Chapter 5 - The Birth of the Empire
The silence that followed my final scream was the most terrifying sound I had ever heard.
For three agonizing seconds, there was nothing. No crying. No movement. Just the sound of my own ragged breathing and the heavy rain outside.
“Doctor?” Roman’s voice was dangerously low, a threat wrapped in a question.
Then, a sharp, angry cry pierced the room.
It wasn’t a soft whimper. It was a loud, demanding wail that echoed off the high ceilings of the Kane bedroom.
Dr. Evans let out a breath he seemed to have been holding for a lifetime. He quickly wrapped the tiny, pink baby in a warm towel and laid her directly onto my chest.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor smiled, wiping sweat from his brow. “She’s small, but she’s a fighter. Look at those lungs.”
The moment her skin touched mine, the shivering stopped. The pain vanished. I looked down at the tiny miracle in my arms. She had a dusting of dark hair, just like Roman’s, and when she opened her tiny eyes for a brief second, they were a piercing, stormy gray.
The eyes of a Kane.
Roman dropped to his knees beside the bed, staring at his daughter as if she were made of glass. He reached out a single, trembling finger, and her tiny hand instinctively wrapped around it. He let out a ragged sob, burying his face in the side of the mattress.
“We did it, Roman,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “She’s here.”
“She’s perfect,” he murmured, looking up at me with fierce, possessive love. “What do you want to name her?”
I thought about the streets of Queens, about my mother who fought for every dime, and about the empire this little girl was born to inherit. She wasn’t going to be a victim of this family’s legacy. She was going to rule it.
“Valentina,” I said. “Valentina Kane.”
Roman smiled, but the warmth in his eyes quickly cooled into ice as a knock sounded at the door. Marcus entered, his suit jacket stained with mud and blood. He kept his eyes strictly on the floor, out of respect for me and the baby.
“Boss,” Marcus said quietly. “The syndicate council has just arrived. They heard about the will. They’re downstairs, and they brought their enforcers. They’re demanding to see the child.”
May you like
Roman stood up slowly, the tender father instantly vanishing, replaced by the ruthless mafia Don. He straightened his shirt, buttoned his cuffs, and looked down at me and Valentina.
“Rest, my queen,” Roman said, kissing my forehead. “I am going to go introduce our daughter to her subjects. And then, I am going to deal with my mother.”
