Alina lay still while the monitor came alive.

Dorian stood several feet away.

He looked as though he wanted to come closer but had forgotten how.

Dr. Mercer studied the screen.

Her expression became thoughtful.

Then surprised.

Then gentle.

Alina watched her face.

“Doctor?”

Dr. Mercer smiled.

“There's nothing wrong with the pregnancy.”

Alina released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

Then the doctor continued.

“In fact, everything appears to be developing normally.”

Dorian's shoulders relaxed by the smallest amount.

Alina turned toward the screen.

“What are we looking at?”

Dr. Mercer looked at her.

“Not baby.”

She paused.

“Babies.”

Alina stared at her.

“What?”

“Twins.”

The word seemed to echo through the room.

Twins.

Dorian went completely still.

For a man who had faced armed enemies without blinking, who had walked into negotiations knowing the other side intended to kill him, who had built an empire from fear and silence, he suddenly looked like a man who had forgotten how to breathe.

Alina stared at the monitor.

Two small, separate lives.

Two heartbeats.

Two futures.

Tears filled her eyes.

She didn't notice Dorian move until he was standing beside the bed.

He looked at the screen.

Then at her.

For the first time in six months, the ice in his eyes cracked.

“Twins,” he whispered.

Alina nodded.

Her voice barely worked.

“Yes.”

Dorian looked away.

His face had gone white.

“Eleven weeks,” he said again.

Something about his tone frightened her.

“Dorian?”

He didn't answer.

Instead, his gaze moved toward the hospital door.

Then toward the hallway beyond it.

The change in him was immediate.

The husband disappeared.

The mafia boss returned.

His posture straightened.

His eyes sharpened.

His mind was already moving through possibilities.

Alina watched him.

“What is it?”

He turned toward her.

“Nothing.”

“You're lying.”

His eyes met hers.

She almost wished she hadn't said it.

Because there was something in his expression she'd never seen before.

Fear.

Not for himself.

For her.

For the children.

“Dorian?”

He stepped closer.

“Who knew you were sick?”

“No one.”

“Who knew you were coming here?”

“The attorney. You. Maybe your driver.”

“Anyone else?”

“No.”

He nodded once.

Then took his phone from his pocket.

“Cancel the meeting.”

The man outside answered immediately.

“Which one?”

“All of them.”

A pause.

“Understood.”

Dorian ended the call.

Alina stared at him.

“You're not going to the attorney's office?”

“No.”

“The divorce papers are still there.”

“I know.”

“We signed them.”

“You didn't.”

She frowned.

“What?”

“I didn't sign them.”

“You were supposed to.”

“I changed my mind.”

Her anger returned.

“You don't get to change your mind because I'm pregnant.”

“I know.”

“Then why?”

Dorian looked at her for a long moment.

“Because you were never the reason I filed.”

The room seemed to become colder.

Alina searched his face.

“Then what was?”

He didn't answer.

Six months ago, Dorian had started pulling away from her without explanation.

First came the late nights.

Then the locked office.

Then the unanswered calls.

Then the separate bedroom.

Finally, the divorce papers.

She had begged him once for an explanation.

He had said only, “You deserve a life untouched by mine.”

She had thought it was cruelty.

Now she wondered whether it had been a warning.

“What happened six months ago?” she asked.

Dorian looked at the floor.

“Someone came after you.”

Her breath caught.

“What?”

“I handled it.”

“You never told me.”

“I couldn't.”

“You could have told me something.”

“If I had, you'd still be in danger.”

Alina stared at him.

“You left me.”

“I protected you.”

“You abandoned me.”

His jaw tightened.

“I made you hate me.”

“You succeeded.”

“I know.”

The quiet admission hurt more than any argument could have.

Dorian looked at her.

“I needed you to believe I didn't love you.”

Alina's eyes filled with tears.

“Why?”

“Because someone was watching you.”

She shook her head.

“That doesn't make sense.”

“It will.”

He moved toward the door.

Alina stopped him.

“Dorian.”

He turned.

She swallowed.

“Were you planning to tell me?”

His silence was answer enough.

She looked away.

“Before the divorce?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“I was going to disappear from your life completely.”

The words left a hollow space inside her.

“And now?”

Dorian looked at the ultrasound screen.

Two tiny heartbeats pulsed against the darkness.

“Now I can't.”

Alina touched the edge of the blanket.

“You don't get to stay because I'm carrying your children.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you staying?”

His eyes returned to hers.

“Because someone tried to make me believe the only way to keep you alive was to make you hate me.”

He stepped closer.

“And now I know they lied.”

A knock came at the door.

One of Dorian's men entered.

“Boss.”

Dorian turned.

“What?”

“We found something.”

The man's eyes flicked toward Alina.

Dorian noticed.

“Speak.”

“The attorney's office called.”

“About the divorce?”

“No.”

The man swallowed.

“They said someone broke into the records room.”

Dorian's expression became dangerously calm.

“What was taken?”

“The divorce file.”

Alina felt cold spread through her chest.

Dorian didn't move.

“What else?”

The man hesitated.

“A medical record.”

Alina stared at him.

“My medical record?”

“We don't know yet.”

Dorian's eyes hardened.

“Find out.”

The man left.

Alina looked at Dorian.

“What does that mean?”

“It means someone knew about the pregnancy before we did.”

Her stomach tightened.

“That isn't possible.”

Dorian reached for her coat.

His movements were careful now.

Almost gentle.

But his face had become the face Chicago feared.

“We're leaving.”

“Where?”

“Somewhere no one can reach you.”

Alina stared at him.

“And you?”

“I'll come with you.”

She shook her head.

“Dorian, I don't even know if I can trust you.”

His hand stopped.

He looked at her.

“I know.”

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then he said quietly, “But trust me for one night.”

She hesitated.

“One night?”

“One night to keep you and the babies safe.”

Alina looked toward the ultrasound monitor.

Two heartbeats.

Two fragile promises.

She didn't know what Dorian had done.

She didn't know who wanted her dead.

She didn't know why he had spent six months destroying their marriage to protect her.

But she knew one thing.

Whatever had begun six months ago wasn't over.

It had only changed shape.

Dorian opened the door.

Then his phone rang.

He answered.

“Cross.”

Silence.

His expression changed.

Alina watched the color disappear from his face.

“What did you say?”

Another silence.

Dorian's eyes moved slowly toward her.

“Where?”

The caller answered.

Dorian closed his eyes.

When he opened them, something terrible had settled inside them.

“What happened?” Alina whispered.

He lowered the phone.

“The person who threatened you six months ago…”

He stopped.

Alina waited.

“They're dead.”

Her breath caught.

Dorian looked toward the hospital corridor.

“And whoever killed them left a message.”

“What message?”

His eyes met hers.

“They knew about the twins.”

Alina felt her hand instinctively move toward her stomach.

Dorian stepped between her and the open doorway.

For six months, she had believed he had stopped loving her.

Now she understood something far more frightening.

He had never stopped.

He had simply been trying to protect her from a war she didn't know existed.

And somewhere in Chicago, someone had just discovered that the woman Dorian Cross had sacrificed his marriage to protect was carrying not one heir, but two.

The divorce papers were still waiting three feet away.

But the marriage they were meant to end had never been the real story.

The real story had been hiding behind it all along.

And now that Dorian knew the truth, he would have to decide how much of his empire he was willing to destroy to keep his family alive.