Page 52 of Christmas Vows with the Devil

“Nothing,” Dante declares, pulling me out the kitchen door. We collide with Uncle Tony on the back porch, his face grim.

“Gia, we found something.”

“No,” I breathe. Notwe found him.They foundsomething.

I follow him to the field beyond the garage, where a group of men stand huddled near the back of the estate. My father is there too, his expression hard as he stares at something dark in the snow. As I get closer, my blood turns to ice.

It’s Matteo’s little tuxedo jacket crumpled on the ground near the edge of the yard.

I grab it, flipping it inside out. I need to be sure. Maybe this is just a coincidence? But the lovingly embroidered initials on the inside collar confirm my worst fears.

My legs give out beneath me, and Dante catches me before I hit the ground. His arms are strong around me, but I barely register them. All I can think about is my son.

He’s gone.

Tears stream down my face, and I turn to Dante, my voice barely a whisper. “They took him. Oh my God, they took him.”

Dante’s face is a mask of fury, his eyes blazing with a fire I’ve never seen before. He pulls out his phone, barking orders into it as the rest of the family scrambles into action.

But all I can do is stand there, numb and shaking, the weight of what’s just happened crashing down on me.

Matteo is gone.

And it’s all my fault.

Chapter Eighteen

Dante

My fists clench as I watch the chaos unfold around me.

The whole family is in a frenzy, barking orders, calling in extra men, anything that can help us find Matteo. The boy she claims is mine.

I still don’t believe her. How could I? After all these years, she shows up and drops this on me, says I have a son? She’s lying. It’s all part of their game. It has to be.

But then, why does it hurt so much?

I grind my teeth, pacing back and forth outside the estate as I watch them prepare to search the town. The snow is thick on the ground, cold biting through my boots, but it’s nothing compared to the chill in my gut.

My stomach had twisted with dread the moment we found Matteo’s jacket crumpled on the ground. I hated the fear in Gia’s eyes as she looked at me.

Damn it.

I told myself I wouldn’t care. I swore I wouldn’t let this pull me in. Matteo isn’t mine. He can’t be. It’s just another way to get me under their control, to manipulate me.

But I can’t shake the unsettling feelings creeping in. I keep thinking that the kid out there, missing in the freezing cold, is mine.

“Dante.” Gia’s voice cuts through my thoughts. She’s by my side, her face pale, her eyes swollen from crying. She looks like she’s holding on by a thread, barely keeping it together.

I should walk away. This is her mess, not mine. But I can’t. I promised myself I wouldn’t let Gia shatter—not ever again.

“We have to find him,” she says, her voice shaking. “We have to.”

I nod, swallowing down the bitter taste in my mouth. “We will.”

The thought of something happening to Matteo, it’s twisting me up inside in ways I don’t want to admit.

I watch as her family moves out in groups to canvas the small mountain town. It’s isolated up here, cut off from the city. Whoever took Matteo must be nearby.

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