THE MAFIA BOSS ORDERED THE MAID AWAY FROM HIS SCREAMING TWINS - UNTIL SHE CUT OPEN THEIR TEDDY BEAR

Declan exploded into motion.

He grabbed the barrel of Julian’s pistol, twisting it upward with brutal force. A deafening gunshot echoed through the nursery, shattering the glass chandelier overhead.

At the exact same moment, Emma grabbed the heavy brass reading lamp, ripped its cord from the wall, and swung it with all her strength into the face of the nearest guard.

The heavy brass base struck the guard’s nose with a sickening crunch. He staggered backward, spraying blood across the white wallpaper.

“GET THE GIRLS!” Declan shouted, driving a savage elbow into Julian’s throat.

Emma didn't hesitate. She grabbed Grace under her left arm and June under her right arm, hauling both six-year-olds off the bed. The girls were awake now, crying in confusion, but Emma moved like a woman possessed. She ducked beneath a spray of gunfire that chewed through the headboard of the bed, dashing toward the private emergency doorway hidden behind the nursery’s linen closet.

Declan was a hurricane of lethal efficiency. He disarmed a second guard, snapped the man’s arm at the elbow, and used his body as a human shield against a volley of bullets from the remaining two men.

Meredith shrieked in horror, ducking behind the fallen armchair as blood splattered across the room.

“Emma! Go!” Declan roared, slamming the disarmed guard into the third gunman, sending both men crashing through the broken balcony doors into the rainy night outside.

Emma kicked open the hidden door inside the linen closet, revealing a narrow spiral staircase leading down to the mansion’s underground utility tunnels.

She plunged down the dark stairs, her lungs burning, carrying both girls tightly against her chest. Behind her, she heard the heavy sound of gunfire, smashing furniture, and the brutal sounds of hand-to-hand combat echoing down the stairwell.

She reached the concrete tunnel at the bottom of the stairs. The air was cold and damp, smelling of ozone and wet stone.

“Emma!” Grace sobbed, her little hands clutching Emma’s apron. “Where is Daddy?”

“Daddy is right behind us, baby,” Emma panted, pushing through a heavy steel fire door that led to the underground garage. “Keep your eyes closed, okay? Don't open them!”

She burst into the concrete garage.

Standing near a fleet of black armored SUVs was Marcus, Declan’s chief enforcer, holding a shotgun, his face filled with alarm as he saw Emma emerge alone with the girls.

“Emma!” Marcus yelled, racking his shotgun. “What’s happening upstairs? We heard shots!”

“Meredith and Julian!” Emma shouted, her voice raw. “It’s a coup! They have armed men in the nursery!”

Before Marcus could answer, the fire door burst open again.

Declan Shaw stepped into the garage.

His white dress shirt was torn and covered in blood—none of it his own. He carried a heavy tactical assault rifle he had taken from one of Julian’s men. His face was set in a mask of pure, unadulterated fury.

“Boss!” Marcus ran forward. “Are you hit?”

“I’m fine,” Declan spat out, racking the bolt of his rifle. “Meredith and Julian are locked in the west wing. Marcus, get the armored Mercedes ready. You are driving Emma and the twins out of Chicago immediately.”

Emma stepped toward Declan, her eyes wide. “What about you?”

Declan looked at Emma. He reached out, his blood-stained thumb gently wiping a spot of dirt from her cheek. The icy rage in his eyes softened for a fraction of a second as he looked at the woman who had saved his children twice in twenty minutes.

“I have an empire to clean up, Emma,” Declan said softly. “I’m taking my city back.”

“Declan, they have men outside the gates!” Emma pleaded, grabbing his forearm. “You can't fight them all alone!”

Declan reached into his coat and pulled out a small black leather book and a set of heavy brass keys. He pressed them into Emma’s hands.

“This book contains the private access codes to my safehouse in Safe Harbor, Michigan,” Declan said, his voice absolute and unyielding. “Take my daughters there. The keys belong to a cabin on the lake. Nobody knows it exists except me.”

June reached out from Emma’s arms, pulling on her father’s bloody sleeve. “Daddy… don't leave us.”

Declan leaned down, kissing both of his daughters on their foreheads, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “I will come for you, my sweet girls. I promise you. Trust Emma. She is going to keep you safe.”

He stood up, looking at Marcus. “If a single scratch comes to any of them, Marcus, don't bother coming back.”

“With my life, boss,” Marcus swore, opening the heavy rear door of the armored Mercedes.

Emma strapped the twins into the leather seats. She turned back to look at Declan one last time as he stood in the center of the concrete garage, rifle in hand, ready to wage war against his own blood.