Chapter 4 - The Vengeance of Marcus Thorne
Marcus dropped the fire extinguisher with a deafening clatter the moment his eyes adjusted to the dim light and locked onto my shivering, blood-stained form on the freezer floor.
“Lena!” he roared, sprinting across the threshold and dropping instantly to his knees beside me on the grated metal floor.
The rush of warm air from the warehouse felt like a tropical breeze, though my body was shaking so violently I couldn't stop the tremors.
“Marcus...” I breathed, my eyelids fluttering dangerously close to shutting for good as I clutched the tiny, shivering newborn tightly against my chest. “The... the second one... I’m still... still in labor...”
Marcus didn't hesitate for a single second.
Stripping off his expensive, heavy wool overcoat without a second thought, he wrapped it completely around me and the newborn boy, tucking the edges in tightly to trap whatever body heat was left.
“Stay with me, Lena! Look at me!” Marcus commanded, his voice lacking its usual corporate coldness, replaced instead by a fierce, commanding urgency that demanded obedience. “Where’s the second baby? Tell me what to do!”
“Contraction... coming...” I gasped, doubling over as another wave of agonizing pain ripped through my pelvis, my body convulsing against the metal grate.
Marcus positioned himself beside me, rolling up the sleeves of his crisp dress shirt, his face pale and sweating under the fluorescent lights.
“Okay... okay, I got you,” he muttered, though his hands shook slightly as he realized the magnitude of the situation. “I didn't go to medical school, but I've delivered calves on my family's farm back in Nebraska. You push, Lena, and I’ll catch. Let's go!”
With a primal scream that echoed off the frozen meat hooks hanging overhead, I pushed with every remaining ounce of strength in my broken, freezing body.
Marcus guided the delivery with steady, surprisingly gentle hands, his face a mask of intense concentration as he worked against the clock and the encroaching effects of hypothermia.
A second sharp, piercing cry filled the air, cutting through the hum of the dying refrigeration units.
“We got a girl!” Marcus shouted triumphantly, scooping up the second tiny infant, wrapping her securely in the spare lining of his wool coat, and handing her gently over to me.
I pulled both twins against my chest, burying my face in their soft, warm hair as tears streamed freely down my cheeks, washing away the frozen ice crystals.
Both babies were breathing, crying, and alive against all odds.
Marcus sat back on his heels, staring down at us with a look in his eyes I had never seen before—respect, awe, and a cold, calculating rage that made his features harden into stone.
“Your husband,” Marcus said quietly, his voice dropping into a menacing whisper. “Victor. Where is he?”
“He left...” I shivered, clutching the twins tighter as the adrenaline began to fade, leaving a hollow, burning ache in my bones. “He said... the insurance... two million dollars... he locked me in to pay off his debts.”
May you like
Marcus stood up slowly, towering over me in the open doorway of the freezer, his fists clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles turned completely white.
“He didn't just try to kill you, Lena,” Marcus said, his voice dripping with venomous promise. “He tried to murder my future business partner... and two innocent children. He’s going to pay for every single second of this.”
