Chapter 97 *
Scarlett’s POV
She was a research scientist. Worked at some government facility. Beautiful. Brilliant. Completely outside our world.
He fell hard. Fast.
Gave up everything for her. The arranged marriage. The family approval. Everything.
They got married quietly. Privately. Without Salvatore's blessing.
I was born a year later.
For the first five years of my life, everything was perfect. Or at least it seemed that way to a kid.
We lived in a private compound. Away from the family business. Away from the violence.
My mother worked from home. My father visited when he could.
Then came the trip. A family vacation to a private island.
I was five years old.
I remember the beach. The sand. The sound of the waves.
Then I remember the men. The guns. The screaming.
They took us. All of us.
Held us in some concrete building. Bare walls. No windows.
That's when I learned the truth.
My mother wasn't just a scientist. She was THE scientist.
She'd worked on something called Cosmos-1. An alien serum recovered from a crashed spacecraft.
The people who took us wanted it. Wanted her to recreate it.
She refused.
So they tortured my father. Right in front of us.
I can still hear his screams. Can still see the blood.
They went on for hours. Days. I lost track of time.
Then they turned to me.
Grabbed me. Held me down.
My mother was crying. Begging them to stop.
They didn't care.
They injected me with something. I felt it burn through my veins. Like fire in my bloodstream.
My father died that night. From the torture. From the pain.
They never even gave us his body.
The next morning, my mother made her choice.
She triggered the lab's self-destruct sequence.
The whole building went up in flames. Everyone inside died.
Everyone except me.
The Cosmos-1 in my system saved me. Enhanced me. Made me something more than human.
But also different. Incompatible with normal human genetics.
The doctors told Salvatore when he finally found me in the rubble.
"He'll never have children. His DNA is too altered."
My grandfather blamed my mother. Blamed me.
Called me a monster. Said I'd destroyed the Wolfe bloodline.
He raised me anyway. Trained me. Made me into his weapon.
But he never forgave me for what I cost him.
A legitimate heir. A proper succession. A future for the family name.
I came back to the present. Looked at my grandfather's tear-stained face.
He was still mumbling. Still lost in his grief.
I leaned forward. Lowered my voice. "Nonno. Listen to me."
His eyes focused slightly. Turned toward my voice.
"Scarlett and I will have children."
His breathing hitched.
"I had her blood tested. Sent it to the best geneticists in the country."
I paused. Let that sink in.
"Our genetic compatibility is ninety-nine point nine percent."
Salvatore's eyes went wide. He stared at me.
For a long moment, he didn't move. Didn't speak.
Then his lips parted.
"What... what did you just say?"
"Ninety-nine point nine percent match." I kept my voice steady. "The specialists confirmed it. Scarlett's genetics are as unusual as mine."
His whole body went rigid. The monitors started beeping faster.
"That means..." His voice came out strangled. "That means you can..."
"Yes." I nodded. "We can have children together. The probability is almost certain."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Then Salvatore's face transformed.
The gray, defeated look vanished. Color flooded back into his cheeks.
His eyes blazed with sudden, fierce intensity.
"Then what the hell are you doing here?" His voice came out strong. Clear. "Get back home and give me a great-grandchild!"
The shift was so sudden I almost laughed.
Two minutes ago he was crying. Now he was yelling at me with full force.
Dr. Morrison was going to have my ass for this.
"It's not that simple—"
"The hell it isn't!" He tried to sit up. The monitors beeped in alarm. "You've got a woman who can give you children! And you're wasting time in a hospital?"
"She wants a divorce. She thinks the marriage was only about the baby. Now that there's no baby, she wants out."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" His face turned bright red. "You found the only woman on this planet who can give you children and you're letting her DIVORCE you?"
"I'm not letting her—"
"The hell you're not!" He pointed a shaking finger at me. "If you can't keep her heart, keep her body! Lock her up if you have to!"
"I can't just imprison her..."
"Why the hell not?" His voice was getting louder. The monitors were going crazy. "You're Damon Wolfe! You own this city! You can do whatever you damn well please!"
He slumped back against the pillows. Breathing hard. "I don't care what it takes. I don't care how you do it. But you keep that woman. You understand me?"
"One child. One great-grandchild before I die. That's all I'm asking."
He paused.
"I'll give you an incentive. Ten million dollars. For every child. Boy or girl, I don't care."
I stared at him. "She doesn't care about money."
"Then give her something she does care about!" He waved his hand. "Freedom. Power. A seat at the table. Whatever she wants."
His expression had softened slightly. Just barely. "Don't lose her." His voice was quiet now. Almost pleading. "She's your only chance."
"I know." I stood up. "I'll handle it."