Chapter 12 - THE NIGHT I LOST EVERYTHING AGAIN
The world became silent.
I stared at the picture.
Leo.
My son.
My reason to keep going.
Someone had taken him.
Again.
No.
Not again.
I had already lost Sophia.
I had already watched the person I loved most die in front of me.
I would not lose my son.
“Marcus!”
My voice shook the mansion.
Everyone ran.
“What happened?”
I showed him the picture.
His face changed.
“Impossible.”
“Find him.”
“Sir…”
“FIND HIM!”
The entire security team moved.
Cameras.
Records.
Every entrance.
Every exit.
But whoever took Leo knew exactly what they were doing.
They had planned everything.
Hannah stood frozen.
Tears filled her eyes.
“This is because of me.”
I turned.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Her voice broke.
“If I wasn’t here…”
“If you weren’t here, my son would be dead.”
She looked at me.
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
Because I did.
Without Hannah, Leo wouldn’t have survived the first night.
Without Hannah, I would have buried my son.
I walked toward her.
“This is not your fault.”
She looked away.
Nobody had probably ever said that to her.
Nobody had ever protected her.
Then Marcus rushed back.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“We found the vehicle.”
My heart jumped.
“Where?”
“Thirty miles away.”
“Let’s go.”
We moved immediately.
The rescue team prepared.
But before leaving, Hannah grabbed my arm.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Hannah—”
“My entire life, people have made decisions for me.”
Her eyes filled with determination.
“I’m done being powerless.”
I looked at her.
And I realized something.
She wasn’t the fragile woman everyone believed she was.
She had survived losing her child.
She had walked into danger to save mine.
She had faced billionaires and criminals without asking for anything.
“Stay close to me.”
She nodded.
The location was an abandoned warehouse near the harbor.
The kind of place criminals used because nobody asked questions.
We entered quietly.
Weapons ready.
The air smelled like rust and old metal.
Then we heard something.
A baby crying.
My heart nearly stopped.
“Leo.”
I moved faster.
We found him inside a small room.
Alive.
But not alone.
A man stood behind him.
Holding a gun.
And when he stepped into the light…
I recognized him.
Someone I thought had been dead.
Someone connected to my father.
Someone who knew every secret inside the Rossi family.
He smiled.
“Hello, Lorenzo.”
My blood froze.
May you like
Because the man holding my son…
was Sophia’s father.
