Chapter 8
Adriano Pov~
"Kalani, get in the SUV. Now." My beautiful wife stood in the foyer with her hands on her hips, glaring at one of our twins with enough authority to make even seasoned Mafia men think twice.
I walked over after handing the last of the travel paperwork to Matteo. "Everything's set," I said. He gave a grunt of acknowledgment before heading outside.
It was five in the morning, and not a single one of our kids looked thrilled about being awake. I smirked as Michel and Dantae shuffled through the foyer like zombies before crashing into each other and falling to the floor in a tangled heap.
"Idiot," Michel grumbled, shoving Dantae off him.
I shook my head before stopping beside Gianna, who was still staring Kalani down. "I said, get in. Now." Kalani huffed dramatically but finally climbed into one of the SUVs.
Gianna let out a long breath, looking completely exhausted...yet somehow still the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on.
"Is everyone in yet?" I asked, wrapping my arms around her waist. She shook her head before disappearing back into the house.
"Uncle Adri..." Lia whined sleepily, rubbing her eyes with her stuffed pig tucked under one arm. "Where's Mommy?" I bent down and scooped her into my arms.
She immediately rested her head against my shoulder. "Mommy's dragging your brother Dean out of bed." I chuckled softly. "How about I take you to Daddy instead?"
She gave a sleepy nod. I swear...these damn kids made me soft. If anyone outside this family ever saw me like this, my reputation would've been finished.
I carried Lia over to where Matteo and Giovanni were talking beside one of the SUVs. The second Matteo spotted his daughter, every ounce of tension left his face.
"Hey, princess," he murmured, taking her from my arms.
She instantly cuddled into his chest, half asleep.
Yep. We were all fucking whipped.
Smirking to myself, I turned and watched AJ and Alessandra walk outside with Marcio and Damien close behind.
AJ walked over, yawning halfway through his sentence. "When do we leave?"
"In about ten minutes." I glanced around. "Where are your mothers?"
He pointed back toward the house. I sighed. Of course.
Walking back inside, I found Yana coming downstairs with a very grumpy Dean trailing behind her, while Gianna followed carrying Callie with Caterina holding tightly onto her free hand.
"Please tell me that's everyone," I muttered.
"It is," Yana answered with a sigh. "Who told us to have this many kids anyway?"
I laughed. "I seem to remember you and Leena encouraging us." She rolled her eyes. "I'd like to formally withdraw my support."
I snorted before lifting Caterina into my arms. "Come on, Princess." Before anyone climbed into the vehicles, I did one final headcount.
With this many kids... It was dangerously easy to forget somebody. It had only happened once.
Yeah...none of us ever talked about that day. Once everyone was accounted for, we piled into the four black SUVs.
The convoy pulled away from the estate just as the sun began creeping over the horizon. Next stop, the airport. And after that...Italy.
Alessandra Pov~
Dantae's head rested in my lap as we pulled up to the airstrip. I looked out the window and spotted the massive private jet waiting for us.
Yep... all twenty-three of us were about to spend the next nine hours on one plane.
Joy.
Dad and Mom climbed out first, causing Michel to topple sideways onto the seat after he'd been using Mom's shoulder as a pillow. I leaned over and jabbed AJ in the ribs. He'd been snoring with his mouth hanging wide open.
He jerked awake with a gasp, blinking around in confusion before his eyes landed on me. He groaned dramatically, shot me the signature Basilio glare, then shoved Michel toward the door before climbing out after him.
I rolled my eyes at my idiotic twin. Dantae was suddenly wide awake, so I climbed out with him and followed everyone else toward the plane.
"Pile in!" Uncle Gio called, pointing toward the jet.
We all started climbing the stairs, and of course I ended up near the back of the line. A cool morning breeze swept over me, making me shiver as I silently begged everyone to move faster.
Dad and Uncle Matteo were still standing on the tarmac, talking business like they always did.
Mom came up behind me and rubbed my back with a gentle smile. Within a few minutes, everyone had boarded the sleek private jet.
The cabin was gorgeous, cream-colored leather seats, polished oak paneling, and enough room for all of us to spread out comfortably. I took a seat beside Raf while AJ and Antonio sat across from us.
