Page 127 of The Deal

We sit in the car, the silence between us thick and suffocating, neither of us speaking. The shock of what just happened hangs heavy in the air, and I can feel it pressing down on me. Regret gnaws at my insides.

I shouldn’t have brought him here.

I should’ve known better.

When we get back to Sydney, I’m seeing a lawyer. I don’t care what it costs or how long it takes, I’ll do whatever is necessary to get full custody. She doesn’t deserve him. He deserves better than the chaos and instability she brings.

Ten minutes pass before I finally pull out my phone; my hands are itching to do something … anything.

“What are you doing?” Chloe asks, her voice breaking through the quiet.

I don’t look at her as I tap away at the screen. “Searching for the restaurant’s address,” I reply, my tone clipped. “I’m not going to wait for her to send it to me. We can sit outside in the car and wait for him there. At least that way, I can keep an eye on them.”

Chloe doesn’t say anything at first, but I can feel hergaze on me. She knows how badly I want to protect Giovanni. “Good idea.”

It only takes a few seconds of searching to realise something is wrong. “Fuck,” I mumble under my breath as I reach for the key in the ignition to start the car.

“What’s wrong?”

“Trattoria Angelo is in Rome. A nine-fucking-hour drive from here.”

“Oh, my God,” Chloe says over a gasp.

I pass my phone to her. “Call her number … keep trying until you get through.” My heart is thundering in my chest as I pull back onto the road, speeding in the direction they drove off in.

“What do you mean she took him?” Dante roars when we return to the estate, his voice sharp and furious.

I run a hand through my hair, tugging slightly, the weight of everything pressing down on me. We drove around for hours, and my panic grew with every second that passed. My heart is pounding in my chest, a mix of anger and fear so overwhelming it’s hard to breathe.

“We searched everywhere … I even went to the localpolizia. But they can’t do anything since we’re foreigners, and I don’t have legal custody.” The frustration boils over, and I can feel my hands shaking. “There’s nothing they can do.”

“Like fuck, there’s nothing they can do,” he bellows. “What information do you have?”

“Not much. The colour and model of the car … the direction they were travelling. I don’t even know which hotel she was staying at.” I swallow hard, trying to steady myself. “I should’ve gotten the registration number of that heap of shit they pulled up in. That should’ve been my first red flag.”

Dante looks like he’s about to explode. His hands curl into fists, and his jaw is clenched tight. I know he’s thinking the same thing I am: What if something happens to him?What if we never get him back?

“Text me everything you have.”

“What good is that going to do?”

“Just do it,” he snaps.

“We’ve been calling her phone constantly, but she’s not picking up.”

“I need her number as well,” he replies, turning and stalking towards the front door.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“To try and find my nephew.”

The door slams shut behind him as he exits. A minute later, we hear his Bugatti screech out of the driveway.

“What can he do that we haven’t already done?” Chloe asks as her eyes fill with tears again. Seeing her upset only amplifies my distress. She cried all the way home.

If my suspicions are correct and he’s been doing what I think he has, he may be our only hope. When my father was alive, he had a lot of connections in Italy, but they are things she doesn’t need to know.

“Come here,cuore mio,” I say, reaching for her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder, crushing her to me. “We’ll get him back … I won’t rest until we do.”

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