Fractured Bloodlines

MIA POV The warehouse plunged into darkness. My father’s voice slithered through the shadows like poison. “Come out, Mia. It’s time to stop playing house with the devil.” Damien’s body tensed against mine, his hand still pressed protectively over my belly even as fresh blood seeped through the bandages. His c**k was still buried deep inside me from moments ago, our bodies slick with sweat, c*m, and his blood. “Stay behind me,” he growled, voice weak but filled with lethal rage. He slowly pulled out of me, c*m dripping down my thighs as he grabbed the gun from the bedside table. I clutched the bloody robe around my naked body, heart shattering into pieces. The paternity test. The drugs. My own father standing in the darkness with armed men. “Dad… why?” My voice cracked. “I gave up everything for you!” A flashlight beam cut through the dark, landing on us. My father stepped forward, looking every bit the cold betrayer he had become. “Because Voss took everything from me years ago,” he said flatly. “Sophia was supposed to be mine. The empire was supposed to be mine. You were just the tool to get it back.” Damien tried to stand but stumbled. I caught him, holding his heavy, bleeding body upright. “You’re lying,” Damien rasped, aiming the gun with a shaking hand. “I never touched your business until you came crawling for money.” My father laughed. “You really think the baby is yours? The fertility drugs I had administered through the wedding wine were Harrington’s special blend. That child carries my bloodline now — engineered through you.” Nausea hit me like a wave. I felt dirty. Used. Ruined in the worst way. “Shut up!” I screamed. “I don’t believe you!” Damien’s grip on me tightened. “Mia… look at me.” His dark eyes burned into mine despite the pain. “I don’t care what the tests say. This baby is ours. I felt it the moment I was inside you that first night. You’re mine. Fight with me.” Tears blurred my vision. I nodded, grabbing a second gun from the drawer. Gunfire exploded. Damien shoved me down behind the metal bed frame and returned fire with deadly accuracy. Two of my father’s men dropped. My father dove for cover. “You stupid girl!” my father shouted. “He’ll kill you just like he killed Sophia!” “He didn’t kill her!” I fired back, the recoil jarring my arms. “You did! All of you did!” Damien pulled me close during a brief lull, kissing me hard and desperate, tasting of blood and salt. “If I don’t make it out,” he whispered against my lips, “run. Take the car. The real paternity test is in the glove compartment. I had you tested properly. This baby is mine.” Another round of bullets ricocheted above us. I kissed him back fiercely, pouring all my fear, love, and anger into it. “We’re getting out together,” I said. “You don’t get to die after ruining me like this.” He smirked weakly, even as blood trickled from his mouth. “There’s my filthy little wife.” We moved as one — Damien covering me while I helped support his weight. We fought our way toward the back exit, bullets flying, glass shattering. My father’s voice chased us the entire way. “You’ll never be free of this, Mia! The baby belongs to the highest bidder!” We burst out into the rainy night. Damien collapsed against the car, breathing ragged. I shoved him into the passenger seat and got behind the wheel, hands slick with his blood. As I floored the accelerator, my phone lit up with a new video message from an unknown number. I played it while speeding through the dark streets. It was my father… standing over a hospital bed where a heavily pregnant woman lay unconscious. Sophia. She was alive. My father smiled at the camera. “Surprise, daughter. The real game is just beginning.” The video ended. Damien’s eyes widened in horror as he watched. “Sophia…” he whispered, voice breaking completely for the first time. Rain hammered the windshield. Sirens wailed in the distance. My father’s men were already chasing us. And the woman Damien once loved the mother of his first child was alive.