Chapter 234 Don't Come Down Savannah “You're pregnant?” “Are you pregnant?” The words collided in the air, spoken at the exact same moment by two different men, carrying two very different weights. Jace’s voice cracked, emotional and disbelieving. Julius’s was sharp, almost triumphant—like he’d just found another weapon to use against me. Every eye in the room turned toward me. The gun was still pointed. Blood was still pooling on the floor. Paula was still lying there, gasping weakly now, her breaths shallow and uneven. And yet somehow, this—this—was the moment everything hinged on. Chloe’s lips curved into a slow, poisonous smile. “What? You didn't tell uncle Jace that he's going to be a grand daddy soon?” I met her gaze and felt something dark coil in my chest. Rage. Fear. Defiance. I refused to give her the satisfaction of watching me break. “Yes,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “I’m pregnant.” The silence that followed was heavy, crushing. Like the house itself was holding its breath. Jace stared at me. Not the guarded, cautious stare he’d been wearing all day but something stripped bare. His face drained of color as realization set in. Shock gave way to disbelief, then to something far worse. Hurt. Deep, aching hurt. His lips parted as if he wanted to say my name, but no sound came out. Julius scoffed. “Like mother, like daughter,” he muttered, his voice dripping with contempt. “At the end of the day, that’s all you women are ever good for.” My stomach twisted violently—not from the pregnancy, but from the venom in his words. I’d heard his cruelty my entire life, but today, it felt sharper. More painful. Roman shifted beside me. I felt it even before I saw it—the way his body went taut, coiled like a spring ready to snap. But before he could say anything, Jace spoke.“Chloe,” he said, his voice strained, hoarse. “She’s losing too much blood. I need to—” Chloe laughed. It wasn’t a light laugh. It was sharp and very unhinged. The kind of laughter that echoed too loudly in a room soaked with fear. “You’ve really got some nerve, Uncle Jace,” she said. “You plotted with your adopted daughter against me because of your illegitimate daughter. And now you think you’re in a position to ask me for help?” Jace flinched like she’d slapped him. “Chloe,” he tried again, desperation creeping into his voice. “You don’t want blood on your hands—” “Do I look like I care at this point?!” she shrieked. Her grip tightened on the gun, knuckles white. “My life is ruined!” she screamed. “Have you forgotten how you all turned my wedding into a circus—a rendezvous just to mock me! You destroyed my reputation, dragged my name through the mud, and not one of you stopped to think about how I’d ever recover from that!” Her chest heaved violently, mascara streaking down her cheeks, eyes wild and unfocused.“I lost everything!” But Roman had clearly heard enough. “Shut up and drop the gun, Chloe,” he said quietly. “Nobody cares! That's what you want to hear, right? You're so insane you tell yourself that nobody loves you and you even believe it.” His voice wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be. There was something final in it—something lethal. “You shut up!” Chloe screamed. “Last warning.” Roman warned. Chloe threw her head back and laughed again. “Or what?” Before Roman could respond, my mother stepped forward, her hands shaking but raised in a placating gesture. “Chloe, please,” Mom said softly. “Despite the gun—despite everything—we can talk about this. About all of it. Please, honey.” Chloe’s eyes flicked to her, burning. “I don’t want to talk!” she screamed. “Not anymore!” Alyssa let out a broken sob. “Chloe, please,” she begged. “This girl is dying. Please.” Chloe turned toward her slowly, a twisted smile curling her lips. “Worry about yourself, Alyssa,” she said coldly. “I’m going to kill all of you. Then I’ll kill myself too. That way, we’ll all see each other in hell.” She raised the gun and pointed it directly at Alyssa. My heart stopped. “Not if I can help it,” Roman muttered. He turned to me sharply. “Call an ambulance, Savannah. Now.” I fumbled through the phone with trembling hands, my fingers slick with sweat, my pulse roaring in my ears. And then everything happened at once. Roman moved. One second Chloe was aiming the gun at Alyssa, the next Roman was crossing the room in a blur of motion. He slammed into her just as a shot rang out, hitting the ceiling. The sound was deafening. I screamed, covering my ears. The phone slipped out of my hand. “Emily!” Alyssa screamed, hysteria tearing through her voice. “My daughter is upstairs!” “Go!” Mom shouted, grabbing Alyssa’s arm and shoving her toward the stairs. “Go check on Emily! Quick!” “Alyssa, go!” Roman said. “Stay with Emily. And don't come down!” Alyssa ran. But Chloe didn’t let go of the gun. Even as Roman wrestled with her, even as he forced the barrel upward, she clung to it like it was the last thing tethering her to the world. “No!” Chloe screamed. “Let go, Roman!” Roman’s grip was ironclad—one hand clamped around her wrist, the other locked on the gun as he fought to tear it from her grasp. They staggered, knocking into furniture. The sound of their struggle filled the room—grunts, snarls, labored breaths. My chest felt too tight to breathe. “Roman!” I screamed. And then I saw it. Roman’s fingers dug into Chloe’s injured hand—the one she’d been shot in earlier. He pressed his nails directly into the wound and Chloe let out a piercing scream of agony. But still—still—she didn’t let go. Mom sobbed openly now. “Please,” she cried. “Stop it. Please!”In a desperate, vicious move, Chloe leaned forward and sank her teeth into Roman’s arm. Hard. I heard him hiss, felt the sound vibrate through me like a shockwave. And for a split second, I thought she’d won. But Roman snapped. The pain seemed to ignite something feral in him. The back of his hand flew across her face. Hard. The sound of the slap echoed through the room—loud, sharp, unmistakable. I gasped. Chloe flew backward and hit the floor hard, landing beside Julius. She touched the blood at the corner of her lip, eyes wide with disbelief. “You hit me!” she shrieked. I sighed in relief. Then slowly picked up the phone from the floor. Roman stood over her, chest heaving, eyes blazing. The gun was finally in his hand. “Shut up,” he said. Julius slowly began to rise. “Roman,” he said cautiously, trying to sound reasonable. “Let’s talk like men—” Roman turned and pointed the gun straight at him. “Stay the hell down, Julius,” he said coldly. “Nothing would stop me from pulling this trigger.” Julius froze. “Is that how it is now?” he asked quietly. “Does your father know about this?” “Get down,” Roman ordered. “And put your hands behind your head.” Julius hesitated—then slowly knelt, glaring up at him, hands moving behind his head. And that was when I noticed Paula. She was completely still. Too still. Her skin had gone pale—ashen actually. Her chest wasn’t rising anymore. “Oh God,” I whispered. Jace stood frozen, staring at her, his face carved with horror. I forced my eyes back to the phone, my hands shaking so badly I could barely unlock it. “Savannah!” Roman shouted. “Call the fucking ambulance!” I flinched at the sound of his voice. “I—I’m trying,” I said, my voice breaking. But Jace’s voice cut through everything. “It’s too late,” he whispered. I looked up.“She’s gone cold.” The words sucked all the air out of the room. Everything stopped. The noise. The chaos. The screaming. All I could hear was the pounding of my heart and the echo of those words. Gone. Was Paula dead? My stomach lurched violently. I pressed a hand to it instinctively, fear flooding me—not just for myself, but for the tiny life inside me. This nightmare wasn’t over. Not even close. And I registered it the moment Jace moved. Slowly and quietly he took the gun in Paula's hand. And in that instant, I knew—whatever happened next would change everything.