Page 50 of Let Vengeance Be Mine

“What's happening? Where is my daughter?” Stevan asks, almost looking as angry as I am.

I breathe myself calm and try to think straight. Maybe Aria needed to use the bathroom, she’s always needing the bathroom these days. I’ll bet he’s taken her upstairs because the one in the hall was being used.

“That was Niko, boss.” My guard takes his hand away from his earpiece,

“He said Demitri went out the front gate ten minutes ago, with Miss Aria in the passenger seat.” He swallows thickly and drops his eyes to the ground. “He told them it was on your order.”

The walls suddenly feel like they're collapsing in on me, and I swear my legs are gonna give in. I’m standing in a room full of people who fear and respect me and I can’t show how scared I have just become.

“Matteo…” Stevan looks at me, shaking his head in confusion.

“I gave no such order,” I tell him weakly.

ARIA

“This is where Matteo told you to bring me?” I look at the abandoned cabin that Demitri stops the car in front of. It doesn’t exactly scream ‘Matteo Romano’ vibes, which is probably why he’s chosen it as his safe place. I’m just happy the journey is over, we had to go off-road to get here, and it was a very uncomfortable, bumpy ride. My stomach is churning like I’m gonna throw up.

“This is it,” Demitri confirms, getting out of the car. He opens the back door and grabs the holdall that’s resting on the back seat.

“I hope Matteo packed some comfortable clothes in there.” I smile at him over my shoulder, knowing that Matteo is always attentive to detail. He would have thought this plan through. I have to trust it. Opening my own door, I manage to hoist myself out of the car; just as I’m about to follow Demitri to the door, another pain shoots across my stomach, catching me off guard. I rest one hand on the car roof and rub the side of my tummy with the other until it passes. I felt a few similar twinges on the way here, but that one felt much stronger.

“You okay?” Demitri turns around to ask before he opens the door.

“Yeah, I’m good, it’s just been an eventful night.” I fake him a smile and follow him inside. I can tell something is wrong. Demitri is even more tense than usual. The last thing I want to do is stress him. He’s refusing to tell me what happened back at the party, and I’m assuming that's on Matteo’s orders too. I’ve read that you can get practice contractions around this stage of pregnancy and everything else, up to now, has been pretty textbook.

I step through the door, surprised when I see how empty the place is. There's an old rusty bed, with no mattress, against the back wall and a stool in the corner of the room. The small kitchen worktop is covered in dust and I feel it stick to the back of my throat when Demitri slams his holdall on the surface and disturbs it.

“When was the last time anyone came here?” I ask, running my finger through the dust.

“Sorry, it's not up to standard,Princess.” Demitri bolts the door, and takes a seat on the stool, scrubbing his hand over his face and shaking his head.

“Demitri, I know this is a bad time, but I really need to know what happened back there. And what the hell was Menika talking about? Am I supposed to be some kind of replacement? Is that the reason he took me?” I have so many questions, and I’m starting to feel really fucking scared.

“Just… stop talking!” Demitri shocks me when he raises his voice at me, I’m not used to seeing him like this. He’s always so put-together and controlled, but now, he seems irate and a little manic.

“Sit down.” He gestures his head toward the corner of the room.

“I’d rather stand,” I tell him, rubbing the ache in the base of my spine and starting to feel really uneasy about this whole situation.

“Will you just do as your fucking told?” My breath jams in my throat when he pulls a gun out from the inside of his jacket and points it at me.

“Okay.” I hold up my trembling hands, defensively, as I carefully lower myself onto the floor in the opposite corner to the one he’s sitting in.

“What's up, Demitri?” I ask, trying to keep my voice calm as I realize me and my baby are in danger.

“It wasn’t supposed to be them. That wasMatteo’sfucking car,” he tells me. “Heput her in it. She died because ofhim. Not me.” He shakes his head.

I have no idea what I’m dealing with here, but I do my best to sound understanding.

“Does Matteo know we’re here?” I ask, praying to God that he does.

“No, Aria. Matteo has no idea you're here.” His mood switches again when he laughs at me, mockingly. My body tenses when another pain ripples through me. This time I can’t hide it, my face screws up as my stomach tightens and this one seems to last much longer than the one I had outside.

“Demitri, I think I need to see a doctor. I’ve started having contractions. The baby could be on its way.” I tell him, hoping I can reason with him.

“Do you really expect me to believe that?” he laughs, again. “Your little games may have worked on Matteo but they won’t work on me.” He shakes his head.

“Demitri, I’m being serious, they've been happening since we left the party.” A whole new type of panic forms in my chest when it sinks in that I could actually be in labor and Matteo has no idea where I am.

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