로그인Elodie's POVTo my surprise, Severo didn't come looking for us himself. Instead, his lawyer approached us first."Mr. Falcone would like to see Lucia," the lawyer told me.I glanced at my daughter, who was drawing on the rug, and shrugged. "She can make that decision herself."When she heard her name, Lucia looked up."Is Papa here?" she asked."Yes," I replied.After a brief moment of contemplation, she pouted. "Is he going to take us back?"I gently rubbed her head and looked into her bright eyes. "As long as you don't want to go, no one can ever take you away from me," I reassured her.Lucia let out a sigh of relief. "In that case, I suppose I could meet up with him."…The next afternoon, I brought Lucia to a cafe. Severo was already waiting for us, his coffee sitting untouched on the table. He'd clearly made an effort to tidy himself up before the meetup, but he still looked utterly worn out.When Lucia spotted him, she calmly took my hand and walked over."Hello,
Third-Person POV"I can't believe she's been living like this. No wonder she fell ill," Severo thought bitterly. Before long, he became lost in his memories again. He had no idea how much time had passed when one of his men knocked on the study door.No longer expecting good news, Severo didn't even bother to look up."You didn't find anything, right?"His subordinate nodded. "Yes, but I thought you'd want to see this."He handed Severo a thick stack of documents. As soon as Severo read through them, his expression shifted dramatically.Ten minutes later, he was so furious his voice had twisted into something unrecognizable."Bring Ylenia to me right now."A moment later, Ylenia walked into Severo's study, tears in her eyes."You're finally willing to see me?" she cried as she entered.As usual, she walked straight up to Severo and reached for him. But before she could touch him, he flung a stack of documents at her feet.The papers scattered across the floor. Ylenia fro
Elodie's POVIt had been days since we left Falcone estate, but Lucia never once asked when we'd go back. One night, she climbed into bed beside me with her stuffed rabbit and asked, "Were you happy today, Mamma?"I turned to look at her. "What makes you ask that?"She snuggled closer to me. "Because you haven't been frowning lately."Before I could respond, she shut her eyes and muttered, "I like it here. If you like it, Mamma, let's just stay here."I stroked her hair and felt tears prick my eyes.How I was feeling had nothing to do with Severo. I had already put my past with him behind me, but my precious daughter gave me a reason to keep going.Lucia slept peacefully in my arms, blissfully unaware that across the ocean, back in Sicara, the entire Falcone estate was in chaos.…Third-Person POVBy the sixth day, Severo still hadn't found Elodie and Lucia. By then, he was only sleeping two or three hours a night.Sometimes, he'd barely doze off on the couch before joltin
Third-Person POVSevero didn't head over to his operational headquarters. His desk was buried under reports and documents sent in from every corner of Sicara.Whenever someone entered his study, the first thing he'd do was ask, "Did you find them?" without even looking up.When the answer was no, he'd take the documents from his subordinates and go through them himself. Whenever he spotted a surveillance image of a woman with a child, he'd have the footage pulled up separately for closer inspection."What about her?""That's not the Donna.""Why did this vehicle take a detour?""We've checked. It belongs to a local resident.""Check again."…By afternoon, the coffee on Severo's desk had gone cold several times over, but no one dared to advise him to take a break.When Ylenia dropped by for the third time, she finally lost her patience. "Elodie is trying to make you cave. The more desperate you get, the more convinced she'll be that this tactic is working," she declared.
Elodie's POVLucia slept soundly in my arms, hugging her stuffed rabbit. Once, in the middle of the night, she woke up and snuggled closer to me."It's so quiet here, Mamma. There's no gunfire," she said.I smiled and tucked the blanket around her. "Do you like it?"She nodded. "If you like it, I like it too."With that, she drifted back to sleep.Severo didn't come looking for us right away. Later, our housekeeper, Rosa Castelli, told me that he looked incredibly displeased when he saw the divorce papers.…Third-Person POVElodie's wedding ring sat on top of the document. Next to the papers were her access cards, the keys to the main house, and several authorization cards for the family accounts.Once Severo spotted everything, he put the ring away with a frown. Then, he flipped through the divorce papers. When he reached the last page and saw Elodie's signature, he slammed the papers face down on the desk. "What is she trying to do now?"Rosa stood by the door. "The Don
Elodie's POVThe Falcone estate had more than 30 rooms. It had a wine cellar, a horse stable, a private theater, and a fully equipped underground safe room. Yet everything Lucia and I could truly call our own barely fit into two suitcases.Lucia sorted through her toys herself. But in the end, all she took with her was an old stuffed rabbit."What about the rest?" I asked.She shook her head. "A lot of the things Papa bought me are useless. I don't really like them either."I stroked her hair. "Then I'll buy you new ones. I'll get you whatever you like."Just then, my phone suddenly rang. Severo's name appeared on the screen, but when I picked up, Ylenia's voice rang from the speaker."Elodie? Please don't get the wrong idea. I'm only borrowing Severo's phone for a moment. I just wanted to ask if it's really okay that he isn't heading home tonight to spend time with you and Lucia."There was a brief silence on the call before Severo's voice came through."They're at the Falcon







