GONE

AURORA’S POV
“At this rate, I’ll be late picking up Liam.” I sighed as I took another glance at my watch, it was more than twenty minutes and no sign of Bella. She’d asked to meet but she wasn’t showing up.
Dailing her number a couple of times with no response I made to leave the ice cream shop heading towards my car when a message dropped in. Opening my inbox my blood ran cold.
“No…no.” I whispered in fear as I looked at the image of my baby boy asleep in the back seat of a car. My mind went black as I jumped into my car and sped up to his kindergarten which was just a three-minute drive from the ice cream shop. “God it better be a prank… not my baby God I beg of you.” I kept praying as my heart slammed against my chest in fear.
Immediately I got to the school premises I caught sight of Liam’s homeroom teacher out in the front with some other kids whose parents were yet to pick up. She sees me and waves my way. “Mrs Rocco, what are you doing here?” She asks warmly with a confused expression.
“I’m here to pick up Liam.” The worry in my voice was evident as I kept looking around if I would catch sight of him. She looked at me as tho I had suddenly developed a pair of heads. “Where is he?” I ask her.
“His Aunt Sofia came to pick him up earlier. Didn’t you send her to come pick him up?” She question’s worried and I didn’t want to put her in a tight spot. Maybe it was Sofia who sent me the message I thought calmly.
Trying to plaster a fake smile I smack my head pretending to just remember that I did send Sofia. “Oh yes, do you know I totally forgot I did send her to come pick him up. I’m so sorry for worrying you.” I smile at her reassuringly.
“It’s fine Mrs Rocco, I actually thought something was wrong when you asked cause you looked worried.” She smiled. “I need to stay by the other kids if you don’t mind.” She looked towards the little children out in front and I got the message.
“Thanks for your time.” I tell her and staggered back to my car in a daze.
I never told Sofia to pick up Liam. Why did she go pick him up? I tried calling her a few more times, it rang but she didn’t pick up and it went to voicemail. Calling her the last time the number suddenly went off and my heart dropped. “It can’t be what I’m thinking right? She’s not that way.” I tried to calm myself down.
Just as I stepped into the car and began to drive, I decided to call Bella but as if on cue her call came in and I picked up immediately.
“Aurora where are you?” Her voice came from the other end and she sounded a bit off.
“I’m heading back him Bells, Sofia picked up Liam but she’s not reachable.” I didn’t want to tell her about the image till I got home.
“What do you mean Sofia picked up Liam!?…” and I swear I heard her curse under her breath. “I need to tell you something crucial.”
My anxiety went off the roof of the car at the very moment. “What is it?”
“Alfredo truly is not dead and he broke out of prison. Riccardo, Sofia’s bodyguard guard, he was the one who helped Alfredo out of prison…” a pause followed before she continued. “I think it has something to do with Sofia Aurora.” And it hit me.
Swerving my car to the side of the road, my tires screeching on the ground at my impromptu turn, I parked by the roadside as my heart hammered wildly against my chest. “No… no it can’t be Bella.” My body and hands shook violently as I turned off the car and grabbed my phone and purse. The call was still on.
“Calm down Aurora…” Bella tried to get me calm down from the other end but I was having it as I yelled into the phone “LIAM IS GONE AND SOFIA PICKED HIM UP!”
I think she got the message of what I meant as I heard her gasp loudly from the other end. I hail a cab and give him my address urging him to speed up.
“Bella what if…” my voice breaks as tears welled up in my eyes. “What if she took Liam to Alfredo?” The very thought of it made me die a thousand times over and over again. This can’t be happening, not to my baby.
“Where are you Aurora? I’ll come get you.” And I could hear movements behind and a bunch of keys. “No, I’m close to home Bells. Where is my husband?”
“He’s in the interrogation room with Anthony and Riccardo. I’m in the main building.”
“Please wait out for me….” Sobs racked through my body as I couldn’t complete my sentence. “Aurora we will find him, nothing bad will happen to him you need to think positively.” I stayed quiet as tears streamed down my face like a river fall. Who would have thought that after seven years we would have to go through this pain all over again and this time it was my Son! More tears fell and the driver passed me some tissues his eyes filled with so much pity for me.
Bella stayed on the call with me tho she was silent the whole time, and in less than five minutes I was home. I jumped down from the vehicle handing a 100$ dollar note to the driver before he grabbed my hand and rubbed it gently. “Everything will be fine Miss.” He gave me the brightest smile and I felt some sort of calmness and warmth before I smiled back while sniffling. “Thank you, sir.” And he drove away.
Hurting into the house, Bella was just out the door waiting for me. “You’re here.” She says rising towards me and I fall into her arms as tears fall out. “We will find him Aurora, Sofia won’t hurt him, she might act strange but she won’t hurt Liam, I promise you.” Nodding as I break the hug I pull out my phone to show the message I had just gotten with Liam in the photo and Bella let out a gasp of horror.
“Take me to Matteo.” I plead with her and she alongside a guard takes me to the bunker in the middle of the Rocco estate which was used as the interrogation room.
As we get close to the door I hear Matteo and Anthony from the other side “…Who are you working for and where is Alfredo?” Matteo thundered at whoever it was.
“You’re too late.” An unknown person’s voice came. And I heard Bella whisper under her breath “Riccardo…that some of a bitch.” And that’s when it hit me. He was talking about Liam’s disappearance.
Bursting into the room with tear-filled eyes, I felt weak and my legs gave way as I fell to the ground. Matteo’s eyes widened in shock at my appearance. “Please find Liam.” I cried out as pain racked through me. “Find my baby I beg of you.” Looking at Matteo’s phone I saw the exact same picture that was sent to me and I knew immediately that he knew about our son’s disappearance.
“Liam is Gone! Sofia took him…” Matteo’s look of horror was one for the books as he walked towards me trying to figure out how to take in my revelation. He pulled me into a tight hug stroking my head calmly as my body shook violently with sobs.
Pulling out his grip, I almost crawl to where Riccardo sits tied up in a chair. It was obvious he had been beaten up badly by whoever it was.
“You know where he is right? Just spill it and I promise we won’t let the police in on this matter. I’ll ensure you’re safe but please tell me…where’s my son?” I begged with tears tugging at the hem of his trousers.
Riccardo looked me up and down before breaking into a wicked smile and soon he was laughing straight into my face like a maniac. “Your boy is gone, ma’am.”