Page 26 of Silent Night with Massimo

"No!" I scream, panic and desperation tearing through me. Without thinking, I run towards them, my mind blank but my heart screaming that I have to do something—anything—to help. But before I can reach them, someone grabs me from behind and throws me to the ground.

Pain explodes through my hands as they hit the ice-cold snow, the powder soft enough to cushion my fall but cold enough to sting. I roll over, my breath coming in sharp gasps, just in time to see Adrian bolt past me, his gun drawn.

He wasn't attacking me. He was stopping me. He was stopping me from running straight into danger.

"Get inside!" he shouts, his voice carrying over the sounds of the fight. But all I can think about is Massimo, and how every second could be his last.

Our guards are already starting to push the Vitale forces back. They have lost the element of surprise and we have more men than them. Massimo is standing now, fighting.

Adrian moves swiftly to Massimo's side, his face a mask of deadly focus. Without hesitation, he raises his gun, takes aim, and fires. The crack of the shot echoes through the snowy battlefield, and the bullet finds its mark—a man between the eyes. In an instant, the back of the man's head explodes, spraying blood and bone across the faces of those nearby. They recoil in shock and disgust, stumbling back as the horror of it unfolds before them.

The Vitale men are fleeing now.

"Elio," I scream, watching him slipping between the Vitale forces, trying to escape. But Massimo has his eyes on him. He dives forward, skidding across the snow, and grabbing Elio around the leg he pulls him down to the ground.

Elio screams for help, but not a single one of the Vitale men turns to help him. They are all trying to save themselves.

Slowly, the garden grows quieter.

The shooting stops and all I can hear is the heavy rasping breathing of those who were defending us.

I rush forward, my feet slipping and getting caught in the thick snow.

My top is soaked through and I'm not wearing a jacket, but I don't care. All I care about is that Massimo is ok - and that he isn't going to let Elio go.

I sink my knees alongside where Massimo is busy cuffing Elio.

"Where is my son?" I scream at him.

Elio turns towards me. "Don't fucking speak to me, bitch." He snarls.

I swing my hand and slap him across the face. "Where - is - my - son?" I say again, this time my eyes burn fire into his soul.

Elio hesitates, his mouth open, like he wants to talk back to me - but then he can't handle my glare and he turns his face away.

Massimo lifts him by his neck and shakes him. "Where the fuck is my son, Elio?" he snarls, with so much more force than I had.

Massimo looks terrifying and Elio shrinks back into himself. But still - he doesn't answer.

"What is going on?" Adrian says, frustrated, angry and clueless.

"This fucking asshole was part of it all along." Massimo snarls.

"My son, Vera's son - he wasn't stillborn. Someone took him at birth."

"What?" Adrian shakes his head, disbelief written across his face.

He looks like he's trying to fit the pieces together, but they refuse toconnect.

"Elio?" His voice tightens with pain, the name almost a whisper. "Not Elio though—Elio?"

He stares at his best friend, his eyes narrowing as he takes in the sight of him. His brows knot together, but it's not anger that darkens his face. It's hurt. A deep, festering wound that's just been ripped open.

Adrian's expression flickers with so many emotions that it's hard to pin them all down—betrayal, confusion, disbelief. He's struggling to comprehend what's happening, trying to process the idea that someone he's trusted his whole life has shattered that trust.

His lips parted as if he wanted to speak again, but no words came. He feels so many things—so many things he can't even name—that the room feels like it's spinning around him.

Adrian looks towards Massimo. Suddenly his expression is changed. It's stern and powerful. "I will take him to the cell." He says coldly.

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