Chapter 1

For three years, I've been the wife of Dante Moretti, the head of the Chicago Bratva. My only purpose was to give him an heir. Today, I stared at the second pink line on a pregnancy test-a death sentence.

But my husband didn't want a wife. He wanted a vessel.

Hiding outside his office door, I heard him talking to his sister, Isabella. They were placing a million-dollar bet on the gender of my unborn child.

"But what about her?" Isabella asked. "Once she gives you the heir, she'll be useless."

The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating.

"She served her purpose," Dante said, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper. "A broodmare is only valuable when it can produce. After that..."

He didn't have to finish. In his world, useless things are discarded. Violently. Every touch, every calculated smile had been a lie to secure his dynasty.

He saw a legacy, not a child. He saw a vessel, not a wife.

The only way to win his game was to knock the whole board over. I pulled out my phone and called the clinic my friend had told me about.

"Yes," I said, my voice a stranger's, hollow and steady. "I'd like to schedule a termination."

Chapter 1

Elara POV:

The second pink line appeared, a death sentence scrawled in faint dye. I was carrying the heir to Dante Moretti, the head of the Chicago Bratva. For three years, this was my sole purpose. But now, it was my only leverage.

My stomach turned, a sour mix of morning sickness and pure terror. Our marriage wasn't a union; it was a contract signed in blood and sealed with my father's business debts. Dante didn't want a wife to love. He wanted a womb to produce a legacy.

I clutched the test stick, the plastic slick with sweat. I had to tell him. It was a rule. But not yet. Not until I had a plan. My foolish hope that he might soften, that a child might bridge the chasm between us, died a little more each day.

I found my legs and walked through the cold, silent mansion he called our home. Every surface was polished marble or dark wood, reflecting a distorted version of myself-a ghost in a gilded cage. His office door was slightly ajar, the low murmur of voices spilling into the hallway.

I paused, my hand hovering over the handle. His voice, a low rumble that could command armies or freeze blood, was unmistakable.

"The doctor confirmed it this morning. She's pregnant."

My breath hitched. He knew. Of course he knew. The doctor reported to him, not to me. I was just the vessel.

Isabella, his sister and a woman with venom for blood, let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Finally. Took you long enough to break her in. I was getting bored."

"It's done,"Dante said, his voice flat, devoid of any emotion. No joy, no relief. Just... finality. "Now the real game begins."

"What's the wager this time?"Isabella asked, her voice alight with cruel amusement.

My blood ran cold. A wager?

"A million dollars says it's a boy,"Dante stated, as if discussing the weather. "If it's a girl, you can have the penthouse on Rush Street."

My world tilted. They were betting on my child. On a life that was nothing more than a chip on their poker table.

"Deal,"Isabella purred. "But what about her? Once she gives you the heir, she'll be useless. Are you just going to keep her around like a pretty piece of furniture?"

The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating. I held my breath, my ear pressed against the cold wood of the door.

"She served her purpose,"Dante said, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper that I knew was reserved for death sentences. "A broodmare is only valuable when it can produce. After that..."He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to. In the world of the Bratva, things that were no longer useful were discarded. Violently.

My stomach heaved, and I stumbled back, clamping a hand over my mouth to stifle a sob. This wasn't just about a loveless marriage. This was about survival. My child's survival. He wouldn't get his hands on this baby. I wouldn't let my child be raised by monsters.

The love I once foolishly hoped might grow had been a lie. Every touch, every calculated smile-it was all part of his strategy.

A cold, hard clarity washed over me, extinguishing the last embers of hope. I was a pawn in his game, and the only way to win was to take the most valuable piece off the board entirely.

I pulled my phone from my pocket, my fingers shaking as I found the number for the contact my friend had given me months ago-a man who specialized in making people disappear.

A calm, professional voice answered on the second ring. "Yes?"

I looked back at the closed office door, behind which my husband was betting on the life of our child. The child I would steal from him.

"It's me,"I said, my voice a stranger's, hollow and steady. "The plan is active. I need a new identity and an exit strategy. I'm taking my child, and we are disappearing."