Chapter 40
After a month, we came back home. It was nice spending that time in Italy.
Mattia met his son, got him registered, and I was able to talk to him and tell him the whole truth—something that had been eating me up inside.
But everything's fine now. We agreed he'd come here to see his son and call ahead to let me know, and that's how we settled things.
I have to admit, when I saw him, I realized he still gets to me.
Yes, I still love him, and there's no way I could forget him—not when I have a perfect copy of him at home.
I look at my son sleeping peacefully in his crib.
He loved his father, and that made me happy, especially since they had no contact during my pregnancy.
Today I'm working from home. Matteo wasn't feeling well when he woke up, so I decided to stay and keep an eye on him throughout the day, maybe take him to the doctor. That's when I hear the doorbell ring. I'm not expecting anyone, but I go to the door and open it.
“What are you doing here?”
“I stopped by the company and Carter told me Matteo wasn't well. I rushed right over.”
“You didn't tell me you were coming to New York.”
“Yes, it's… because… I had a problem at the restaurant.” He stammers, and I can tell he's lying to me.
I give him a half-smile and open the door for him to come in.
At that moment, across the street, Frank is watching us.
He's here again, just to torment me. I try to hide my reaction, but Mattia notices and asks.
“What's wrong, Emma? You went pale all of a sudden.” He looks in the same direction I was looking, but Frank is already gone.
“It's nothing, just feeling a little off.”
“He was there, across the street? Answer me, Emma. Is he stalking you?”
“I've only seen him twice so far.”
“I'm putting security at the door. I don't want you two in danger.”
“That's not necessary. I'm hardly ever home.”
“Just don't argue with me, or I'll take you both to my apartment. Sit here, I'll get you a glass of water.”
I sit on the couch. He brings me a glass of water. I start drinking, and Matteo calls for me from his room, but Mattia steps in.
“Stay there, I'll go check on him.”
He leaves and returns minutes later with our son in his arms. Matteo is all smiles, playing with his father, but when he sees me, he starts making that pout I know so well—ready to cry because he wants to nurse. I smile at him and extend my arms, and he reaches back for me.
“You want to nurse, my boy? Come to mommy.” I love these moments that are just ours.
I nestle him in my lap and start unbuttoning my blouse. Mattia immediately grabs a cloth to cover our son and give me some privacy.
“Thank you.”
“This must be such a wonderful moment, having that direct connection with him.”
“It's my favorite moment. I actually enjoy waking up at night to nurse him.”
“Does he wake up a lot?”
“Every three hours, every night. At first we slept in the same room, but then I moved him to his own room, so it got harder. I barely slept, afraid he'd wake up and I wouldn't hear him.”
“I'm sorry about that. I should have been there for your pregnancy, the birth, and everything after.”
“It's okay. I had a great support system. Carter and Sam always came with me to appointments, and when I gave birth, my sister was by my side.”
“Even so, I should have been there.”
“There's no point trying to fix something that's already passed. The past should stay in the past.”
“You're absolutely right, but regardless, I take responsibility for my mistake. Well, I won't bother you anymore. Tomorrow I'll stop by to see how he's doing, and if you need anything, anytime, just call me.”
“Thank you. I'll be at work tomorrow, so you can find me at the office.”
“Good night.”
Mattia stayed in the city for another week, then had to return to his country.
Everything was going well. He hired security guards to keep an eye on us, against my wishes, but there was no point arguing with someone as stubborn as him.
The urge to forgive him was strong, but he still needed to suffer a little more to learn to listen to people.
On Saturday, Sam and I decided to go to the mall.
I needed to buy clothes for Matteo, who was growing bigger every day and outgrowing everything I'd bought.
Carter came by to pick us up and told us to call him when we were done.
I put my baby in the stroller and we browsed the stores.
We went into one, but I didn't like what I saw, so we moved on to another that was much bigger and had a lot more variety.
I was looking at the winter outfits when my friend said she was going to check out the toys and walked off, leaving us alone.
That's when I feel someone behind me, something pressing against my waist. I try to look back, but I recognize Frank when he speaks:
“Pick up your son and come with me. Don't make a sound, or you know what happens.”
