11. Vera
Chapter 11
Vera
M assimo is running at full speed, chasing Elio and the other guy. I don't know who he is, only that he is part of the Vitale gang.
They were talking about my son.
My son is alive.
I finally have concrete evidence of that, and my heart is both singing and screaming at the same time.
Where is he? I am so desperate to just hold him in my arms. I can't believe he has been alive this entire time and he has never even seen his own mother's face. He has never heard his father's voice.
Is he locked up somewhere? Has someone raised him as their own and tricked him into thinking they are his parents - who? Where?
I can hardly breathe, but I need to - I need to focus. Now is not the time to have a meltdown. Not with Vitale guys on the property and Elio trying to escape .
Massimo is still chasing Elio. I need to get help.
I spin around to run back towards the house to scream for Adrian and the guards - but that is when I see them.
A massive group of Vitale men waiting just near the back gate. They have cut away a section of it.
The first guy who got in was a scout - a distraction - the entire security force is looking for him while the main attack sneaks in at the back.
I can't believe what I'm seeing. I don't know what to do.
Massimo is running straight towards them - straight into the trap - do I still go and look for help or do I try and stop him?
"Massimo," I scream at the top of my lungs.
All I can hope is that my scream will alert both him and the guards.
"Massimo, it's a trap," I scream again.
But he's out of sight now - around the other side of the massive property. I don't know if he can hear me, and I don't know what is going on.
I know that by myself I won't be much help, so I choose to run back towards the house to find Adrian.
All I hope is that he believes me.
I need him to believe me.
His brother's life depends on it.
I rush back into the lodge.
It's peaceful inside. No one is aware of the massive dangers lurking around outside in the darkness of the estate .
"Adrian," I shout into the lodge. Everyone nearby turns to glare at me.
"Where is he?" I shout, angry, desperate, panicked.
"Keep your voice down." Someone snaps.
"We are under attack," I shout back at them, then run towards the back of the lodge where I see a guard.
I hear the murmur of panic and movement as I leave the crowd of family who were just a moment ago sipping hot chocolate and Irish whiskey.
"Is she joking?"
"That's not funny?"
"Where is Massimo?"
I bolt towards the guard and grab his walkie-talkie. "Hey." He shouts, snatching it back.
"Where is Adrian? Massimo is in trouble. There's an ambush in the back garden. He needs help."
The guard blinks in shock for a second, then speaks into the radio. "Who has eyes on Adrian - everyone report to sector five. Now."
Then he starts running and all I can do is run and try to keep up.
We burst through the doors into the back garden.
It's chaos. The white snow is splashed with blood which looks so bright red in contrast it's a shock to the eyes.
The guard shouts into the radio again. "Sector five. Under attack. Sector five. Now."
I see Massimo wrestling Elio and a group of Vitale men trying to pull him off .
A shot fires but I can't tell which direction it came from or if it was our men or theirs.
Guards rush from both sides of the house, joining the chaotic battle in the snow. The air fills with the thick, sickening sound of screams, and my stomach churns as I watch someone stumble to the ground, a knife buried deep in their eye. Blood gushes from the wound, splattering across the white snow like a violent slash of red paint. I feel the bile rise in my throat.
I want to vomit.
I don't know how I can help. How can I make this stop?
Watching Massimo being attacked is a nightmare I can't wake from. Elio kicks free of him just as someone leaps onto Massimo's back from behind, the weight throwing him off balance. The snow makes it hard for them to move, their feet slipping and sliding.
"We need him alive!" a Vitale man shouts, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Lock him down!"
"No!" I scream, panic and desperation tearing through me. Without thinking, I run towards them, my mind blank but my heart screaming that I have to do something—anything—to help. But before I can reach them, someone grabs me from behind and throws me to the ground.
Pain explodes through my hands as they hit the ice-cold snow, the powder soft enough to cushion my fall but cold enough to sting. I roll over, my breath coming in sharp gasps, just in time to see Adrian bolt past me, his gun drawn .
He wasn't attacking me. He was stopping me. He was stopping me from running straight into danger.
"Get inside!" he shouts, his voice carrying over the sounds of the fight. But all I can think about is Massimo, and how every second could be his last.
Our guards are already starting to push the Vitale forces back. They have lost the element of surprise and we have more men than them. Massimo is standing now, fighting.
Adrian moves swiftly to Massimo's side, his face a mask of deadly focus. Without hesitation, he raises his gun, takes aim, and fires. The crack of the shot echoes through the snowy battlefield, and the bullet finds its mark—a man between the eyes. In an instant, the back of the man's head explodes, spraying blood and bone across the faces of those nearby. They recoil in shock and disgust, stumbling back as the horror of it unfolds before them.
The Vitale men are fleeing now.
"Elio," I scream, watching him slipping between the Vitale forces, trying to escape. But Massimo has his eyes on him. He dives forward, skidding across the snow, and grabbing Elio around the leg he pulls him down to the ground.
Elio screams for help, but not a single one of the Vitale men turns to help him. They are all trying to save themselves.
Slowly, the garden grows quieter.
The shooting stops and all I can hear is the heavy rasping breathing of those who were defending us.
I rush forward, my feet slipping and getting caught in the thick snow .
My top is soaked through and I'm not wearing a jacket, but I don't care. All I care about is that Massimo is ok - and that he isn't going to let Elio go.
I sink my knees alongside where Massimo is busy cuffing Elio.
"Where is my son?" I scream at him.
Elio turns towards me. "Don't fucking speak to me, bitch." He snarls.
I swing my hand and slap him across the face. "Where - is - my - son?" I say again, this time my eyes burn fire into his soul.
Elio hesitates, his mouth open, like he wants to talk back to me - but then he can't handle my glare and he turns his face away.
Massimo lifts him by his neck and shakes him. "Where the fuck is my son, Elio?" he snarls, with so much more force than I had.
Massimo looks terrifying and Elio shrinks back into himself. But still - he doesn't answer.
"What is going on?" Adrian says, frustrated, angry and clueless.
"This fucking asshole was part of it all along." Massimo snarls.
"My son, Vera's son - he wasn't stillborn. Someone took him at birth."
"What?" Adrian shakes his head, disbelief written across his face.
He looks like he's trying to fit the pieces together, but they refuse to connect.
"Elio?" His voice tightens with pain, the name almost a whisper. "Not Elio though—Elio?"
He stares at his best friend, his eyes narrowing as he takes in the sight of him. His brows knot together, but it's not anger that darkens his face. It's hurt. A deep, festering wound that's just been ripped open.
Adrian's expression flickers with so many emotions that it's hard to pin them all down—betrayal, confusion, disbelief. He's struggling to comprehend what's happening, trying to process the idea that someone he's trusted his whole life has shattered that trust.
His lips parted as if he wanted to speak again, but no words came. He feels so many things—so many things he can't even name—that the room feels like it's spinning around him.
Adrian looks towards Massimo. Suddenly his expression is changed. It's stern and powerful. "I will take him to the cell." He says coldly.
"Yes," Massimo says, releasing his grip on Elio's throat.
Massimo faces the guards. "Secure this fence. Order more forces. Everyone is on high alert."