Chapter 2

TWO DAYS LATER.

The door burst open with a violent bang. Two men stormed in, rifles raised, fingers close to the triggers.

Sofie Lancelot shot up from the bed instantly, backing away.

“Don’t come near me!” she barked, her eyes blazing with fire instead of fear.

It had been two days, since she was drugged, abducted and brought to this God-forsaken place.

The men ignored her completely. They moved around the room, flipping the mattress, ripping off sheets, shoving the table aside, checking under chairs and inside drawers.

“Nothing,” one of them muttered under his breath.

They both turned to stare at her, their eyes dark and murderous.

“Where’s the bug?” one demanded, his voice sharp with rage.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Sofie snapped. “Leave me alone!”

“Search her,” the other ordered coldly.

Sofie retreated fast until her back hit the wall.

“Don’t you dare lay a finger on me!” she roared.

One of the men stepped toward her anyway and grabbed her wrist roughly.

Without hesitation, Sofie drove her knee up hard into his crotch.

“Aaah!” he screamed, collapsing forward, clutching himself in agony.

She didn’t waste the opportunity. She spun and delivered a brutal kick to the side of his head. The force knocked him sideways, and he crashed to the floor.

His rifle slipped from his hands. Sofie lunged for it, grabbing the weapon and turning it toward them. Her finger moved to the trigger.

“Bastards!” she shouted, rage burning through her.

The second man froze for half a second, glaring at her with pure hatred. He bent down, dragged his injured partner up, and without another word, they retreated from the room.

She stared at the riffle in her hand. It suddenly felt heavy. She dropped the weapon to the floor, and her knees gave way.

A sob tore out of her chest before she could stop it. Her entire body trembled violently.

She rushed to the window and yanked the curtains aside. Thick metal bars covered the glass. She grabbed the bars with both hands and pulled hard, as if pure willpower could rip them off.

She let out a broken breath and stepped back, pacing the room like a trapped animal.

What was Ronan doing now? Was he looking for her? Was Vincent alive? And Betty? She must be crying her eyes out by now.

Her thoughts were spiraling when the door opened again.

This time, only one person walked in. It was a woman.

She was pulling a black T-shirt down over her torso, denim jeans fitted tight, a shoulder bag hanging at her side. A pistol rested comfortably in her hand. Her hair was tied back in a firm ponytail, black boots on her feet.

Her gaze fell to the rifle on the ground and her expression darkened.

“Five of my men injured in two days,” she said coolly. “Six rifles damaged.”

Sofie frowned deeply. So this was her abductor.

“I have never seen you before in my life!” Sofie snapped. “Not even in my dreams! Let me go!”

The woman chuckled softly. “I like your fire,” she said. “No wonder Ronan would kill for you.”

Sofie’s heart skipped. So this was about Ronan.

“Ronan trained you well,” the woman continued, circling her slowly.

“If you have beef with Ronan, then face him like a real capo!” Sofie shot back. “Don’t hide behind kidnapping a woman like some coward. Idiot!”

The woman’s face hardened instantly. “If I had known you would ever get close to Ronan,” she said coldly, “I would have killed you a long time ago.”

Sofie lifted her chin. “Then what are you waiting for? Pull the trigger!” On the outside, she looked fearless, but inside, her heart was pounding wildly.

The woman shook her head slowly. “I regret not killing you the day I gave birth to you,” she roared. “I regret leaving you with my mother!”

The words hit like a gunshot and Sofie stiffened. Her brain struggled to process what she had just heard.

Gave birth to you. Left you with my mother.

Her breathing slowed. “You…” she whispered, staring.

“You’re a traitor!” the woman snapped. “Eating and drinking with my enemy!”

Nothing made sense to Sofie anymore.

“You belong with me,” the woman continued harshly. “You’ll leave with me. Live with me. Stand beside me. That’s what a daughter does.”

Daughter. The word thumped inside Sofie’s head. Her eyes widened slowly as memories flashed through her mind. Old photographs. Faded pictures her grandmother kept hidden. The face in those photos.

It was her. The same cheekbones. The same eyes.

“You can’t be my mother,” Sofie muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. “That’s impossible. My mother is dead.”

Her mother had abandoned her at seven. She had grown up with her grandmother. Months ago, she received an anonymous letter saying her mother died two years earlier from a terminal illness.

The woman smirked. “I figured you got my letter,” she said calmly. “The one about me dying from sickness.”

Sofie’s stomach dropped.

“I heard my mother died,” the woman continued casually. “Too bad I didn’t see her before she passed. But she was always in my way anyway.” She shrugged. “So I left her.”

Sofie’s lips parted in horror. After more than a decade, this was how she met her mother? In a locked room. Kidnapped. Surrounded by guns.

“You’re disgusting,” Sofie snapped, then spat directly at her.

The saliva landed on the woman’s cheek. Rage exploded across her face. Without hesitation, she slapped Sofie hard.

Sofie stumbled, but she didn’t fall. Instead, she surged forward and landed a clean punch across the woman’s face.

“You are filth!” Sofie barked. "I'm not your daughter! Will never be!"

The woman staggered back, shocked for a split second. Then her expression turned cold and murderous. She raised her pistol and aimed it straight at Sofie’s chest.

A slow, dangerous smile touched her lips. “Mafia blood runs in you,” she said darkly.

“Shoot me!” Sofie screamed, her voice raw with fury. “If you could abandon your own mother and your own daughter for decades, then go ahead and kill me too!” Hatred poured out of her like fire.

The woman’s eyes hardened, her jaw tightening as anger rolled within her.

