He Kicked Down the Door to Destroy the Maid — Until Her 3-Year-Old Son Stood in Front of His Sick Daughter With a Hidden Pink Backpack

Claire’s voice broke through the red haze in Gabriel’s mind.

He froze. His chest heaved as he looked over his shoulder.

Abigail was trembling, her hands clamped over her ears, tears streaming down her cheeks. Little Lucy was holding Abigail’s skirt with one hand and clinging to Claire with the other, his wide, innocent eyes watching Gabriel with a mixture of terror and awe.

Gabriel looked back down at Julian, whose face had turned a deep purple, his fingernails scratching uselessly at Gabriel’s iron grip.

Gabriel let go.

Julian rolled onto his side, coughing violently and gasping for air, clutching his crushed throat.

"Marcus," Gabriel said, his voice flat, hollow, and absolute. "Drag him to the basement vault. Take Evelyn with him. Call Federal Prosecutor Vance. Give him the security footage, the audio recordings, and the toxicological evidence. I want every asset Julian owns frozen by midnight, and I want them both charged with attempted aggravated murder and conspiracy to commit treason."

"No! Gabriel! Please! I loved you!" Evelyn wailed as two burly guards dragged her across the marble floor, her expensive heels scraping loudly against the stone.

"Get your hands off me! I’m a Mercer!" Julian croaked, but the guards showed no mercy, dragging him down the hall into the darkness like a sack of trash.

Within minutes, the heavy doors closed. The screaming faded.

The vast foyer was suddenly, eerily silent, save for the patter of heavy rain outside against the high arched windows.

Gabriel stood alone in the center of the grand room, surrounded by broken glass, dropped pills, and the shattered remnants of the family he thought he had. His hands were shaking. The realization hit him like a tidal wave—if not for a sharp-eyed maid and a fearless three-year-old boy, he would have come home tonight to his daughter’s lifeless body.

Slowly, the mafia king turned toward Claire and the children.