Page 76 of Secret Babies for the Italian Mafia Boss

I grab my phone and call Alvize, who is downstairs taking inventory. “Alvize, I’ll be back in a couple of hours. I need to go see Camilla.”

“No problem. I can hold the fort down until you return.”

“Thank you.” I hang up and stand, brushing my fingers through my hair as I think about what I’m going to say to Camilla to make her see that Taylor is the enemy.

Was it Xavier who tried to kidnap her the other day? I can’t have her leave my side. Camilla must be with me at all times. The kids too. If anything happened to them because I turned my back, I’d never forgive myself.

I head down the steps and get lost in my thoughts as I stroll into the underground garage. I try to call Camilla, but she doesn’t answer, and I pick up my pace, almost running to the car. I call her again.

And again.

Still, no answer.

“Fuck, Camilla. Where are you?” I don’t buckle my seatbelt when I get in the car. I start the engine and peel out of the garage, burning rubber on my way out.

A car honks at me for cutting them off, and my vehicle fishtails over the line on the road. I right the wheel, pressing the gas as I rush to the house. She has to be there. I bet everything is fine, and I’m overreacting.

The normal drive is cut in half by the time I pull into the driveway. I climb out of the car, engine still running, and notice the front door open.

“Camilla,” I whisper in horror. My stomach drops, and my fear has me moving my legs faster. I take three steps at a time, and when I get to the top of the staircase, I fling the door open.

When I step inside, I don’t hear laughter. I don’t hear the sweet sound of my children giggling or screams or Camilla trying to bring peace between the two.

It’s eerily quiet, and now I can’t believe I lived like this before.

Silence is a nightmare after living in a noisy daydream.

“Camilla!” I dash up the stairs, slipping on the polished marble, and knock my chin against the edge of a step. “Fuck,” I curse, rubbing the spot that aches. “Camilla! Beautiful Girl, come on. This isn’t funny.” I check the bedroom and bathroom.

Then Olivia and Oliver’s room and everything is how it was.

I don’t understand. Everything was perfect. She had been a little quiet for the last day, and I assumed it was because of what happened with Cora, but maybe it wasn’t.

“Camilla?” I choke out her name again as I hurry down the steps to go to my office.

Nothing is out of place except one thing.

There’s a folder on my desk, and there’s a sticky note on top of it.

“I guess you were really after the fortune. I’m taking the kids. I need some space for a few days. -C.”

I flip the page and notice the clause where she’s promised to me in marriage is highlighted, and I toss the paper to the side. I grip the desk, and it creaks under my gasp; then I roar, the sound loud and brutal. The anguish cracks my voice. The amount of breath I have comes to an end, and I hang my head, my shoulders rising and falling.

This can’t be happening.

I wipe the sweat from my upper lip and think about a place she could go. I don’t think she’d leave the area, especially with Cora in the state she is in.

“Think, think, think,” I demand from myself.

She wouldn’t go to the bakery. It’s too dangerous with it under construction. She could go to Cora’s since Cora isn’t in the hospital. I’ll check there first.

When I get into the car, I press a button on the wheel. “Take me to Cora’s house,” I say.

“Calculating directions,” the car replies. “You are eight minutes from your destination.”

The first thing I did was save all addresses associated with Camilla in the navigation, so I knew where she was going.

“Call Cora,” I say into the Bluetooth speaker.

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