LOGINENZO’S POV I wiped the last of the tears from my face with the back of my hand and pushed off the wall. No more. The grief could wait. Right now only one thought burned through my veins like acid. Dante. I would find that bastard and I would make him bleed for every mark he had left on her body, every night he had kept her afraid, every breath he had stolen from my son.I straightened my jacket and started down the corridor. Matteo met me halfway, phone already in his hand."Where is he?" I asked.Matteo fell into step beside me. "My guy at Monaco General just called. Dante showed up there twenty minutes ago with four men. He tore through the emergency wing asking about a woman and a boy matching their descriptions. He missed us by less than an hour. They're still searching the floors."I clenched my jaw until it ached. "He knows she's gone. Find his exact location now."Matteo nodded once and turned away, already dialing.I stood alone in the sterile hallway, fists tight at my sides
ENZO’S POV She kept shaking her head, her voice cracking higher with every denial. “I’m not Elena. I’m Sofia. Sofia Vatel. You’re wrong. Please let me go.” My grip on her shoulders tightened until I felt the fragile bones shift under my palms. Rage boiled up from somewhere deep, black, and endless. Five years of burying her in my head, five years of whiskey, silence and nights spent staring at her photo until my eyes burned, and here she was—alive, breathing, terrified—and still insisting she belonged to that bastard Dante. Her breathing turned ragged, shallow gasps that made her chest heave too fast. Color drained from her face, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed before I could catch her. I caught her before she hit the floor, scooped her into my arms bridal style, and pressed her against my chest. The doctor stared, his mouth open. The two nurses froze mid-step. “What are you waiting for?” I asked, my voice low and flat. “Start working on the paperwork immediately. We’ve
SOFIA’S POV My palms slapped the observation glass so hard it vibrated. Inside the room Renzo’s tiny body arched off the bed once, twice, his limbs jerked violently, and uncontrolled, while a nurse was already pushing medication into his IV. The chaos in the room sent me into a panic mood. I watched my baby lay there, barely breathing. “Open the door! Let me in—he’s my baby!” I screamed as I tried to go in. A nurse grabbed my wrist, her grip surprisingly strong. “Ma’am, please. You have to stay out here. We’re working on him.” I ripped my arm free and threw myself at the door handle again. Another nurse stepped in front, her palms up like she was calming a wild animal. “He’s seizing badly. We need the space. Please, you need to sit and catch your breath. We’ll come get you the moment it’s safe.” Safe. The word tasted like ash. I staggered backward until my back hit the cold wall and my legs gave out. I slid to the floor, knees drawn tight to my chest, rocking hard enough that my
ENZO’S POV The jet cut through low clouds above the Mediterranean, engines humming steady while my pulse refused to settle. I sat in the leather seat with my elbows on my knees, staring at the iPad Matteo had handed me twenty minutes earlier. The screen still showed the frozen airport footage: the man with Dante’s build and gait, lighter hair now, walking beside a woman whose face stayed hidden behind scarf and sunglasses, a small boy balanced on her hip. Every time I blinked the image burned behind my eyelids. Matteo sat across from me, laptop open, fingers moving fast. He hadn’t spoken since takeoff. I finally broke the silence. “Anything yet on the background check I asked for?” He looked up, expression careful. “Yes, Capo. I ran everything we have access to, passport records, business registrations, property deeds, and socials. The man in the footage is registered as Riccardo Vatel. He’s been operating under that name for at least six years. He’s been a resident of Monaco all
SOFIA’S POV The taxi driver slammed on the brakes outside the emergency entrance and jumped out before I could even fumble for cash. He yanked the back door open, helped me scoop Renzo from my lap with both arms, and started running. He had seen the despair in my eyes when I called out to Renzo all through the drive here. He had watched a broken mother beg the universe to spare her son. I scrambled after him, my sandals slapping wet concrete, and my heart hammering so hard it drowned out the rain. "Help! Please, my boy isn't waking up!" His voice cracked as he burst through the glass doors, cradling Renzo against his chest like he weighed nothing.Nurses swarmed us almost immediately. Someone took Renzo from the driver, laid him on a gurney, and wheeled him away so fast the wheels squeaked. I tried to follow but a firm hand caught my elbow."Ma'am, you have to wait here. Let them work."I jerked free and lunged toward the swinging doors anyway. Another nurse blocked me, her palms
SOFIA’S POV The thermometer beeped once, sharp, and accusing. I pulled it from Renzo’s armpit and stared at the red line. 40.2°C. Higher than an hour ago. His small chest rose and fell too fast, his cheeks flushed dark red, his curls plastered to his forehead with sweat. I pressed the cool cloth to his skin again, but the heat poured off him like steam from a kettle.“Hold on, mon cœur,” I whispered in Italian—the only language that still felt like mine. “Maman va t’emmener chez le docteur.” “Mom is going to take you to the doctor.”He didn’t answer. He just whimpered as his tiny fist clutched the edge of my dress.I glanced at the clock on the nightstand, it was 1:17 a.m. Riccardo had been gone since six am. Business, he’d said. Always business. Always the same excuse.I stood up and lifted Renzo against my shoulder. His head lolled, too heavy. Panic clawed up my throat. I carried him downstairs, my bare feet silent on marble, past the locked front door, past the security panel tha
ELENA’S POVThe knock ripped me from a sleep so thick it felt like sinking into tar. My eyelids scraped open, gritty and swollen. Sunlight stabbed through the half-drawn blinds, painting gold stripes across the ceiling I’d stared at for hours. I hadn’t closed my eyes until the sky outside turned th
ENZO’S POV I shoved the phone into my pocket and jogged back through the downpour, water sluicing off my jacket in sheets. Business update could wait; the docks would burn or they wouldn’t. Right now, all I cared about was getting Elena out of this storm before she froze solid. The clinic awning c
ENZO’S POV I stood in front of the mirror and hated how good I looked. Black tuxedo cut close to the body, midnight silk lapels catching the low light. The white shirt stretched across my chest, crisp enough to slice skin. Platinum cufflinks glinted like bullets. I dragged the bow tie into a perf
ELENA’S POV The elevator walls closed in like a coffin lined with gold. Enzo’s fingers were still on me—two calloused tips circling my clit with slow, merciless precision. The toy he’d forced inside me pulsed faintly, a silent threat, but it was his touch that set my blood on fire. My thighs trem







