Chapter 304: She Is Pregnant with My Child

Sarah's POV:

I stared at Stefano in shock, then turned back to the middle-aged woman in front of me, studying her features closely. Green eyes, delicate face—she did resemble Stefano.

"Is she Mrs. Bianchi?" My voice seemed to float in the air.

Stefano pulled me behind him. "Mom, I never intended to disappear from the world. After all, I'm your son."

Suddenly, a slap landed on his face.

"You remember you're my son? You grew up in Italy, then went to Germany for school. We hardly spent any time together. Do you know how much I longed for you to be by my side? And what did you do? Instead of coming back to New York, you ran off to this war-torn place to be a doctor!"

She slapped him again, but this time with less force.

Stefano gently grabbed her wrist. "Mom, I was wrong. But I'm back now, aren't I?"

He reached out to hug her, but she pushed him away.

He called out, "Mama, please believe me. I regret my reckless decision. Every day in Sudan, I missed you."

Mrs. Bianchi's eyes grew moist. She raised her hand again, but this time the slap was more like a caress. Her hand lingered on his face, fingers gently stroking his stubble.

"Then why did it take you so long to leave?"

"Mom, you haven't been to Sudan. You don't know what it's like there. The people live in extreme hardship, with no freedom. They don't have cars, and even if they do, it's hard to find gas. They struggle to find food. I wanted to leave, truly, but the conditions were unbearable. Even with my lofty ideals as a doctor, I couldn't stand it. But I was trapped."

Stefano looked steadily at his mother.

Mrs. Bianchi lowered her hand, stepped back, and glanced between Stefano and me. Then she said coldly, "I've been in contact with the head of MSF here. The headquarters issued orders for your transfer and arranged transportation, but you refused."

I turned to Stefano in surprise. He looked a bit embarrassed. "At that time, I had a situation, someone I had to save. I couldn't leave. I had to wait for another opportunity."

"You mean her!" Mrs. Bianchi pointed a gun at me.

Stefano squinted slightly, a hint of tension in his eyes, but he still smiled. "Mom, that's all in the past. I'm here safely now, aren't I? Come on, I long for your warm embrace."

Stefano moved closer to his mother like a child seeking comfort, but Mrs. Bianchi remained stiff.

"Stefano, every time you do something wrong or want something from me, you act like this. Your sweet talk is much better than your late father's. You really have a silver tongue. But today, what I must do, you can't stop."

Stefano's expression turned cold, his smile vanished. "Mom, I won't let you hurt her."

Mrs. Bianchi sneered. "How do you know I want to hurt her and not offer her a billion dollars to stay away from you?"

"Mom! I've been the one pursuing her! She's done nothing wrong."

"But do you know that she caused our family to lose numerous assets and wealth, and almost cost me my son?! Can you honestly say you didn't leave America because of her?"

Stefano bowed his head in silence for a moment. "She just made me realize what I truly want to do. I want to be a doctor."

"The Bianchi family doesn't need doctors! I sent you to medical school, not to become a doctor! You're the only legitimate heir of the Bianchi family. I want to see you achieve greatness for our family! And you, for this woman," she pointed at me again, her arm trembling, voice sharp and hoarse, "gave it all up. Do you know how much effort I put in to see you on the throne of glory?"

"Mom! This is all what you want. Have you ever asked me what I want?" Stefano roared. "If I could choose, I'd rather be an ordinary doctor than being born into the Bianchi family!"

Mrs. Bianchi shook her head in disbelief. Suddenly, she yanked me from his side, and a burly man emerged from the shadows, gripping my shoulder with his massive hand.

Stefano gasped and tried to step forward, but Mrs. Bianchi blocked him. "If you dare resist me, I'll put a bullet in her head right now!"

The gun's silver barrel pointed at my temple again. I felt a bead of sweat on my forehead.

The empty house fell silent for a moment.

"Mom," Stefano's voice became humble, "I promise you, I'll return to New York, manage the family business, and give you the glory and splendor you desire. Just let her go."

"Just now, I don't know if you heard, but she was begging me to let you go. Your feelings are so genuine and deep, I almost cried. But!" Her voice suddenly grew louder. "It's too late now. She's a target of the CIA."

Stefano froze, staring blankly at his mother. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "You planned all this? No, it can't be. Tell me you didn't!"

My heart skipped a beat, my mind racing. What did Stefano mean? What had Mrs. Bianchi planned?

"Everything Sarah and her husband encountered in East Africa was because of you, wasn't it? You leaked the information, created a perfect story to attract the CIA's attention? No, Mom, do you know what you've done?"

He clutched his head in pain. "But I can't understand how you managed it."

"I just got word that an African hacker group on the Dark Web was looking for someone to smuggle goods. And coincidentally, I found out these two were heading to Africa, so I gave them an idea. No need to send someone myself, avoiding police attention in the US, and they could disappear perfectly. What a great idea! Hopefully, even their bodies would be eaten clean by hyenas on the African continent!"

Mrs. Bianchi's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Mom! I can regain all the lost assets, but if you kill her, I'll lose her forever. Killing her won't solve anything."

Mrs. Bianchi tilted her head, looking at her son. "My son, are you still the heir to the mafia? Have you forgotten the mafia's motto? We never let our enemies laugh behind our backs. You know what kind of business our family is in, don't you? I don't have a hospital for you to save people."

Stefano's shoulders trembled slightly. He whispered, "Mom, I know you hate her and Federico..."

Mrs. Bianchi's sharp voice interrupted him. "And you still want to stop me!"

She raised the gun again, eyes blazing with months of accumulated anger. She had lost her husband, while his mistress safely gave birth to a child. The vast assets were taken over by the Caposta family, and her son had run away, gone missing. She faced all the hardships alone, chewing on her pain daily.

She had every reason to hate me and Federico.

"Mom! I love her!" Stefano's eyes reddened, staring at the gun in his mother's hand. "I love her so much. If she dies, I don't know if I can live alone."

Mrs. Bianchi frowned angrily. "She's a married woman! She has a husband, one much more sinister but wealthier than you."

"I know, I'm very aware. But I still love her. I beg you, don't kill her." He was almost on his knees.

But the more humble he was, the angrier Mrs. Bianchi became. Seeing her beloved son fall for a married woman, an enemy of their family, made her furious.

Stefano's plea had no effect, only further enraging his mother.

Mrs. Bianchi let out a cold laugh. "Don't worry, you won't want to die just because a woman does. You have your late father's genes."

Then she turned and looked at me coldly, nodding to the burly man behind me. "Take her away, hand her over to those who want her."

"Mom! No! She's pregnant! She's carrying my child," Stefano shouted.

Everyone froze, stunned.