Page 169 of The Last Hope

“I’ll take care of it. Alexei, cover for me,” Roman said, getting up and heading toward the fridge at the back of the warehouse.

I frowned as I heard shouting and growling outside. Struggling to my feet, I told the boys to stay put before making my way to the entrance—and froze at the sight before me. Antonio was writhing on the ground, Nikolai on top of him, punching him over and over again, blood spraying, bones cracking.

“Nikolai, that’s enough ! They want him alive. For Rafael, remember ? He has to confess at the trial—how he forced Selina to stay with him. It will prove she has the right to keep custody of Rafael ! Rasili Senior wants Rafael, no matter the cost.” Sasha said.

My breath caught. They wanted to take Rafael from me ? Antonio and his father wanted to steal my baby ?

I startled as I felt a vibration against my chest. Reaching into my bra, I pulled out the phone Ferna had given me, frowning at the message on the screen:

We have proof and a witness that will guarantee you keep custody of your son. You don’t need his confession to keep Rafael. You don’t need him… alive.

Slowly, I lifted my gaze from the phone to Antonio—bleeding, coughing, groaning in pain. My eyes shifted to my sons, huddled together, frightened, exhausted, hurt. Then to my husband, so tense I could see his veins pulsing. His weary face twisted my heart.

Antonio would never stop. He would never let us live in peace. AndCosaNostrawould never kill the heir of a great family.

I slid the phone into my pocket and picked up a gun from one of the lifeless men on the ground. No one noticed me as I stepped forward, my stride firm.

“So,Cara mia? Are you going to kill me ?” Antonio chuckled as I raised the gun toward him. And to my surprise, my hand didn’t shake. My mind was calm. I felt… at peace, as if I had always known this moment would come.

“Solnychko,” my husband called softly from a few meters away. But I shook my head. I felt everyone’s eyes on me, but no one moved. No one dared. A war might begin today because of what I was about to do, but I couldn’t keep living with an eye over my shoulder—not with a family to protect.

“I swore I would never become anyone’s monster. I swore I would never let your darkness reach me. And I succeeded. I protected my heart and soul, and I gave them to the man who deserved them. That is the greatest victory I will ever have,” I said, my voice steady and calm. His eyes darkened with every word. “But today, I will make an exception. For you, Antonio.”

“Selina,Solnychko, you don’t have to do this. Just say the word, and he won’t leave here alive,moy lyubov’,” Nikolai said, taking a step toward me, his hands raised as if taming a frightened beast.

“He made me shoot you, Nikolai. The man I love. In front of our sons,” I said with a sad smile, shaking my head. “I will be your monster today, Antonio Rasili. The last face you will ever see. The face of a fulfilled woman who will live a life full of love with the man she adores, with the children she cherishes. And you ? You will be forgotten. You will be nothing but a bad memory.”

“You can’t forget me, Selina ! I marked you ! You are mine ! Mine !” he shouted, trying to lift himself but failing—Nikolai had broken his legs. “You can’t kill me, Selina ! You can’t—”

The first shot went off almost on its own, startling me. My finger had barely brushed the trigger before the bullet lodged in his chest. The second shook my arm. The third, my heart. And with each bullet that buried itself in his body, I felt lighter. I kept pulling the trigger over and over until the gun clicked empty.

Antonio’s body lay still. He would never move again. He would never reach us again. He would never haunt me again. Never hurt me again.

A warm hand wrapped around my wrist, gently taking the gun from my grasp.

“It’s over,moy lyubov’. You’re free.”

“Yes. It’s over,” I nodded, leaning into him as his arm wrapped around me, his hand resting against my stomach, while two helicopters approached in the distance.

Yes, it was over. For Antonio.

But for me, for my family… this was only the beginning.

Chapter forty-three

Nikolai

“Am I going to be a big brother?” Rafael whispered, sitting on my lap, drawing the attention of his brothers, who were seated on one of the many couches in our hospital suite in Sochi.

Selina had lost consciousness in the helicopter, driving me insane. Between Mikhail, who kept losing blood, and Selina moaning in pain from her stomach, we all thought we were going to lose our minds—my brothers and I.

My gaze fell on my wife lying on the bed, a monitor tracking her vital signs. The marks on her face reignited the rage that had been consuming me for the past two days, but now, there was no one left to take revenge on. Antonio was dead. My wife had killed him. MySolnychko, my Selina—so brave, so beautiful, so intelligent, so generous.

“I hope it’s a girl,” Roman said from his seat on the windowsill, his eyes never leaving my wife. His entire body radiated tension, and it would be that way for days—for all of us. They had touched our children, one of our women, our family, reminding us of our responsibilities, our duty as protectors.

“A female presence will do you all a lot of good when you’re older,” Elif smiled, holding Andrei and Alexei close.

“We’re back with the treasure !” Sienna announced as she walked into the room, carrying plastic bags full of sandwiches, closely followed by Sasha, who was balancing a box of drinks.

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