CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
LORENZO
I had woken up without her by my side. There was this familiar emptiness, hollow, eerie, and brain-wrecking.
We had made passionate love to one another last night, but there is no way she had changed her mind this morning. Was that why she left? Had she regretted her actions?
Does she hate me?
My phone buzzed, and the moment I saw her name, my stomach sank.
Enri...
Just that. One word. Half a word, actually. But I knew. I knew that wasn’t a message she would send unless something was wrong. I called her. Once. Twice. Again. Nothing. It went straight to voicemail. My throat tightened. My mind started running fast and messy. I didn’t even bother leaving a voicemail. My instincts already had me moving. I already knew something was wrong. Call it a gut feeling,
I drove like the city owed me the roads. I didn’t care who honked or flipped me off. I went to the Russo mansion first off, but it was locked, all the guards at the entrance were gone, and there was no one to open the gate. That made the sinking feeling in me worse. I tried calling the house line, but there was still no response. I tried Maria’s line, but still nothing. I wondered if Matteo was inside and if he was safe.
I knew there was only one person that I could call now. I was left with only one option.
There was one name in my head and one person who might be able to help me make sense of all of this, even if he wanted to break my face.
Luca.
I tried his line, and it went straight to voicemail. I got out of my car and peeked through the brass gate. Maria’s car was there, but Luca’s car wasn’t. I knew Luca enough to know he doesn’t go anywhere without his car. And being friends with him long enough made me know there was only one place he would be by this time, considering all that has been going on in his life.
It was a long shot, but it was better than standing here in front of this locked gate doing nothing. So I got into my car and drove, and just as I suspected, he was there.
He was outside some shady little bar, pacing, eyes wild, phone to his ear. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. He saw me, and instantly, his whole face changed.
“What the hell are you doing here, Bianchi? Do you have a death wish or what?”
Great. Here we go. Another round of me acting powerless to avoid breaking his collarbone in a single punch and receiving several punches in return.
“Luca, listen to me. It’s Maria.”
He stepped toward me. His jaw was tight, and his fists were already halfway curled. “Don’t say her name. Don’t. You have no right. You ruined everything. You killed our father.”
“I didn’t.”
He flinched like I slapped him.
“You think I believe anything you say? You liar…Shade.”
“I don’t care if you believe it. Just shut up and listen.”
That got him. Luca hated being told to shut up. “You have some nerve, Bianchi, killing my father and now telling me to shut____”
“Luca, can you just shut up and listen for once.” He became silent, something one doesn’t often get to see from Luca. “She sent me a message. One word. ‘Enri.’ That’s not nothing.”
He blinked. His expression flickered.
“I think something’s wrong. I think Enrico has her.”
“Enrico? Why would he have her?”
“Yes. I think Enrico is the mastermind of all of this.”
I took a step closer, but I didn’t break eye contact.
“Last night, she told me everything. About that night. The night your dad died.”
Luca’s nostrils flared. “You mean the night you killed him?”
“She was with Shade that night. And Shade was me. We were together that entire night. In my office, we were…” I cleared my throat, the words choking out, “The point is, I wasn’t there. I didn’t kill anyone. Maria can testify to it. She is my alibi.”
He scoffed. “You expect me to believe that? That my sister, who loved my dad, spent the night with the man who killed him? That’s a damn soap opera.”
I took a deep breath.
“She didn’t know it was me. She wore a mask. I wore a mask. She left before either of us figured it out. And after, when she heard Dante call me Shade, she panicked and ran. But we got to put together all the pieces last night.”
His jaw twitched. But he didn’t interrupt.
“She’s your sister, Luca. You know her. You know she wouldn’t lie about this. And now she’s in trouble. I feel it. I know it.”
I pulled out my phone and showed him the message. He stared at the screen. He muttered under his breath. Something sharp and angry in Italian.
“Enri... You think she meant Enrico?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Damn it,” he growled and rubbed his hand down his face.
Something in him shifted. Like he cracked open. He looked back at me.
“You really think he has her?”
“Yes, but I am not sure. We should first check the Russo Mansion.”
His silence screamed. A second passed and then another. Then he gave a sharp nod, like a man about to leap into fire.
“You had not checked the Russo Mansion, and you came to me first with allegations. Then what the hell are we standing here for?”
“I did but couldn’t get in because it was locked,” I explained.
We climbed into my car. He still didn’t like me. I could feel it oozing from him. But for now, the hate was on pause because Maria meant more.
As we drove, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Her voice. Her eyes when she said my name like she meant it. The way she looked when she told me Matteo was mine. A father. I was a damn father. And now she and Matteo were in danger. I could sense it. Again.
“How did we miss it?” Luca muttered from the passenger seat.
“What?”
“Enrico. He was always there. Like wallpaper. Smiling. Nodding. Helping. And he killed our father? That bastard. There is no way he killed his own brother.”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I was too busy gripping the steering wheel like it could anchor me to this world. All I wanted was to see her just once more. I’d never ask for anything again.
“You think she’s okay?” Luca asked, his voice lower now.
