. Leo’s heart rate was perfectly steady at 135 beats per minute. "He’s fine, Sebastian. He didn't hear a thing."
Sebastian closed his eyes, letting out a long, shuddering breath. "Good. Because as long as I’m in this room, nothing bad will ever touch him again."
"You can't keep living two lives, Sebastian," I said gently, sitting on the stool next to him. "You’re running an empire outside those doors, but in here, you’re trying to be a father to a boy who officially belongs to no one. Rossi won't stop. And the state will eventually put Leo into the foster system."
Sebastian opened his eyes, looking directly into mine. "Then I buy the system. Or I change my life. I failed Lucia seventeen years ago because I chose my territory over her bedside. I won't make that mistake twice."
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"Are you saying you'd walk away from the mob?" I asked, stunned.
"I’m saying I’d give up the world for this child," Sebastian answered firmly. "If the state wants a legal father for Leo, I will present them with a man whose hands are clean."
