The Viper Stepmother’s Mafia Justice Chapter 22
The Last Hunt
Dominic’s voice cracked through my earpiece.
“Front gate breached.”
Gunfire swallowed his next words.
That was my opening.
I raised two fingers to my squad.
“Hold formation. Suppressing fire.”
I moved through the compound like smoke. Room by room. Corridor by corridor. Every guard between me and Mia dropped. I didn’t count. I didn’t stop.
Mia stood against the far wall. Small. Shaking. Blood on her hands. Still standing.
I dropped to my knees and pulled her against my chest.
“I knew you’d come,” she whispered.
“Always.”
The hair-clip blade was still in her fist. I gently took it from her fingers.
“You did so well, baby.”
Behind us, Isabella screamed.
“She’s MY daughter! MY blood! MY body brought her into this world! You can’t take what’s MINE!”
I stood. Mia tucked behind my leg. My hand rested on her shoulder.
I looked at Isabella for a long time.
Then I raised one hand.
Two guards seized her arms. She thrashed. Kicked. Howled.
“You can’t do this! I’m her MOTHER!”
“No,” I said. “You’re evidence now.”
I turned to the guards. “Bind her. Gag her. Take her to the deepest cell under the estate. No windows. No name. No visitors. The same hole she claimed to escape from.”
Isabella’s screams echoed through the corridor as they dragged her away.
Mia pressed against my leg.
“Mommy, is it over?”
Outside, Dominic’s gunfire went silent. The compound was ours.
“Almost, baby. One more man left.”
Then Leo’s voice hit my earpiece.
“Mom. Vincent is moving.”
I looked through the shattered wall. A black SUV tore into the desert.
Vincent vanished before Dominic could box him in.
The convoy brought us home before dawn. Mia slept against my chest, fist locked in my collar.
The east wing still smelled of smoke. The medics found Shadow in the east wing. Slow. Alive.
I laid Mia on my bed and pulled the covers up. Shadow limped in behind us. Bandaged. He curled around Mia’s feet.
I watched them breathe.
Then I walked out.
I went to the garden alone. My hands were steady. My face was dry. That was worse.
Mia had been taken under my roof. On my watch.
The garden door opened. Bare feet crossed the stone.
Then Mia crashed into me. She locked both arms around my waist.
“Don’t go away. Don’t be scared alone. You taught me that.”
I pulled Mia onto my lap. Pressed my face into her hair.
Heavy boots crossed the stone behind us.
Dominic wrapped his arms around us both.
“Don’t say you’re not enough. You’re the one I chose. I’ve never been wrong.”
Mia burrowed deeper into my chest. Dominic’s arms tightened.
For a long time, no one moved. The desert wind blew warm across the garden. And for the first time since Isabella walked into our gala, I exhaled.
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