“She has to be. She has to keep Matteo safe. That’s what she does.”
He looked at me.
“You really love her?”
I swallowed hard. “I’d burn the world for her.”
He turned back to the window and didn’t say anything else. Maybe that was enough.
I hit the gas harder.
Hang on, Maria. We’re coming. Hang on for me—for us.
The house was a mess. The front door was cracked open like someone kicked it in. Cushions were strewn across the floor. There was a broken vase by the hallway, and the sharp scent of spilled perfume clung to the air like a warning. My stomach dropped the second I stepped inside. Luca was right behind me. His jaw was locked, and his eyes were scanning the chaos like he was putting it all together in real time.
I stepped over a shattered photo of Maria and Matteo in matching red scarves, smiling like nothing could ever go wrong. My chest tightened.
“Maria?” I called out, though I already knew the answer.
Nothing.
Luca stormed past me, taking the stairs two at a time. I followed, gripping the handrail hard enough my knuckles turned white. Upstairs was worse. The bedroom door was hanging off its hinges. Sheets were ripped from the bed, and Kayla was on the floor, holding her arm.
Luca rushed to her side. “Kayla! What the hell happened? Where’s Maria? Where’s Matteo?”
Her voice cracked. “He knocked me out. I passed out. He took him. Enrico took Maria’s son from me.”
I went still. Matteo. Our son. I saw red for a second.
Luca helped Kayla onto the bed while I paced like a caged animal. Everything in me was screaming to punch something, break something, and tear the entire place apart just to feel like I was doing something.
Luca turned to me, face grim. “We need to find them.”
“No kidding,” I snapped, then caught myself. I took a breath. “Sorry. It’s just that this is all too much.”
He didn’t respond. He just gave me that same stare. The one that used to make me want to prove something. Now, it just made me tired.
We searched the house for clues. Drawers were pulled out, and papers were scattered. Enrico was looking for something or trying to make it look like a robbery. I found Maria’s phone on the kitchen counter with the screen cracked.
Luca held up a broken earring. “This is hers.”
I nodded, my jaw clenched. “We have to think. Where would he take them?”
Luca rubbed his face with both hands. “He wouldn’t take them somewhere random. He’s not stupid. He wants something.”
“Leverage.”
We both looked at each other, the same thought hanging in the air.
“Luca, you think he’s going after you next? All that bastard ever wanted was the inheritance, and he tried for years to keep you two away from it.”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.
My brain was spinning, checking every location I’d ever seen Enrico in. The businesses. The private clubs. The old wine cellar he used to take guests to.
“Wait.” I snapped my fingers. “The warehouse.”
Luca looked up. “What warehouse?”
“The one outside the city. It’s abandoned and near the old dock. You remember? He used to take deliveries and late-night drop-offs there.”
Luca narrowed his eyes. “You think he’d take Maria and Matteo there?”
“If he wanted privacy? Yeah. It’s perfect.”
Luca nodded slowly. “Then that’s where we start.”
We barely spoke as we got in the car. I thought of calling for backup, but this was still an unconfirmed location. So, I decided to wait till we had confirmed the location. I texted Dante to have my men on standby and be ready to move in case I needed them because we had no clue what we were walking into. The silence was thick and tense. But for the first time in our lives, we were on the same side. We were two men who loved Maria and needed her safe. And there was a boy who meant the world to both of us.
I glanced at Luca while he drove. “You ever think we’d end up working together?”
He let out a dry laugh. “Honestly? No. I thought I’d knock your teeth in the next time I saw you.”
“Still might. Depends how this ends.”
“Fair enough.”
I rubbed my hands together, staring out the window. The city lights blurred by. My chest was tight, and my breath was shallow.
“You really love her?” he asked again, and this time, it was not from a place of spite like he had done earlier. It was more of him needing some sort of assurance or maybe clarity from me.
I turned to him. “More than I’ve ever loved anyone.”
“Even before you knew she was your alibi?”
“Especially before.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he said, “Good. Because if we make it out of this, and you hurt her—”
“I won’t.” That was the only thing I was sure of.
His phone buzzed. We both jumped. He answered and put it on speaker.
Enrico’s voice came through, cold and smooth like oil. “Luca. I thought you’d never pick up.”
Luca tensed. “It was just one ring, you idiot. Where are they?”
Enrico chuckled. “You’re still so impatient. Come to the warehouse. Do you remember it? Good. Come alone. There is a bomb, so you have exactly thirty minutes, or she and that brat die.”
Click. A bomb. If this was anyone else, I would have assumed them to be bluffing, but this was Enrico.
Luca gripped the wheel tighter, speeding up. “We have to hurry and get to the warehouse. He said there was a bomb. We need to get there before it goes off.”
And for the first time, I knew exactly what I had to do. No more games. No more lies. I couldn’t waste any more time. I texted Dante, and my men were almost an hour out from my location, so I knew it was up to Luca and me now. I told him to inform the police and the anti-bomb squad. He told me I should wait till they got there, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t take that chance and risk their lives.
I had one mission and one thought. I just wanted to get my family back, even if it meant losing everything else.