“I hate you!” Sofie shrieked. “You better pull that trigger now, because if you don’t, I swear on everything, I’ll be the one to kill you someday!

“I don’t like you either,” the woman said coldly, lowering her pistol just a little. “But I’ll try to accommodate you.”

Before Sofie could even process that twisted statement, the door burst open again with explosive force. Armed men flooded the room.

Everything happened at once. A gunshot cracked through the air. A scream followed, then a heavy thud.

Sofie turned sharply. The woman, her mother, was on the floor, clutching her chest. Blood seeped through her fingers, spreading across her shirt.

For a second, the world went silent. Then a strong arm wrapped around Sofie from behind. She gasped and turned. It was Ronan Whitelock.

Relief hit her so hard her knees almost gave out. Without thinking, she threw her arms around him and broke down.

“It’s okay,” Ronan murmured against her hair. “I’m here.”

He tilted her face up and kissed her hard, almost desperately, like he needed to prove she was real.

“I was so scared,” she whispered, trembling.

On the floor, the wounded woman let out a bitter laugh that turned into a cough.

“The Whitelocks and the Lancelots are sworn enemies,” she rasped. “Ronan… your own clan will cut you off for this.”

Ronan didn’t even look at her. He turned to his men, his voice cold as ice. “Finish this.”

“She’s a Lancelot!” the woman shrilled, blood bubbling at her lips. “I’m not lying!”

Ronan’s jaw clenched. “You assume too much,” he spat. “Go to hell. You’ve caused enough damage.”

“Take her DNA! Run the test!” the woman screamed desperately. “She’s a Lancelot! A plant! Sent to your side to destroy you!”

"Go to hell!" Ronan spat. "I've never been in your way, but you won't let me be!"

Another gunshot exploded in the room. This time, it was Sofie who screamed.

A burning pain tore through her thigh, and she collapsed to the floor, clutching her leg as blood began to soak through her fingers.

Her mother had shot her!

Ronan’s head snapped toward the woman on the floor. Rage unlike anything he had ever felt surged through him. His face darkened, eyes turning deadly.

Without hesitation, he drew his pistol and fired several bullets into the woman’s chest.

Her body jerked with each impact, then went completely limp.

Sofie shuddered on the floor. She didn’t feel pity for the woman who abandoned her, lied about her death, and shot her without hesitation. But it was the first time she had seen someone killed like that, in cold blood. And it was Ronan who did it.

And the pain ripping through her leg was stronger than her thoughts.

“Get me something to tie it!” Ronan roared, dropping to his knees beside her. “She’s losing too much blood!”

His hands were already pressed against her wound, trying to slow the bleeding.

“Ronan…” Sofie whispered weakly, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t want to die.”

Her voice broke him. “You’re not dying,” he said firmly, though his chest was rising and falling hard. “Not on my watch. Capisce? You’re not going anywhere.”

One of his men quickly tore a strip from the bedsheet and handed it over.

Ronan wrapped it tightly around her thigh, tying a firm knot to stop the bleeding. Then he scooped her up into his arms like she weighed nothing.

“Clear the way!” he barked as he strode toward the door.

Inside the car, Sofie’s thoughts were scattered and broken. Nothing felt real.

She had met her mother for the first time in over a decade and watched her die minutes later. Shot by the man holding her now.

She had never planned this life. Never dreamed she would sit beside a mafia boss, soaked in blood and gunpowder. She never asked to be part of syndicate wars, vendettas, and sworn blood feuds. But fate had dragged her into the underworld, and now there was no clean way out.

The pain from the bullet tore through her thigh mercilessly. Each bump in the road sent fresh agony shooting up her body. Combined with the emotional storm raging inside her, it was too much.

A broken groan escaped her lips.

“It’s okay,” Ronan murmured, cradling her carefully against his chest. “The bullet will come out. I promise you, amore. Just hold on.”

He pressed kisses against her forehead, her cheeks and her temple.

Then, the car screeched loudly. Gunshots exploded around them.

“We’re under attack!” the driver shouted from the front.

Ronan’s head snapped up. “Move! Get us out of here!” he thundered.

The driver slammed the car into reverse, tires screeching as he tried to take another route, but it was too late.

A bullet struck the rear tire with a loud pop. The car jerked violently, spinning slightly before coming to a rough halt.

The driver hit the accelerator again got, but more bullets tore into the remaining tires.

The vehicle sagged and crippled.

“Stay calm,” Ronan whispered to Sofie, even though panic was clawing at his own chest. He could feel her growing weaker in his arms. Her breathing was shallower now.

“I’ll get us out,” he promised firmly.

He reached for his pistol and shoved the door open. But before he could step out, the back door on Sofie’s side was ripped open violently from the outside.

Ronan fired immediately. A man outside dropped with a shout. But then hands grabbed him from behind.

“Let me go!” Ronan roared, struggling with brutal force.

He elbowed one attacker in the jaw. Kicked another. Fired blindly again. But they were too many.

They pinned his arms down, dragging him backward, restraining him with overwhelming strength.

And all he could do was watch as Sofie was lifted from the car.

“Let her go!” Ronan bellowed, his voice filled with fury. “Take me instead! Come for me!”

Sofie felt herself being carried, her body weightless and distant. Her vision had dimmed almost completely. She could hear voices shouting, doors slamming, engines revving.

She could hear Ronan screaming her name. Gunshots still rang somewhere in the chaos, but her limbs wouldn’t respond.

Ronan’s heart shattered as he saw them shove her into another vehicle and sped off.

Only then did the men holding him release their grip and retreat swiftly into another black car with no plates.

Within seconds, they were gone.