Just three months after divorcing the only woman who had ever held my heart, I received a phone call from the hospital at 10:03 p.m.
The news was devastating: my ex-wife had been discovered unconscious, suffering from a serious head injury.
My name was Lucas Moretti, Detroit’s most notorious underworld kingpin.
I commanded an army of more than 800 armed men and had built a reputation as a man who feared absolutely nothing.
Yet that night, for the first time in my life, I felt genuine terror.
Three months after divorcing the only woman I had ever truly loved, I received an unexpected call from Wayne County General Hospital.
My ex-wife, Hannah Campbell, had been found unconscious, suffering from a devastating head injury.
I was Lucas Moretti, Detroit’s most ruthless underworld boss, commanding more than 800 armed men.
I’d survived countless threats and never allowed anyone to witness my fear. But nothing could have prepared me for the nurse’s next words.
“Mr. Moretti, your former wife is approximately sixteen weeks pregnant.”
My bourbon glass slipped from my hand and shattered across the floor.
Sixteen weeks. That meant Hannah had been carrying my baby before our marriage officially ended.
I had deliberately broken her heart to keep her away from the dangers surrounding my criminal empire.
I made her believe our entire relationship had been built on deception, hoping she would hate me enough to walk away and never return.
But now she was unconscious in a hospital bed, carrying the child I hadn’t even known existed.
I raced to the hospital with my younger sister, Paige, demanding to know what had happened.
The doctors confirmed that Hannah had sustained serious head trauma and remained unconscious.
There was one fragile piece of good news: our baby’s heartbeat was still steady.
However, the medical team had discovered something deeply troubling.
An envelope had been concealed beneath Hannah’s sweater.
When it was opened, I found confidential shipping documents connected to illegal firearms shipments, along with a handwritten note addressed specifically to Paige.
My blood ran cold. Hannah had somehow uncovered the truth behind the circumstances of our divorce.
She hadn’t been running away from me. She had been trying to protect me.
The doctors soon delivered another devastating warning.
Hannah might require emergency brain surgery, and the procedure could put our unborn child’s life in serious danger.
When they finally allowed me into her room, I approached her bedside and gently wrapped my fingers around hers.
For months, I had convinced myself that staying away was the only way to keep her safe.
Now I was begging her to open her eyes.
I told her I still loved her. I apologized for every cruel word, every lie, and every moment I had made her believe she meant nothing to me.
But before I could say anything more, the situation took an even darker turn.
A detective arrived at the hospital with disturbing information.
Investigators suspected Hannah had been abducted and forced into an unmarked van before she was discovered.
Then Paige’s phone vibrated.
An encrypted message had appeared, accompanied by a photograph of our family home.
There were only four words beneath it: “Give back the ledgers.” Suddenly, everything became clear.
The Russell syndicate had targeted Hannah because she had obtained their confidential shipment records.
And they were willing to do whatever it took to get those documents back.
For three months, I had hidden behind lies, convinced that destroying my marriage would protect the people I loved.
But now my wife and unborn child were fighting for their lives because of a war I thought I could keep away from them.
My enemies had made one fatal miscalculation.
They believed I was still the man who had willingly walked away from his family.
They were about to discover how wrong they were.
I wasn’t going to start another war for power, territory, or revenge.
This time, I was going to finish the war that had threatened everything I had ever loved.