“Don't do anything to him, please.”
“Just do what I say and nothing will happen. Move it, get him out of there and let's go.”
I picked up my son and we left through the front door. There was a car parked right near the mall entrance, and that's where he took us. He opened the back door and shoved me in. I hit my head on the car door and felt a trickle of blood running down my forehead.
“What do you want, Frank? Let me out, please. I promise I won't go to the police.”
“I told you you're mine and you go and have a bastard with that piece of shit Italian,” he shouts. Matteo gets scared and starts crying. “Make that brat shut up now.”
“It's okay, baby, mommy's here.” I hug him and try to calm my baby down, but I'm desperate myself. “What are you going to do with us?”
“We're moving to another city. I already found a family to take that brat, since he's no use to us.”
“He's my son, you can't do this. You're not taking him from me.”
He doesn't answer, just gives me a smirk and keeps driving. I manage to calm Matteo down, and he's now sleeping in my arms. I end up dozing off too, and only wake up when Frank starts shaking me, saying we've arrived.
“Come on, we're here.”
“Where are we?” I ask, frightened.
“This will be our house for now, then we'll go to another country.”
“What do you mean, another country? I'm not leaving with you, you lunatic.”
That's when I feel a slap across my face. My desperation grows, and I wonder what's going to happen to me and my son, but I need to protect him, even if it costs me my life.
“Don't yell at me, or you'll never see that boy again. You stay in this room,” he says, pushing me inside. “Don't make any noise, or you know what happens, right?”
I just nod, and he leaves, locking the door behind him.
I try to stay calm and look for a way out of here.
My God, how am I going to do this? Mattia, does he already know we're missing?
I lie down with my baby on the only bed in there, which barely fits the two of us it's so small, and start thinking through all the possibilities for escape.
We're on the second floor—no way to jump from the window. I looked around and didn't see a single light, so we must be somewhere remote. But I won't give up. I won't let Frank touch me. Never again.
Chapter 41
I'm in my office when my phone rings. I ignore it at first—I'm going over the restaurant's finances—but whoever it is keeps calling. When I finally glance at the screen, Samantha's name flashes across it. I answer. What could she want?
“Hey, Saman—”
“He took them both, Mattia. Frank took Emma and Matteo.”
I freeze. What does she mean, he took them? I hired security to protect them—they should be safe.
“I'll call you back.” I hang up and call Owen.
“What's up, buddy, what's the—”
“We're going to New York. I need you to contact everyone you know there. I don't care what it costs—I just want my wife and son back. I'll pick you up in ten minutes.” I hang up.
We're already on my jet, heading to New York.
Owen's been on the phone the whole time, working every contact he has.
The flight feels like it takes forever, but when we land, we go straight to a cop friend of his.
I've never seen so many people working nonstop—hackers pulling up camera feeds—and finally, we spot him on footage, dragging Emma and my son out of the mall.
My phone rings. I check the screen—Samantha. When I answer, she sounds frantic.
“Mattia, tell me you're already looking for them.”
“Yes. We're going to find them and bring them back safe.”
“Send me the address where you are. I want to help too.” It's Carter on the line now.
“I'll send you the location.”
I hang up and send it. Minutes later, Carter shows up, frantic, asking if we have any leads. One of the officers answers.
“We're almost there. Based on the direction he was heading, he must have left the city for one of the remote areas outside town.”
“But nothing definite?”
“We're closing in on him. Rest assured, we'll bring your family back safe.”
We spend hours there until they finally track him down—sure enough, he's in a remote area outside the city, surrounded by brush. We head out to get them. I have a gun permit, so Owen hands me a weapon. On the way, we plan our approach and how we'll split up.
We arrive in the dead of night, flashlights in hand, and split up to search for a house.
After several minutes, we spot a two-story cabin.
We wait, watching for any movement or sound, until a man steps out the door—cigarette in one hand, bottle in the other.
Every instinct screams at me to rush him, but Owen holds me back.
“We don't know what condition Emma and your son are in. Don't do anything impulsive.”
“Let's just go in. I can't wait any longer.”
“I should have left you behind, locked up. Now shut up and let's watch a little longer.”