Chapter 5 - BLOOD AND SNOW
By 8:00 a.m., the storm had passed, leaving behind a world draped in blinding white snow under a pale, freezing sun.
Inside the cabin, the atmosphere was tense and clinical. The master bedroom on the ground floor had been transformed into a makeshift delivery suite. Sterile white sheets covered the large bed, and portable monitoring equipment hummed softly beside the nightstand.
Elena lay back against three pillows, her knuckles white as she gripped Dr. Chen’s arm through a powerful, crushing contraction.
"Breathe through it, Elena! Deep breaths!" Dr. Chen commanded softly, checking the portable ultrasound monitor. "You're at nine centimeters. He's fully engaged."
"He's... too early, Sarah," Elena wept, the exhaustion finally breaking through her iron wall of composure. "He's only thirty-two weeks... what if his lungs aren't ready?"
"I gave you two doses of steroids to speed up his lung development two hours ago," Sarah assured her, wiping Elena's sweaty forehead with a cool cloth. "He weighs at least four and a half pounds. He’s going to be fine, but you need to give me everything you have on the next push."
Standing by the window, Martha kept her eyes fixed on the long driveway. Suddenly, her body went rigid.
"Elena," Martha whispered, her voice trembling with sheer terror. "We have a problem."
Dr. Chen looked up sharply. "What is it?"
"Dust clouds at the edge of the tree line," Martha said, her face draining of color. "Three black SUVs. They just turned onto the private road."
Elena’s heart slammed against her ribs. "How... how did he find us?"
"The satellite laptop," Martha gasped, realizing the terrible truth. "When you sent those files to the US Attorney... the server pinged a regional cell tower in Sturgeon Bay!"
"Sarah, how long?" Elena demanded, her voice rising in panic as another massive contraction hit her body.
"I can see his head, Elena!" Dr. Chen shouted, stepping into position at the foot of the bed. "You can't run! You have to push right now!"
Outside, the roar of heavy V8 engines echoed through the quiet forest. Three black Cadillac Escalades burst into the clearing, spinning their tires in the snow before coming to a violent stop thirty yards from the cabin porch.
The doors flew open. Eight heavily armed security guards in tactical gear stepped out, taking up defensive positions behind the vehicles.
From the rear door of the middle SUV, Luca Vital stepped out onto the crisp snow. He wore a heavy black wool coat, his face hollow, dark circles under his furious eyes. Beside him stepped Damian—his secondary commander—holding a suppressed weapon.
"Surround the house!" Luca ordered, his voice echoing off the pine trees. "Nobody fires a shot unless I give the command! My wife and child are inside!"
Luca marched up the wooden steps of the porch, drawing a heavy chrome pistol from his coat. He didn't bother knocking. He raised his heavy boot and kicked the oak door violently inward!
The door crashed open against the interior wall!
"ELENA!" Luca shouted into the quiet cabin, his heavy boots crunching on the wood floor as he stepped into the living room. "It’s over! You have nowhere left to run!"
He stepped toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms.
Suddenly, Martha stepped out from the kitchen doorway, holding a heavy double-barreled hunting shotgun aimed squarely at Luca’s chest.
"Take one more step, Luca," Martha said, her hands shaking but her eyes burning with pure hatred, "and I will blow a hole in your heart."
Luca stopped, his eyes narrowing in utter contempt. "Step aside, old woman. You are way out of your depth."
Before Martha could react, Damian stepped through the broken doorway behind Luca, raising a stun taser, and fired two metal prongs straight into Martha’s shoulder!
A high-voltage surge ripped through Martha’s body. She gasped, dropped the shotgun, and collapsed onto the hardwood floor, convulsing helplessly.
"Clear the kitchen," Luca ordered cold-bloodedly, stepping over Martha’s body toward the master bedroom door.
He reached out, grabbing the brass doorknob, and turned it.
The door swung open.
Luca stepped into the room, his weapon lowered at his side, ready to drag his wife back to Chicago.
He froze.
In the center of the room, Dr. Sarah Chen stood in front of the bed, holding a pair of sterile surgical shears.
On the bed, Elena lay propped against the pillows, her face pale, her hair soaked with sweat, holding a tiny, pink, squirming bundle wrapped in a warm flannel blanket against her bare chest.
A sharp, clear, high-pitched cry shattered the silence of the room.
Waaaah! Waaaah!
Luca stared, his breath catching in his throat. His chrome pistol slipped from his fingers, falling onto the rug with a dull thud.
"Get out," Elena whispered.
May you like
Her voice was quiet, but it carried a force so terrifying that even the air in the room seemed to freeze. She looked up at her husband, her brown eyes completely hollow of love, filled only with absolute, unyielding hatred.
"You're too late, Luca," Elena said softly, looking down at her newborn son, whose tiny fingers were curled tight around her thumb. "He was born five minutes ago. And his legal birth certificate has already been filed with the State of Wisconsin under my name alone."
