جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 9

Elodie's POVWhen I brought Lucia downstairs, Severo was helping Ylenia out of the car. Her face was pale, and six armed bodyguards followed closely behind her. When she saw me, she gave me an apologetic look."Did I scare you and Lucia last night, Elodie?" she asked. "They found an unfamiliar car outside my safe house, and Severo's worried that it's no longer safe for me to stay there.""Tidy up the east wing," Severo instructed the butler without any hesitation. I stopped in my tracks.The east wing was connected to our bedroom. Lucia's playroom and my study were also located in that section of the estate. No outsider had ever been allowed to enter.I turned to him and said, "The guesthouse is empty. Ylenia can stay there."He frowned. "The guesthouse is too far from the underground safe room. Someone could be watching her right now. The east wing is safer.""Fine." I nodded. "But her men stay downstairs. They're not allowed into the family quarters."Severo's expression

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

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.

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