The Billionaire Mafia Boss Brought His Starving Twins to a Grieving Mother, but the Milk She Thought Was a Curse Led Him to the Betrayal Inside His Own Home

While the storm raged over Colorado, a private Gulfstream jet cut smoothly through the clear, high-altitude skies heading south toward the sun-drenched beaches of Cabo San Lucas.

In the lavish, leather-bound cabin of the aircraft, Damian Voss sat across from Vivienne Saint-Claire.

Vivienne was pouring vintage champagne into two crystal flutes, her silk dress rustling soft in the quiet cabin. She was undeniably beautiful—sharp cheekbones, golden hair, and eyes that calculated the worth of everything they touched.

"To new beginnings, Damian," Vivienne purred, offering him a glass with a dazzling smile. "To leaving the dreary snow and dreary responsibilities behind, if only for a week."

Damian didn't take the glass.

He was staring out the small oval window into the black void of the night sky. For the past two hours, ever since the jet took off from the private hangar in Denver, an unnatural, suffocating weight had been settling onto his chest.

His mind kept returning to the image of Elena standing in the doorway of the Black Pine estate. He saw the snow melting in her dark hair, the way her hand had covered their unborn child, and the look in her eyes—not anger, not desperation, but a quiet, profound finality.

If you leave tonight, do not come back expecting to find the same woman.

"Damian?" Vivienne’s voice laced with mild irritation as she set the champagne down. "You haven't heard a word I've said since we boarded. You're thinking about her."

"I left her in the middle of a winter storm warning," Damian said, his voice low, gravelly, and entirely devoid of warmth.

"Oh, please," Vivienne scoffed, rolling her eyes as she took a sip of her drink. "Elena is at Black Pine. It’s a fortress. She has a staff, a fireplace, and a full security team. She’s throwing a dramatic tantrum because she knows she can use that pregnancy to keep you on a leash."

Damian turned his head slowly. His dark eyes locked onto Vivienne with a lethal intensity that made her smile falter.

"She doesn't throw tantrums," Damian said coldly. "In three years of marriage, she has never once begged me for anything."

"Then why did she stand out in the snow like a tragic heroine?" Vivienne snapped, leaning forward. "Damian, you brought me here because you needed to escape that stifling life. You said yourself that the marriage was a political arrangement made by your father. I am the woman who belongs beside you in the empire you are building."

Damian looked at Vivienne—really looked at her—and felt a sudden, sickening wave of disgust.

Not just for her, but for himself.

He pulled his satellite phone from his jacket pocket and dialed the main security desk at Black Pine. The phone chimed three times, followed by an automated tone: Call Failed. Destination Network Unavailable.

Damian’s jaw tightened. He dialed his head of security, Marcus Vance.

"Vance," Damian commanded as soon as the line connected. "Why isn't the Black Pine gate answering?"

"Boss?" Marcus’s voice was garbled through satellite static. "We're... major interference over the rockies... Category 4 blizzard just hit the county. The power grid for the entire northern ridge went down thirty minutes ago."

Damian stood up so fast his leather armchair creaked. "What about the generators?"

"We... can't reach the estate team, sir. The snow is falling at four inches an hour. The mountain pass is officially closed by state police. Nothing is getting up or down that road."

Damian’s heart executed a violent, terrifying vault in his chest. "Get the chopper ready."

"Sir! The air traffic control has grounded all rotary aircraft statewide! No helicopter can fly in these winds!"

"I don't give a damn about air traffic control!" Damian roared, his voice echoing through the cabin, terrifying the flight attendants. "Turn this plane around!"

Vivienne gasped, jumping to her feet. "Damian! Are you insane? We are forty minutes from Cabo! You are not ruining this trip for a little snow!"