Chapter 5

After a few precious hours of warmth and comfort with my parents, I finally started to feel human again.

My mother made my favorite pasta from scratch.

After dinner, I curled up on the sofa to watch the news with my father.

Suddenly, an entertainment news flash crossed the screen.

"World-renowned violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman will hold his final farewell concert tomorrow night at the Vienna Musikverein…"

I sat bolt upright, my eyes lighting up.

Perlman! The god of the violin I'd worshipped since I was a child.

My eighteen-year-old self had dreamed of seeing him perform live just once.

"I have to go!" I immediately pulled out my phone and booked a first-class ticket to Vienna without a second thought. "Mom, I have to go home and pack!"

"So suddenly?" my mother asked, surprised.

"It's his farewell concert! I'll regret it for the rest of my life if I miss it!" I gave my mother an excited hug and rushed out of the mansion.

By the time I got back to Lorenzo's penthouse, it was completely dark.

I stormed into the master bedroom's walk-in closet, dragged out an LV suitcase, and started throwing clothes into it.

"Mama, where are you going…?"

A tiny, weak voice came from the doorway.

I turned around.

Leo was standing at the entrance to the closet.

He was in his little dinosaur pajamas, his eyes filled with tears as he stared at the suitcase on the floor.

The next second, huge teardrops started streaming from his gray eyes.

"Mama, are you leaving for good this time?" he sobbed, his little body shaking violently. "Was it because Leo wasn't good yesterday? I won't tell Papa you went to see that uncle… Please don't go…"

That just broke me.

I dropped the clothes and rushed over, pulling him into a fierce hug.

"No! Mama is absolutely not leaving!" I kissed his tear-stained cheeks, my heart aching. "Mama is just going to Vienna to see a violin concert. I'll be back in a few days, I swear!"

"Really?" Leo asked, his eyes red, clutching my clothes for dear life. He clearly didn't trust me, his mother with a rap sheet a mile long.

Seeing his desperate, insecure face, I had a rush of blood to the head and made an impulsive decision.

"Do you want to come with Mama?"

Leo froze, forgetting to cry. "Can I?"

"Of course you can!" I pulled out my phone and booked another ticket on the spot. "Mama's going to take you to hear the best violinist in the world!"

Leo finally broke into a teary smile.

But then he remembered something, and his little hands twisted together nervously.

"Mama, are you taking me because you love me?" He looked at me carefully. "What about Papa? Do you love Papa, too?"

I looked into those eyes, so much like Lorenzo's, and gently stroked his curly hair.

"Leo, listen to me," I said, my voice firm and clear. "Mama loves you very, very much. But my love for you has nothing to do with my feelings for your father. They are two different things, okay?"

No matter what happened between Lorenzo and me, Leo was my son.

Leo nodded, not quite understanding, and then happily ran back to his room to pack his little backpack.

I stood up with a smile.

I didn't notice the housekeeper, Sofia, standing in the shadows of the hallway, her face pale as she held her phone.

She slipped away silently and quickly dialed a number.

"Don," Sofia's voice was tight with panic. "Madam is taking the young master and running away! She's booked tickets and is packing right now!"

[Lorenzo's POV]

In the abandoned underground warehouse, the air was thick with the smell of blood. The traitor who had sold the shipment route was whimpering like a dog at his feet.

Lorenzo wiped the blood from his knuckles with a cold expression as he answered Sofia's call.

"Madam is taking the young master and running away!"

A roar filled Lorenzo's head. His reason shattered.

So, Daisy was leaving after all.

For that broke piece of shit, she couldn't even bother to keep up the amnesia act for more than a day? She was even taking their son?!

Lorenzo's hand tightened on the phone until it creaked, the veins on his hand popping. It felt like his chest was full of broken glass, every breath a new kind of agony.

He should go back there right now.

Chain her to the bed, break her wings, and make sure she could never leave his sight again.

But the image of her from last night... yelling at him, her eyes bright, alive, free of the darkness that had haunted her for years.

He closed his eyes, exhausted, and fought to cage the beast inside him that was screaming to tear everything apart.

"I know," he said, his voice raw and raspy.

Lorenzo hung up and walked out of the bloody warehouse. The cold wind filled his lungs, but it couldn't blow away the toxic jealousy and rage in his heart.

"Get the private jet ready," Lorenzo ordered his assistant. "I want a flight to Vienna for tomorrow morning. Now."

He leaned against the car, lit a cigarette, and tasted nothing but bitterness.

When he landed, would he find her in bed with Julian, celebrating their new life?