The tires screeched against the pavement as Marco’s car sped through the dark streets, his grip on the steering wheel like iron.
Luca sat beside him, still weak from the hospital, but his eyes were sharp, focused.
The only thing on their minds?
Matteo.
Marco’s heart pounded violently as they pulled up to Luca’s estate, where Carmen was being kept under guard.
He barely put the car in park before storming out, his entire body buzzing with fury and urgency.
The moment he stepped inside, his eyes locked onto her.
Carmen was already standing, waiting for him, her expression a mixture of fear, anger, and desperation.
“Where is my son?” she demanded the second he walked through the door.
Marco’s jaw tightened, but before he could speak, Luca stepped forward.
“We know who took him,” Luca said.
Carmen’s breath hitched.
“Who?” she whispered.
Luca exchanged a quick glance with Marco, then said the words that made her stomach drop.
“Ella.”
Carmen stared. Her mind went blank. For a second, she thought she had misheard.
“What?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Ella took him,” Marco repeated, his voice sharp, furious. “And she wants to make him Rafael.”
Carmen’s hands curled into fists. She had always known something was wrong. Had felt it deep in her bones. She had told Marco multiple times.
But Marco hadn’t believed her.
Now, her child was gone. A wave of rage crashed through her. She wanted to scream, to blame Marco, to tell him this was his fault—
But she didn’t have time for that. There was only one thing that mattered.
Getting Matteo back.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.
“What do you mean,” she asked, her voice shaking, “she wants to make him Rafael?”
Luca’s expression darkened.
He took a slow, measured breath, then said—
“She’s done this before.”
Carmen’s stomach twisted violently.
“What?” she whispered.
“Angela Green. Maria Moretti. Eleanor Moreau—whatever the f**k her name is—” Luca’s voice was low, firm, “she’s not just a criminal, Carmen. She’s a f**king legend.”
Carmen shook her head. She knew half of this. The private investigator told her about Angela Green and the things she was involved with. And also that she had a son. What Carmen didn’t know was, that the son was Rafael.
“You’re telling me she steals children?” she asked.
Luca’s jaw clenched.
“She doesn’t just steal them,” he said darkly. “She replaces them.”
Carmen felt like she was going to be sick.
“She finds families,” Luca continued. “Finds the perfect child. She builds their trust, makes them love her—makes them believe they belong to her. And then?”
His next words made Carmen’s blood run cold.
“She erases who they were.”
Carmen took a step back, her breath coming in short, shaky gasps.
“No,” she whispered. “That won’t happen to Matteo. He won’t forget us.”
Luca let out a slow, heavy breath.
“That’s what every parent thought before her,” he said. “And every single one of them lost their child.”
Carmen felt like the walls were closing in.
“How do you know all this?” she asked, her voice barely holding together.
Luca’s eyes darkened even further.
“Because I spent weeks digging into her past,” he admitted. “And Marco—” he turned to look at him, ”—you need to understand something.”
Marco stiffened.
“Matteo won’t forget us,” Marco snapped, his voice sharp with denial. “He’s my son. Ours. He knows who we are.”
Luca shook his head.
“She’s an expert manipulator, Marco,” he warned. “She knows exactly how to make him believe she’s the only person he’s ever trusted.”
Carmen’s throat tightened.
She thought about all the little signs—
The way Matteo had started calling Ella Mommy. The way he had pulled away from her. The way Marco had defended Ella over and over again.
It had all been building up to this.