Prologue
Born Under Gunfire
December 24 — Seventeen Years Ago
Under the full moon, on a snowy December night, when carols were being sung all over the world, peace blanketed the land like freshly fallen snow.
Warm lights glowed behind frost-covered windows. Families gathered around decorated trees, children’s laughter drifted through quiet streets, and the joyful melody of Christmas hymns echoed from distant churches. Snowflakes floated lazily from the heavens, settling upon rooftops, branches, and empty roads, turning the world into a sea of white.
It was a night meant for celebration.
A night meant for hope.
Then—
A deafening crack split the silence.
Gunshots.
The sound echoed across the frozen valley, silencing the church bells and scattering flocks of birds into the moonlit sky.
For one terrifying moment...
The world stood still.
Then came the pounding of hurried footsteps.
They grew louder with every passing second, crushing the untouched snow beneath heavy boots.
Out of the darkness emerged a group of armed men dressed entirely in black. Their long coats swayed in the icy wind as they moved with military precision through the forest. Snow clung to their shoulders, but none of them seemed to notice the bitter cold.
Their faces remained hidden beneath black masks.
Their weapons never lowered.
They were hunting someone.
The man leading them suddenly stopped.
He crouched beside a trail of fresh footprints disappearing between the snow-covered pines. Running his gloved fingers across the disturbed snow, he looked ahead with cold determination.
“They’re close,” he said quietly.
No one answered.
They didn’t need to.
The men spread out without hesitation, surrounding the narrow path like wolves closing in on wounded prey.
A gust of wind swept through the forest.
Then—
Movement.
Far ahead, a figure stumbled between the trees.
“There!” the leader shouted, raising his rifle.
A woman burst from the darkness, clutching a newborn baby tightly against her chest. Her breathing came in desperate gasps, each step slower than the last as she struggled through the deep snow.
Beside her ran a man, constantly glancing over his shoulder, refusing to let the distance between them grow.
“Stop them!” the leader ordered.
The forest exploded with gunfire.
The Chase Through the Snow
The forest erupted with gunfire.
Bullets tore through the silence, striking tree trunks and sending showers of snow cascading from the branches above.
The woman flinched at every shot.
But she did not stop running.
Her arms tightened around the baby wrapped in thick blankets against her chest. The child remained asleep, unaware of the chaos unfolding around her.
“Keep moving!” the man beside her shouted.
His voice was low but urgent.
The woman nodded.
Her lungs burned with every breath. The freezing air felt like knives cutting through her chest, but she forced herself forward.
One step.
Then another.
And another.
Behind them, the voices of their pursuers grew louder.
“They’re heading east!”
“Don’t let them escape!”
The woman risked a glance over her shoulder.
Dark figures moved between the trees.
Too close.
Far too close.
Fear gripped her heart.
Not for herself.
For the child.
The tiny life sleeping peacefully in her arms.
She lowered her head and pushed onward.
The man running beside her remained alert, constantly scanning the forest around them.
His dark coat whipped violently in the wind as he moved.
“We’re almost there,” he said.
The woman looked at him.
For the first time since the chase had begun, doubt flickered across her face.
“Will she be safe?” she asked.
The man’s expression hardened.
“She has to be.”
Another shot rang out.
A bullet struck a nearby tree, splintering bark only inches from them.
The woman stumbled.
The baby stirred slightly beneath the blankets.
“No...” she whispered, clutching the child closer.
The man immediately stepped between her and the gunfire.
“Run!”
The pursuers were gaining ground.
Their footsteps thundered through the forest.
The leader emerged from behind a cluster of trees, his rifle raised.
“There they are!”
The woman felt panic rising inside her.
Her legs were growing weaker.
Her body was reaching its limit.
Yet she refused to surrender.
Not tonight.
Not after everything they had sacrificed.
A fierce wind swept through the forest, carrying snow into the air like a white curtain.
For a brief moment, visibility vanished.
The man seized the opportunity.
“This way!”
He grabbed the woman’s arm and guided her toward a narrow path hidden between towering pines.
The snow reached nearly to their knees.
Every step felt heavier than the last.
Still they pressed forward.
Still they ran.
Still they hoped.
But deep down, the woman knew the truth.
The hunters were closing in.
And sooner or later...
They would catch them.
The forest seemed endless.
Snow crunched beneath their feet as they pushed through the towering pines, each step heavier than the last. The icy wind whipped against their faces, carrying with it the distant shouts of the men chasing them.
“They’re getting closer,” the woman whispered, her voice trembling as she held the baby tightly against her chest.
“We’re not stopping,” the man beside her replied, his eyes fixed on the path ahead.
A sharp whistle cut through the night.
“There!”
The leader’s voice echoed through the forest.
The hunters had spotted them.
Without another word, he raised his arm.
“Shoot!”
The stillness of the winter night shattered beneath another volley of gunfire.
The man reacted instinctively, throwing himself between the woman and the incoming bullets.
“Keep running!” he shouted.
The woman obeyed without hesitation, clutching the child so tightly that the blanket barely moved with each desperate breath.
Bullets struck the trees around them, splintering bark and sending snow raining from the branches overhead.
Another shot rang out.
The woman cried out.
A bullet struck her shoulder, spinning her sideways. She stumbled, nearly falling into the snow, but somehow managed to keep the baby safe in her arms.
The man caught her before she collapsed.
