All Chapters of Claimed by My Ex's Mafia Father: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

"We have a problem."Marco's voice cut through the quiet of the breakfast room before Eliora had even lifted her cup. Severin looked up, his fork stilling mid-motion."What kind.""The kind that doesn't wait." Marco set a tablet down on the table between them. "Overnight chatter across three different channels. Someone's confirmed Miss Aster's exact location. Not the estate in general. This house. This wing."Eliora's stomach dropped. "How is that possible? I haven't left this house in days.""That's what worries me," Marco said. "Whoever's talking isn't guessing from outside. They know things only someone inside would know."Severin's jaw tightened. "Details.""The chatter mentions a west wing bedroom. Overlooking the water." Marco's eyes flicked to Eliora, then back. "That's not public information. That's not even something most of the household staff would have reason to know."The room went very quiet.Eliora set down her cup, hands unsteady. "You're saying someone here is talking

"Absolutely not," Severin said again. "You're not going near him.""Then bring him to me," Eliora said. "Somewhere controlled. With your men everywhere. But I need to hear what he knows.""You don't owe a stranger with a hidden weapon anything.""He said he'll go to every Commission family by morning if I don't." Eliora held his gaze, steady despite the fear still coursing through her. "That means whatever this is, it's coming out either way. I'd rather hear it first, on my terms, than read about it secondhand tomorrow."Severin's jaw tightened, but she watched something in him shift, not agreement exactly, but recognition that she had a point he couldn't fully argue against."The library," he said finally. "Windows sealed. Marco's men at every exit. He comes in alone, unarmed, searched twice.""Understood," Marco said, already relaying instructions through his radio.Ten minutes later, Eliora stood in the library beside Severin, watching the door with her heart hammering against her

"Everyone stay low." Severin's voice was barely above a whisper, but it cut through the darkness like a blade. "Lucien, weapons.""Already on it." Eliora heard the click of a case opening, metal against metal, Lucien's movements sure even in the pitch black."Someone cut the power on purpose," Eliora whispered. "That means they know exactly where the main grid connects.""It means someone with access to the estate's blueprints," Severin said grimly. "Which narrows the list of who we're dealing with considerably."Marco's voice crackled through the radio again, tighter now. "Sir, backup generators should kick in within thirty seconds. Emergency lighting only."They waited in the dark, counting seconds, Eliora's heart hammering so loud she was certain the others could hear it. Then, true to Marco's word, dim red emergency lights flickered to life along the base of the walls, casting the safe room in a low, bloodless glow."Better," Severin said, though nothing about the tension in his s

"How did you find us," Severin said, stepping in front of Eliora before he'd fully processed the question himself."I've been trying to reach you for two days." Caius's voice was hoarse, exhausted, nothing like the polished charm Eliora remembered from before. "I followed the security detail from the estate. I wasn't difficult to shake, apparently, because none of your men noticed.""That's not reassuring," Lucien muttered from near the window, still watching the street."I'm not here to hurt anyone." Caius's eyes moved past his father, settling on Eliora, something raw and pleading behind them. "I need to talk to you. Both of you. It's important.""There's a car outside," Eliora said. "Two men. Aveline warned us they're waiting to move."Caius's face paled. "Aveline called you?""You know something about that," Severin said sharply."I know she's been trying to get away from them for weeks." Caius ran a hand through his hair, agitated. "I found out three days ago. After you sent me a

"Absolutely not," Severin said, reading the message over her shoulder. "You're not going to Vienna alone.""They have Camille." Eliora's voice shook. "They took a photo of her, right outside her own office. If I don't do exactly what they say—""Then we protect Camille, and we find another way." Severin's jaw was tight, his voice carrying the same absolute certainty she'd heard in the courtyard days ago. "You are not walking into a trap by yourself because a message on a phone told you to.""It's not a trap if I have no choice.""There's always a choice." He took the phone gently from her hands, studying the message again. "This is meant to isolate you. Cut you off from anyone who might protect you. That's not an accident. That's exactly what they want.""So what do we do instead?""We call Marco," Lucien said. "Get eyes on Camille immediately. If they're threatening her to control you, that means they haven't taken her yet. There's still time to protect her properly."Severin was alr