Mom and Dad settled into the seats near the front beside Aunt Mili. Uncle Matteo and Aunt Yana sat across from us, while Uncle Gio and Aunt Leena claimed the seats in the middle of the cabin.
Everyone sprawled out however they could. Personally, I didn't care about anything except sleep. I reclined my seat all the way back, Raf had already beaten me to it, and closed my eyes.
Within seconds, I was fast asleep.
~***~
I was jolted awake by someone tugging on my hair. Groaning, I snapped my eyes open. "Isabella, what do you want?" I mumbled, my voice thick with sleep.
"Mommy said to wake you up! No need to be a grump about it," she said, rolling her eyes before skipping away. I stared after her in disbelief. That little seven-year-old had been spending way too much time around her mother.
With a sigh, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and looked out the window beside Raf. "Finally, you're awake," Raf said with a smirk. "You snore like a cow."
I smacked him on the shoulder. "How do you even know what a cow sounds like when it snores?"
He shrugged. "It sounded right." I laughed despite myself and pulled out my phone. It was already nine o'clock. Four hours down. Five more to go.
I sighed. Then my stomach dropped. Another text from the same Unknown number.
I frowned, glancing over at Raf, who was completely absorbed in whatever game he was playing on his phone.
I opened the message.
Soon, my love. Everything will come to light soon. I can't wait to hold you in my arms like I did once before.
My eyes widened.
Okay... this was getting out of hand. Whatever stupid prank one of my siblings was pulling needed to stop.
I looked up at AJ. He had his headphones on, nodding along to whatever music he was listening to No... it couldn't be him. He'd had way too much on his plate lately to waste time sending me creepy messages.
My gaze shifted to Raf. Definitely not him. He was way too nice to mess with me like this.
Then I looked at Marcio. He was asleep, snoring softly. He was definitely capable of pulling something like this... but lately he'd been far too busy sneaking around with his secret girlfriend—the one he thought nobody knew about.
My eyes drifted toward Leo, who was sitting two rows ahead on the opposite side, talking with Antonio, Kalani, and Kaia. Please, they wouldn't even know where to begin with all this sappy love-message nonsense.
I didn't even bother considering Dean, Michel, Dantae, or any of the younger kids.
That only left one person. Damien.
I quietly stood up, noticing Raf glance at me for a second before returning to his phone. Walking down the aisle, I spotted Damien a few rows ahead, focused on his phone, texting someone.
Gotcha.
Without hesitation, I smacked him upside the head. Hard. "What the fuck?!" Damien shouted, clutching his head. "I'm hurt enough as it is!"
I felt my hand brush against the stitches above his eyebrow. Okay...that probably did hurt.
"Language," Mom called, turning around in her seat to glare at us. She and Dad were seated directly in front of Damien, their chairs facing toward the rest of the cabin.
"What's going on?" Mom asked. "And don't hit your brother. He's already beaten up and barely holding himself together as is."
Dad slowly turned in his seat, his blue eyes settling on the two of us. I huffed and snatched Damien's phone from his hands.
"Hey!" he barked.
"This," I said, waving the phone in front of him.
Dad reached over and took it from me before I could explain anything.
He scanned the messages for a few moments.
Then he looked back at me. "Cedric's sister is sick and can't make it to a party.
" He raised an eyebrow. "Why exactly are you upset about that? "
"What?"
I grabbed the phone back and scrolled through the messages. Sure enough...nothing. No creepy texts. No weird love messages. I slowly looked up at Damien. He was glaring at me with enough intensity to melt steel.
"Where are the messages you sent me?" I demanded.
He lifted his stitched eyebrow. "I barely like talking to you in person," he deadpanned. "Why the hell would I waste my time texting you?"
"What messages?" Mom asked curiously.
I looked down at my own phone before forcing a smile. "Nothing. Never mind." I laughed awkwardly. "I've obviously gone crazy."
"Yeah," Damien muttered, taking his phone back. "You just noticed that?"
I rolled my eyes and turned to walk back to my seat.
"Stop." Dad's voice sliced through the cabin.
I froze.
"Phone." He held out his hand.
My stomach sank. Slowly, I handed him my phone. He read each message in complete silence.
His expression never changed. If anything...it became even harder. Then those piercing blue eyes lifted to meet mine.
I swallowed.
I was in deep shit now.