“Are you hurt?”
She nodded through gritted teeth.
“It’s nothing,” she whispered, though the pain in her voice betrayed her.
“We have to keep moving.”
Together they struggled onward, disappearing deeper into the forest while the sound of boots behind them grew louder with every passing second.
The woman tried to ignore the pain spreading through her shoulder.
She focused only on the tiny child sleeping peacefully in her arms.
Nothing else mattered.
Not the freezing cold.
Not the pain.
Not even her own life.
Only the child.
But with every step, her strength faded.
Her vision blurred.
Her breathing became slower.
At last, her legs gave way.
She fell to her knees in the snow.
“Protect Her.”
The woman’s legs finally gave out.
She collapsed onto her knees, the impact sending snow scattering around her. A sharp gasp escaped her lips as pain surged through her wounded shoulder. Warm blood seeped through the torn fabric of her coat, dripping silently onto the untouched snow.
For a moment, the forest seemed to fall silent.
Only the sound of her ragged breathing remained.
The man immediately knelt beside her.
“We have to keep moving,” he said, glancing over his shoulder.
The distant voices of the armed men drifted through the trees.
“They’re over here!”
“Spread out!”
“They couldn’t have gone far!”
The woman tried to stand.
The moment she pushed herself upward, agony shot through her shoulder. Her body trembled, and she sank back into the snow before the man could catch her.
She knew.
There was no strength left.
No time left.
Slowly, she lowered her eyes to the baby sleeping peacefully in her arms.
The tiny child remained unaware of the nightmare unfolding around her.
The woman gently brushed her fingers across the baby’s soft cheek.
A faint, sorrowful smile appeared on her lips.
“I’m sorry...”
Her voice was no more than a whisper carried away by the winter wind.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away.
This was not the time to cry.
With trembling hands, she lifted the baby toward the man.
He stared silently at the child.
For a brief moment, neither of them moved.
The woman met his eyes.
There was fear in her gaze.
There was grief.
But above all else...
There was trust.
“Protect her,” she whispered.
The words were fragile, almost lost beneath the howling wind.
The man looked down at the child for only a moment before meeting the woman’s eyes once more.
Without a word...
He gave a single nod.
It was enough.
The woman closed her eyes for a brief second, as though a great weight had been lifted from her heart.
She knew he understood.
She knew he would keep his promise.
Behind them, the sound of boots crunching through the snow grew louder.
The hunters were closing in.
There wasn’t another second to lose.
The Escape
The man carefully took the baby into his arms.
For a brief moment, he looked down at the tiny child sleeping peacefully beneath the thick woolen blanket. She was completely unaware of the nightmare unfolding around her.
He held her a little closer.
Then he looked at the woman.
She was still kneeling in the snow, her face pale from blood loss, yet her eyes remained fixed on the child. They were filled with sorrow, but also with hope.
Without a word, he gave her one last look.
Then he turned away.
Holding the baby securely against his chest, he disappeared into the forest.
Every step he took felt heavier than the last.
Leaving the woman behind was the hardest choice he had ever made.
But they had no other choice.
If he stayed...
The child would be captured as well.
He forced himself to keep moving, pushing deeper into the snow-covered forest.
He did not look back.
Behind him, the voices of the armed men grew louder as they closed in.
The woman watched his silhouette grow smaller and smaller until it vanished completely among the towering pines.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
She knew.
The child still had a chance.
The mysterious man tightened his grip around the baby and continued deeper into the forest.
No matter what happened...
No matter how far he had to run...
He would protect her.
St. Agnes Orphanage
The night was beginning to fade.
The first light of dawn had yet to reach the horizon as the mysterious man emerged from the forest. Snow continued to fall gently around him, covering the footprints he left behind as though the winter itself wished to erase every trace of the night’s events.
The child remained asleep in his arms.
He looked down at her for a brief moment before continuing toward a small stone building standing quietly at the edge of the village.
A warm glow escaped through the chapel windows, the only sign that life stirred within its walls.
The man climbed the snow-covered steps in silence.
For a long moment, he stood before the heavy wooden door.
His gaze lingered on the child.
Slowly, he knelt and carefully laid her down on the chapel steps, making sure the thick woolen blanket was wrapped securely around her. He gently adjusted the blanket to shield her from the freezing wind.
Around the baby’s tiny neck hung a small silver locket.
The man reached out and lightly held it between his fingers for a moment.
Then he let it fall gently against her chest.
Without another glance, he rose to his feet.
The sound of distant church bells echoed through the quiet morning.
He turned.
Within moments, his dark figure disappeared into the falling snow, swallowed by the forest from which he had come.
Not long afterward, the front door of the orphanage slowly opened.
One of the sisters stepped outside, carrying a small lantern.
She paused.
A faint cry reached her ears.
Her eyes widened.
“My goodness...”
She hurried down the steps and gently lifted the baby into her arms.
“Oh, you poor little thing...”
The infant looked up at her with sleepy eyes before quietly settling back into the warmth of the blanket.
The sister looked around.
The road was empty.
There was no sign of whoever had left the child there.
Only freshly fallen snow stretched in every direction.
Holding the baby close, she stepped back inside the orphanage, unaware that the child in her arms carried a past buried beneath seventeen years of silence.
The heavy wooden door closed.
Outside, snow continued to fall, slowly covering every footprint until nothing remained.
