Chapter 10
The underground parking garage echoed with footsteps that weren’t entirely her own. Victoria had noticed the tail three levels ago, but in her condition, options for evasion were limited. At fourteen weeks pregnant, her center of gravity had shifted just enough to make her usual defensive moves risky.
She touched the panic button on her phone, signaling Elena, but knew help would take precious minutes to arrive. The baby moved restlessly, as if sensing her tension.
The attack came from her left – a shadow detaching itself from behind a concrete pillar. Victoria’s enhanced training kicked in automatically. She ducked the first strike, using her attacker’s momentum against him just as David had taught her. But there were two more assailants, and her stamina wasn’t what it used to be.
A knife glinted in the dim light. Victoria managed to deflect the blade, but the movement cost her balance. She stumbled slightly, one hand instinctively going to protect her stomach. The momentary weakness was all they needed.
One attacker grabbed her from behind while another approached with what looked like a syringe. “Nothing personal,” he said in a professionally detached voice. “Just cleaning up loose ends.”
The needle never reached her skin.
A dark figure burst from the shadows like an avenging demon, and Victoria recognized Damian’s savage grace even before he threw the first punch. He moved with lethal efficiency, each strike calculated to inflict maximum damage. Within moments, two attackers lay unconscious while the third fled, leaving behind the syringe.
“Are you hurt?” Damian demanded, his hands running over her body in a way that was both clinical and intimately familiar. His touch lingered on her waist, where her silk blouse had torn revealing a shallow cut.
“I’m fine,” she started to say, but her legs chose that moment to give out. Damian caught her easily, lifting her into his arms as if she weighed nothing.
“My private office,” he ordered his security team as they finally arrived. “And get Dr. Lee up there immediately.”
The elevator ride was torture – pressed against Damian’s chest, breathing in his scent, feeling the thundering of his heart that matched her own. The baby moved more actively than ever, and Victoria prayed he couldn’t feel it.
His private office suite included a fully equipped medical room – something she’d never questioned before but now seemed significant. He set her down carefully on the examination table but didn’t step away, his body bracketing hers as he examined the cut on her side.
“This needs cleaning,” he murmured, his breath warm against her skin as he leaned close. His fingers were gentle as he dabbed antiseptic on the wound, but his eyes burned with barely controlled rage. “Who wants you dead, Victoria?”
The use of her first name sent shivers down her spine. “I don’t know,” she lied, watching his face. “Corporate espionage gets ugly sometimes.”
“Don’t lie to me.” His hand cupped her face, thumb brushing her lower lip in a gesture that was both threat and caress. “Not now. Not after…” He broke off as his other hand splayed across her side, dangerously close to the slight swell of her stomach.
Their faces were inches apart. Victoria could feel the heat radiating from his body, see the conflict raging in his eyes. For a moment, she thought he might kiss her. For a moment, she might have let him.
The door opened, shattering the tension. Dr. Lee entered, and Victoria had never been more grateful to see their planted ally.
“Hospital,” the doctor declared after a brief examination. “We need to check for internal injuries.”
“I’ll drive her,” Damian said in a tone that brooked no argument.
The drive to the private clinic was charged with unspoken questions. Damian’s hand rested possessively on her thigh, and every time she shifted, his fingers tightened slightly. The baby seemed to respond to his proximity, moving more actively than usual.
The private clinic was one they’d carefully vetted, but Victoria’s heart still raced as Dr. Lee led them to an examination room. Damian showed no signs of leaving her side.
“Mr. Blackwood,” Dr. Lee began diplomatically, “perhaps you should —”
“I’m staying,” Damian cut him off, his hand still maintaining that possessive contact with Victoria’s lower back. “After what just happened, I’m not letting her out of my sight.”
The examination proceeded with excruciating tension. Every beep of the heart monitor seemed to echo in the quiet room. Victoria held her breath as Dr. Lee carefully worked around her midsection, praying the fetal monitor wouldn’t be necessary.
