“Matteo!” Carmen’s scream shattered the silence.
“Where is Matteo?!”
She ran down the hallway, barefoot, her heart pounding so hard it hurt. Her voice was raw, breaking, desperate.
She threw open Matteo’s bedroom door. Empty. His blankets were tossed aside, his stuffed bear lying on the floor.
No Matteo. Carmen’s breath hitched violently.
“Marco!” she screamed, stumbling back into the hallway.
Doors burst open. Marco rushed out of his office, his face tense, alert.
Luca’s men were already on the move, sweeping through the house. “What’s going on?” Marco demanded.
Carmen spun to him, panic gripping her chest.
“Matteo’s gone!”
Marco’s face turned to stone.
“Check the grounds!” he barked at his security team. “Lock down the estate. No one gets in or out!”
Men rushed into action, running toward the front gate, the back garden, the security feeds.
But Carmen couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. All she could see was her baby’s empty bed. “Marco, someone took him,” she choked out, tears burning her eyes.
Marco’s jaw tightened, his muscles coiled with fury.
“We’ll find him,” he promised.
But Carmen saw it—the fear in his eyes.
For the first time, Marco was scared too.
Ella appeared in the hallway, calm, composed, dressed neatly in her nightgown. “What’s all the noise?” she asked, her voice gentle, unbothered.
Carmen turned on her so fast her vision blurred.
“Where is he?!” she screamed, her hands shaking.
Ella blinked, tilting her head.
“Oh dear,” she said softly. “Is Matteo missing?”
Carmen’s stomach twisted violently.
“Don’t act like you don’t know!” she spat.
Marco stepped forward, his presence commanding, threatening.
“Did you see him leave?” he asked, his voice like ice.
Ella sighed, shaking her head.
“Children wander sometimes,” she said lightly. “He’s probably hiding. They do that, you know.”
Carmen’s blood ran cold. Her baby was missing, and Ella was acting like it was nothing. Like it was normal.
“You’re lying,” Carmen whispered. Ella smiled, soft, patient. “Come now,” she murmured. “Let’s not panic.”
But Carmen was panicking. And Marco?
Marco was starting to look at Ella differently.
Like he was finally seeing what Carmen had seen all along. Like he was finally wondering who the hell they had let into their home. The security team combed every inch of the estate.
“Sweep the perimeter!” Marco barked into his phone. “Check every camera, every blind spot!”
Carmen stood in the middle of the living room, her arms wrapped around herself, her breath coming in short, ragged bursts.
Hours passed. Nothing. No sign of Matteo. Carmen was falling apart. “Marco, what if—”
“Don’t,” he cut her off, his voice hard, but his hands shaking. “Don’t say it.”
But she could see it. The same horrible thought was eating at both of them. What if Matteo was gone for good? What if someone had taken him?
What if—
The front door creaked open. Carmen’s breath stalled in her throat. Footsteps. Tiny, gentle footsteps. A small, familiar voice.
“Mama?”
Carmen whipped around.
And there, standing in the doorway—was Matteo. Carmen froze. Marco’s entire body locked up. Matteo stood there, smiling.
His pajamas were clean, untouched. His hair was slightly tousled, but otherwise perfect. Like he hadn’t been gone at all. Like he had just stepped outside for some air.