The Disney trip ended far too quickly.
The private jet landed smoothly on Marco’s estate runway, and just like that—the magic was gone.
Matteo was still smiling, still clutching his new Mickey Mouse plush tightly against his chest, but Carmen felt the weight of reality settling back in.
The moment they stepped into the house, the warmth of the vacation vanished.
They were back in the real world. A world where Matteo had once called someone else “Mama.”
A world where Ella was still out there. A world where there was another Matteo. Marco and Luca locked themselves in the study the moment they returned.
Carmen barely had time to put Matteo to bed before she heard their low, urgent voices echoing from behind the office door.
She hesitated. She knew Marco wouldn’t want her involved. But this wasn’t just about him. This was about Matteo. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open.
Marco sat behind his desk, his jaw tight, staring at a stack of files. Luca was pacing, his phone in hand.
They barely looked up when Carmen walked in.
“Tell me what you found,” she demanded. Marco sighed, running a hand down his face.
“Carmen—”
“Don’t ‘Carmen’ me,” she snapped. “I deserve to know.”
Luca exchanged a look with Marco.
Marco exhaled sharply, then nodded.
“Fine.”
He tossed a thin file onto the desk.
“We found something.”
Carmen picked up the folder and flipped it open. Her stomach dropped. There were surveillance photos, all grainy, but clear enough to see—
A boy.
A boy who looked exactly like Matteo.
“Him,” she whispered, her fingers trembling over the image.
The fake Matteo.
The boy they thought was their son.
“Where is he?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Luca’s jaw tightened.
“We don’t know yet. But we know something worse.”
Carmen looked up.
“Worse?”
Luca nodded, his expression grim. He tossed another folder onto the desk. This one was thicker. Filled with documents, names, locations.
Marco leaned forward, tapping the top page. “The organization Ella is in charge of?” he said. “They don’t just steal children.”
Carmen’s heart pounded. “Then what do they do?”
Luca exhaled. “They make them.”
Carmen’s stomach turned. “What the hell are you talking about?” she demanded.
Marco flipped through the files, his eyes dark.
“They’re creating clones, Carmen.”
Her breath hitched. “Clones?”
Luca nodded. “The boy we thought was Matteo? He wasn’t just some random kidnapped child. He was a clone. A perfect copy.”
Carmen staggered back, her mind reeling. “You’re telling me that someone created another Matteo?”
Marco’s expression was tight, controlled, deadly.
“Yes.”
Carmen felt sick.
“That’s not possible.”
Luca let out a humorless laugh. “It is. And they’ve been doing it for years.”
Carmen pressed a hand to her chest, trying to steady her breathing. “Why? Why would they do that?”
Marco’s hands curled into fists. “Control, power, replacements. Who knows? But Ella—” He paused, his eyes flashing with anger. “She planned all of this. She wanted to break us.”
Carmen felt dizzy.
She stumbled into a chair, gripping the armrest.
“So what you’re saying is…” She swallowed hard. “Matteo—our Matteo—was supposed to be taken. Replaced. And we wouldn’t have even known.”
Marco nodded grimly.
“Exactly.”
Carmen’s hands shook.
The thought of it—of some twisted organization taking their son and replacing him with a copy—made her want to scream.
“We have to stop this,” she said, her voice sharp. “We have to find her.”
Luca nodded.
“We will. But we need to be smart about it. We still don’t know how many clones are out there or how deep this goes.”
Marco leaned forward, his eyes locked on Carmen’s.
“This is bigger than we thought, Carmen.”
She gritted her teeth.
“I don’t care how big it is. We’re ending it.”