Sienna Out of all things, I never expected this to happen; Arman Kuznetsov’s wife has offered us safe passage out of Italy and to their home in New York. Surely he can’t be happy about it, but I have Daniella and Donato to think about right now. Especially after what happened a few hours ago. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on or continue to leave me in the dark?” Christian says, breaking me out of my reverie. After the phone call with Nadia Kuznetsova, I’ve been quiet and haven’t told him a damned thing. I know that he’ll be utterly livid with me, but as I have said, the children need to be kept safe. I sigh and beckon him over to my hospital bed; luckily, I only got away with three broken ribs, but I should be fine. Taking his hand in mine, I look up at him and give him a tight smile. “You won’t be happy with my decision,” I say and shake my head. “Please trust me when I say that it’s the best option for me right now.” Christian frowns. “What do you mean?” “I’m going

Sienna I followed Nadia and realized that I was actually starving. God, the last time I ate something was while I told Serena and Bamba all the sordid details of my tryst with Christian, and that was probably more than 24 hours ago. “The men will be out for a while; would you like something to eat or drink at least?” She asks me when we enter the kitchen, and I nod. “I wouldn’t mind a glass of wine, but I’m not too sure about eating with ribs broken on both sides. I can barely breathe as it is,” I say, leveling my breathing. Nadia chuckles. “I’m pretty sure the both of us laughing while drunk would be hurting your ribs a lot more than a little food. We’ll have both; plus, the alcohol would numb the pain, eventually.” She says. Stifling a laugh, I nod, and she leads me over to the kitchen island while removing a plate from the warmer. “Where are Serena and the children?” I ask, trying to strain my ears but hearing nothing in this vast house. “Everyone else is in bed and has eate

Sienna I stumble towards the bedroom and sit down gingerly on the bed while holding my pounding head in my hands. How the hell am I going to speak to them after this? Christian has news, possible news that could help us, and now I have to think over my words carefully. Damnit, I need something for this headache. I haven’t had one this bad since I lived in Chicago, and back then, Mama always fed me with morphine and told me to forget. My mind goes back to Arman’s words of him wanting me as his queen, but I cannot recall what the hell he means by that. I’ve never met him before in my life, so what exactly does he mean by this? I know I’ve had lapses in my memory after a car crash when I was 16 years old, but surely I would have remembered him if he had played such a vital role in my life before? Ugh, I shouldn’t dwell on this too much; it’s not important right now. When Serena returns with the children, I speak to her about what Christian said to me. We sit on the bed opposite on

Christian Serena leads me inside, and I immediately spot her raven curls as she sits in the living room. Her head whips towards the sound of our footfalls, and when she sees me, her eyes widen. My eyes do not register anyone else in the room, just Daniella, who looks as if her world is crumbling down. “Christian!” she wails, and, like a bullet, she shoots toward me. I lean down and open my arms to scoop her up, listening to her little sobs as I hold her close. “Mamma, she left… she….” “Shhhh, Principessa, it’s okay. I’m here,” I say as I stroke her hair. “She will be back soon, don’t worry.” I look over at Serena, and she nods, leading me to the bedroom they all supposedly share. All I can do now is wait and comfort Sienna’s precious child; as I have said before, I have no clout in the States anymore. We walk towards the bed, and I sit down with her on my lap, removing a handkerchief from my pocket and handing it to her. She wipes her tears and looks up at me with eyes the same

Christian It just gets better and better - not only was my Sienna taken from under Kuznetsov’s nose, but a traitor is still lurking on the grounds. They’ve found remnants of the camera footage being tampered with within the timeframe someone had planted the bombs and Sienna’s kidnapping. The tampered parts showed Contessa on the opposite side of the building when someone took Sienna. In other words, Contessa is most certainly not working alone, and she is not the only family traitor. I can’t just sit here and do nothing; I need to keep myself busy or do some digging of my own. Serena was confident that Dante had taken Sienna, and this might be the case after all with what I have found out. But if Dante is the one who took her, then she’s in a lot more danger than we thought. She might be dead for all we know. Sighing, I pull out my cell phone to make a few calls to certain connections long thought dead. I can’t call my aunt for help right now since she’s in deep with Allessio and