CHAPTER 6 — The Child They Would Kill For
CHAPTER 6 — The Child They Would Kill For
The attack lasted less than three minutes.
When it was over...
Three masked gunmen lay unconscious.
Two had escaped.
The living room was in ruins.
Broken ornaments covered the floor.
The Christmas tree leaned sideways.
Snow drifted through the shattered window.
Dominic immediately searched for Noah.
"There!"
Grace called.
Noah slowly crawled out from behind the couch.
He wasn't hurt.
But he was terrified.
Dominic dropped to one knee.
"You okay?"
Noah nodded shakily.
Then, without warning—
He threw himself into Dominic's arms.
"I was scared."
Dominic held him tightly.
"So was I."
Grace watched in silence.
For seven years...
She had imagined Noah meeting his father.
Never like this.
Never surrounded by bullets.
An hour later...
The surviving attacker finally spoke.
Vincent questioned him inside the garage.
"Who hired you?"
The man laughed through broken teeth.
"You'll never understand."
Vincent slammed him against the wall.
"The boy."
"Why him?"
The attacker smiled.
"He's worth billions."
Dominic entered the room.
"What does that mean?"
The man looked directly at Noah through the open doorway.
"His blood."
Dominic's heartbeat slowed.
"What about it?"
The attacker laughed again.
"Ask Dr. Evelyn Carter."
Grace's face turned pale.
"Our pediatric specialist?"
The man nodded.
"She already sold the research."
Dominic felt a wave of dread.
"What research?"
The attacker whispered,
"The boy carries a naturally occurring genetic mutation."
Silence.
"A mutation linked to extraordinary resistance against several aggressive neurological diseases."
Grace covered her mouth.
The attacker continued.
"Pharmaceutical companies..."
"Private investors..."
"Government contractors..."
"They've all been looking for children like him."
Dominic felt sick.
"They wanted to kidnap him."
The attacker smiled.
"No."
"They wanted to own him."
That afternoon...
Dominic and Grace rushed to St. Catherine Children's Hospital.
Dr. Evelyn Carter was waiting.
She looked exhausted.
Ashamed.
"I never wanted this."
Dominic slammed the medical file onto her desk.
"You sold my son's records."
Tears filled her eyes.
"They threatened my family."
Grace spoke quietly.
"Tell us everything."
The doctor nodded.
"When Noah was born, routine screening found an extremely rare genetic marker."
"How rare?"
"One in tens of millions."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"What does it do?"
"We don't fully know."
She hesitated.
"But early studies suggest it could help scientists understand how to prevent several devastating inherited brain disorders."
Grace looked horrified.
"So they hunted him..."
"Not because he's sick."
The doctor shook her head.
"No."
"Because he's healthy."
Dominic slowly realized the truth.
Alessandro Romano had never cared about revenge.
He cared about money.
Power.
Control.
Noah wasn't merely Dominic Russo's son.
He was the key to a scientific fortune worth billions.
As they left the hospital, Dominic took Noah's small hand.
The boy looked up.
"Are bad guys still coming?"
Dominic knelt in front of him.
"They will."
Noah swallowed nervously.
"Will you leave again?"
Dominic felt tears sting his eyes.
"Never."
"I already lost seven years."
He kissed Noah's forehead.
"I'm not losing another minute."
Across the street, inside a parked black SUV, an elderly man watched the family through tinted windows.
His silver hair was neatly combed.
His expensive suit was immaculate.
He smiled as Noah laughed at something Grace said.
Then he spoke quietly into his phone.
"Phase Two."
A cold smile spread across his face.
"Bring me the child..."
"...alive."
May you like
The SUV pulled away before anyone noticed.
And Dominic had no idea that the war to save his son had only just begun.