“I’ll need to check your blood pressure,” Dr. Lee said carefully, giving her a meaningful look. “And run some specific tests, given your… medical history.”
Damian’s head snapped up. “What medical history?”
“Standard protocols,” Victoria interjected smoothly, though her heart hammered. “After my car accident last year.”
“Interesting,” Damian murmured, his fingers tracing patterns on her wrist where he held it. “I don’t recall reading about any accident in your background check.”
“Not everything makes it into corporate files, Mr. Blackwood.”
His thumb pressed against her pulse point, feeling its rapid beat. “No,” he agreed softly. “Some secrets stay buried deeper than others.”
Dr. Lee moved to the cabinet, deliberately dropping a tray of instruments. The clatter made Damian turn, giving Victoria precious seconds to hide the pregnancy test results that had started printing from the automated blood analysis machine.
“Everything looks stable,” Dr. Lee announced after completing his careful dance around the truth. “But you’ll need rest. And perhaps…” he glanced meaningfully at Damian, “some protection.”
“Already arranged,” Damian said, helping Victoria down from the examination table with unexpected gentleness. His hands lingered at her waist, and for a heart-stopping moment, she thought he might feel the slight roundness there. “I’m having a security team installed at your apartment.”
“That’s not necessary —”
“It’s not negotiable.” His voice was soft but carried steel. “Someone tried to kill you in my building, Victoria. That makes it very personal.”
The drive back to Kane Industries was charged with unspoken tensions. Damian’s hand returned to her thigh, his thumb making small circles that sent heat through her body despite everything. The baby moved restlessly, as if responding to her elevated heart rate.
In the elevator up to the executive floor, Damian suddenly hit the stop button – an echo of their earlier confrontation that made Victoria’s pulse spike.
“Tell me what you’re hiding,” he demanded softly, crowding her against the wall. His body caged her in, but this time the gesture felt more protective than threatening. “Let me help you.”
Victoria looked up into his eyes – eyes that had once held such love for her, eyes that had watched coldly as he choked the life from her. The dichotomy made her dizzy. Or maybe it was his cologne, the familiar scent wrapping around her like a lover’s embrace.
“Damian,” she whispered, his name slipping out before she could stop it. Something flickered in his expression – recognition? desire? – and he leaned closer.
“That’s the first time you’ve called me by my first name,” he murmured, one hand coming up to cup her face. “It sounds… right on your lips.”
The baby kicked sharply, making Victoria gasp. Damian’s other hand instinctively went to her waist, and she knew he felt the movement. His eyes widened, fingers spreading across her stomach in a gesture that was heartbreakingly familiar from their married days.
“Victoria…” he started, but the elevator suddenly jerked back into motion.
They broke apart as the doors opened onto the executive floor. Victoria’s heart was racing as they walked to his office, his hand maintaining that protective contact at her lower back. She could feel the questions building in him, see the wheels turning behind his eyes.
“We need to talk,” he said as they entered his office, closing the door behind them. “About everything. About why you seem so familiar, about why I feel this overwhelming need to protect you, about —”
“About why she’s been lying to everyone?”
Selena’s voice cut through the tension like a knife. She stood by Damian’s desk, holding a cream-colored envelope that made Victoria’s blood run cold. Her grandmother’s personal stationery.
“I’ve been doing some interesting reading,” Selena continued, pulling out a letter. “About contingency plans and hidden heirs and…” her lips curved in a cruel smile, “faked deaths.”
Victoria’s hand went protectively to her stomach as Damian went very still beside her.
“Well,” Selena’s voice dripped with false sweetness as she held up the letter, “welcome back from the dead, dear sister.”
Victoria heard Damian’s sharp intake of breath, felt the moment his entire body tensed with recognition. The game was over. The masks were falling.
Meeting Selena’s triumphant gaze, Victoria straightened to her full height. One hand remained protectively over her stomach – over Damian’s child, over the future of the Kane legacy.
“Hello, Selena,” she said calmly, feeling Damian’s eyes burning into her profile. “Miss me?”
