“You want to fight me here?”

He had long expected this day to come, but not like this—not in this place, not tonight.

Maxine knew the venue was far from perfect. Still, after years of hunting him, she couldn’t let this opportunity slip through her fingers now that their paths had finally crossed. If she let him slip back into Delta’s shadows, finding him again would be nearly impossible.

“Our paths have crossed. Why wait for tomorrow?” she asked calmly.

Miguel’s laugh was low and bitter.

“You’ve gone mad. This is Ublento, not Delta. If we fight here, this could drag on through the night. And when the rain stops and the”

“When the sun comes up, neither of us will get what we want. We’ll be lucky to walk away without law enforcement getting involved.”

Maxine’s gaze fell, a silent acknowledgment of his point. In Delta or Podgend, she could unleash her fury freely. But Ublento had order, and bloodshed here would come at a cost. Only the pouring rain tonight gave Miguel and her the cover they needed. Once the rain stopped and daylight returned, neither could afford to linger.

Sensing her hesitation, Miguel pressed on.

“We can settle our feud back in Delta. If you don’t find me, I’ll find you. There’s no point dying here for pride’s sake.”

Maxine considered it for a beat and then nodded faintly.

“You’re right.”

Her mission tonight was not vengeance—it was retrieval. She had come for Elliana’s baby girl.

At that very moment, the sharp cry of a newborn pierced the storm outside.

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Everyone froze. Heads turned toward the operating room door. Jason, pale and trembling, forced himself upright with the help of his men. His body was failing, but his heart leapt at the sound. A baby’s cry. But there wasn’t much he could do to stop Maxine and Miguel.

Maxine’s eyes gleamed with sudden certainty. That sound could only belong to the firstborn—the heiress she had come to claim. Without hesitation, she strode to the operating room door, pushed it open, and disappeared inside.

Jason tried to follow, but pain seized his chest. Blood filled his mouth as he collapsed against his men, whispering inwardly, “I’m sorry, Cole… I failed to guard Elliana and her babies.”

Inside, the tension eased for just a moment. Paulina and the medical team breathed a collective sigh of relief—the first baby was safe.

Elliana lay spent, drenched in sweat, her body trembling from exhaustion. One child was safe, but another was still waiting to come into the world. She had to conserve her strength.

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