“What’s going on, Rafaelle?” he questions as I approach.
“There’s no need to secure anywhere. I took care of all the men in the house but we’ve got a problem,” I inform him. “Ignacio Navarro has my daughter and we need to get her back.”
Elio’s expression turns to one of shock, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I want every exit in this city shut down right now,” I tell him before turning to Raul. “Get all our men on the phone, send them to the Navarro estate.”
“He’s not there,” Liliana murmurs behind me. “He left this morning.”
“Find Ignacio,” I continue speaking without looking at her. “I want the estate on lock down as well. Elio!”
My brother jolts in action and exhales a sharp breath before reaching for his phone to make the calls needed to put the city on lockdown.
My phone buzzes in the pocket of my pants and I pull it out to view the incoming text.
Unknown number: If you want your daughter back alive, I have a list of demands. But first, let’s start with your head on a spike. And maybe the destruction of the entire Vitale family. How does that sound?
Ignacio.
Trepidation wells within me.
“Elio, I need this number tracked now!” I snap.
My brother comes to my side and copies it off my phone before getting to work. Liliana sidles up next to me as well, her soft breaths on my arm. She has her hand over her mouth as she reads what the text sent by her asshole of a father.
I do the decent thing and tilt the screen over to her side as I type out a reply.
Me: Tell me where the fuck you are and I’ll come willingly. You can do whatever you want to me but you have to return her. She’s only a baby.
Unknown number: I don’t want to hurt her either. She is my granddaughter after all but the clock is ticking, Rafaelle. Tick tock, tick tock.
I tighten my grip over the phone.
“Fuck!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
LILIANA
I've never understood what true helplessness felt like until now. The feeling sits in my chest like a stone. Heavy. Crushing and impossible to ignore.
Every breath hurts. It’s been three hours since my daughter was ripped out of my hands. Somewhere out there, my daughter is alone. And I can't get to her.
We’ve moved to the Vitale Estate. One of the studies in the house has become the center of operations.
Men move constantly. Phones ringing. Orders being barked. Information being exchanged.
The Vitale family has transformed into a war machine. Matteo stands near one of the windows, speaking rapidly into a phone. Elio is hunched over a laptop.
Salvatore sits at the head of the table looking calm despite the storm raging around him. And Rafaelle hasn't stopped moving. For the last two hours he's been making call after call.
Threatening people. Calling in favors. His body is tightly coiled ball of tension and there’s no missing the worry etched into his face.
I stay in the corner silently, watching and feeling like an intruder.
This is my fault.
Every terrible thing happening right now can somehow be traced back to me.
