Matteo.
*I’m sorry. I had to save Isabella myself.*
Those words were the only thing written in the note she left on the pillow for me.
The walls of the safe house felt like they were closing in, suffocating me with their silence.
I paced back and forth across the worn wooden floor, my fists clenched at my sides at frustration built up inside me.
Valentina wasn’t here.
She hadn’t been here for three days now.
And every minute that passed without me knowing where she was felt like a slow descent into madness.
Where the hell was she?
“Where is she?” I growled for what felt like the hundredth time, directing the question at Ethan, who stood by the window, staring into the night.
His expression was neutral, which only infuriated me more.
How could he be so calm when Valentina was missing?
“I don’t know.” He said quietly, his tone far too causal for my liking.
“Fuck.” I ran a hand through my hair, tugging at the strands as if the pain would somehow clear the chaos in my mind. “I had no idea where she got her information from, and how she got out of the house. But she isn’t like us, she doesn’t know how to survive out there. And after what happened…. after what I did…” my voice trailed off, the weight of my guilt suffocating.
Ethan finally turned to face me, his blue eyes piercing in the dim light. “She’s stronger than you think, Matteo. You underestimate her.”
I shook my head, anger boiling beneath the surface. “I didn’t bring her to this place to make her stronger. I brought her here to protect her. To keep her safe. And now she’s out there… God knows where… and it’s my fault.”
I didn’t install better security cameras.
I didn’t have enough men to keep her from disappearing.
“Is it?” Ethan’s voice was a challenge, his calm demeanour a stark contrast to my growing fury. “Maybe if you hadn’t pushed her away all the time, and built something trustworthy, we wouldn’t be in this.”
I froze, his words hitting me like a punch to the gut.
Valentina meant more to me than I could ever admit, even to myself.
But this wasn’t about that.
This was about her safety.
The fact that she was out there, vulnerable, with no one to protect her from the danger that surrounded us. From Luca.
“I’m going to find her,” I said, my voice hard, determined. “I don’t care what it takes.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to tear apart the city? Be my guest if you think that would bring her back.”
“If that’s what it takes.”
I had the resources.
The power.
And I’d use every single one of them to find her.
But Ethan wasn’t done. “Matteo, think about this. We know who she’s with. We know what he wants. Would it be a bad thing to just give him what he wants, and be done with it?”
“Giving him what he wants would admit defeat!” I snapped, my voice rising. “And the moment I admit defeat is the moment I die.”
Ethan stepped in front of me, blocking my path. “So being the mafia don is more important than being with Valentina?”
What?
I glared at him, the tension between us thick. “That’s not true. Nothing is more important than her.”
“Then do the right thing.” Ethan’s voice softened, his eyes searching mine. “Attend the meeting, give the title to Luca, and end this once and for all.”
The words hit too close to home.
I knew Ethan meant well, but I couldn’t do that.
I couldn’t give Luca the title without admitting defeat. And not when I was so close to getting the truth about everything.
It would be stupid to risk it now.
“Same way it would be stupid to risk your wife…” The thought rang through in my head.
“I can’t do that,” I said finally, my voice cold. “Valentina would understand at the end.”
Ethan sighed, stepping aside. “Then go. But you better hope you find her before Luca does what he threatened.”
I didn’t waste another second.
The door slammed shut behind me as I stormed out of the safe house, my mind racing with a million different thoughts. The night air was cool against my skin, but it did nothing to calm the fire burning inside me. Every instinct I had screamed at me to protect her, to pull her back to my side where she belonged.
But how could I protect her if I didn’t know where she was?
I pulled out my phone, dialing the number of one of my men. “Find her,” I barked into the phone before the voice on the other end could even speak. “I don’t care how. Just do it. And if you don’t have results by morning, you’ll be out of a job.”
I hung up before the man could respond, my heart pounding in my chest. Valentina wasn’t just another pawn in this twisted game. She was everything.
And if I didn’t find her soon…
I couldn’t even finish the thought.
The idea of something happening to her… of Luca doing what he promised if I didn’t adhere to his warnings was enough to send a wave of panic crashing over me.
I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t.
But as the night dragged on, and the hours stretched into what felt like an eternity, the panic only grew. No one had seen her. None of my men had any leads. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.
By the time dawn broke, I was a wreck. Exhausted, furious, and desperate. My phone buzzed in my hand, and I answered it on the first ring.
“We found something,” my man said, his voice cautious.
“What is it?” I demanded.
“There’s a lead… on Isabella.”
My heart sank. Isabella.
Of course.
Valentina had searched for her sister. She wanted to find her without me butting me.
Had she been found?
“Where is she?” I asked, my voice tight.
“She was last seen on the outskirts of the city. Running away from a warehouse there… Luca’s men have been spotted there.”
The blood drained from my face.
That must have been where she went when she ran away. The only warehouse Luca had that I had no idea about.
I didn’t wait to hear anything else. I was already out the door, my heart pounding in my chest. This was it. This was the moment I had been dreaded since I made the decision not to do as Luca wanted.
The moment when I would either find Valentina or lose her forever.
And I wasn’t going to lose her.
Not to Luca.
Not to anyone.
I would burn the entire world down before I let that happen.