The six-year-old son of the most powerful man in Chicago fired five doctors before breakfast.

Evelyn didn't panic. Even caught in a corner, her arrogance was boundless. She stood tall, smoothing down her cashmere coat.

"So what?" Evelyn sneered, her voice cold, stripped of all grandmotherly warmth. "You think a jury in Chicago will convict me? I am a Sterling. I build hospitals in this city, Dr. Monroe. I buy judges and prosecutors for breakfast."

"Not this time, Mother," Gabriel said, taking a step forward, his tall frame looming over her. "Because you aren't just facing Chicago courts. You are facing federal wire fraud, attempted murder of a minor, and premeditated homicide. And I have dedicated my entire fortune—every single billion—to ensuring you die inside a maximum-security prison cell."

Evelyn’s eyes finally showed a flicker of real terror. She looked at Gabriel, realizing for the first time that her grip on him was completely shattered.

"Gabriel... I did it for us!" she tried to plead, her voice rising in desperate pitch. "Victoria was weak! She was going to tear the family estate apart with her foolish charitable ideas! And that boy... he had too much of her in him! I was protecting the Sterling legacy!"

"The Sterling legacy ends with you," Gabriel said with deadly finality.

The heavy double doors of the estate swung open, and Detective Miller entered, accompanied by six armed federal agents.

"Evelyn Sterling," Detective Miller announced, drawing his handcuffs. "You are under arrest for the attempted murder of Oliver Sterling, the murder of Victoria Sterling, and federal conspiracy."

As the agents stepped forward to cuff her, Evelyn snapped. She whipped around, pulling a small, silver-plated compact handgun from her purse—a concealed firearm she had kept hidden.

"No!" she screamed, aiming the weapon directly at Gabriel. "If I lose everything, you get nothing!"

"Gabriel!" I screamed, acting on pure instinct.

I tackled Gabriel to the floor just as a sharp BANG echoed through the room. A bullet shattered the glass vase on the mantelpiece behind where he had been standing.

Federal agents tackled Evelyn to the ground before she could fire a second shot, wrestling the weapon from her hands and pinning her to the rug. She was screaming, cursing, her pristine silver hair falling in wild strands across her face as she was dragged away in handcuffs, stripped of all her dignity.

The room fell into a heavy, ringing silence.

I was lying on top of Gabriel on the hardwood floor, my heart hammering like a war drum. He had his arms wrapped tight around my waist, protecting me.

"Claire..." Gabriel gasped, looking up into my eyes, his face filled with sheer shock and awe. "You... you took a bullet for me."

"I... I missed," I gasped out, trying to catch my breath, a tiny laugh escaping my lips despite the danger. "I meant to tackle her, but I tackled you instead."

Gabriel let out a loud, breathless laugh, his hands cupping my cheeks, pulling my face down to his. "You are completely insane, Dr. Monroe."

"And you're heavy, Mr. Sterling," I whispered, smiling down at him.

Gabriel didn't answer with words. He reached up, pulled my head down, and kissed me.

It wasn't a tentative kiss; it was deep, passionate, and filled with all the pent-up tension, relief, and unspoken desire of the past harrowing days. I melted into the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck, letting the adrenaline fade into pure warmth.

When we finally separated, both of us breathless, Gabriel looked at me with an intensity that took my breath away.