•AURORA’S POV•The morning air felt lighter than usual as I walked downstairs, feeling more confident than I had in days. Today was the day I took a clean break from all the chaos, even if just for a little while. I wanted to get out of the house, head to my dad’s place, and clear my mind without traces of Matteo’s being clouding everything.I spotted Austin near the patio, and I waved him over. He strolled up with his usual calm, friendly smile.“Austin,” I began, trying to sound more confident than I felt, “I’m ready to go. I’d like to leave as soon as possible. Can you help me get to my dad’s place?”He scratched the back of his head, looking slightly awkward. “Actually… I’d love to help, Aurora, but I’m not at your service today.” He shrugged apologetically. “I took a day off. I have some family… obligations to attend to.”I blinked, thrown off by his response. “Oh, I see. I just thought…” I trailed off, trying to hide my disappointment. He’d been my point o
FANTASMA POVI waited in the shadows, leaning against the cold brick wall of the safe house Alfredo who I had been working for in the past years, had set up for our next phase. The air was thick with dampness, but I barely noticed it anymore. Spent a couple of years before now hiding in places like this and it had dulled me to the discomfort.The door creaked open, and Alfredo strolled in, his signature smirk in place. His expensive suit was pristine, a sharp contrast to the filth of this place."She's here?" he asked, his voice low and excited."She's in the car," I replied, my tone flat. "The guards didn't suspect a thing. She thinks I sent her with one of Matteo's men."Alfredo chuckled, the sound grating in my ears. "Good. You've done well, Austin. Or should I say... Fantasma?"I clenched my jaw but didn't respond. That name used to mean something to me, to my family.Now, it felt like a chain around my neck, a constant reminder of the circumstances that had
•MATTEO’S POV•(DAY OF AURORA’S KIDNAP)"Are we really doing this, Matteo?" Anthony’s voice sliced through the tense air as we approached the abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Monaco. We had landed Monaco and I was stalling time to meet my uncle for a few days, but he just called us an hour ago to let us know that they still weren’t budging even still and he was out of ideas to make his opponent yield."Do you have a better idea?" I shot back, adjusting my tie. "My uncle has been working on this deal for months. If my uncle loses it now, my father will never let me rest." Anthony smirked, but his eyes scanned the area like a hawk. "Just saying, this isn't exactly your thing. Drugs, blood, uncooperative idiots—you've always stayed out of it." "Not tonight," I said flatly. "Tonight, I prove my worth."We entered the dimly lit building where my uncle, Lorenzo, was already waiting. He paced the room, his hands clasped behind his back. "Finally," he muttered as I
•AURORA’S POV•The hours dragged on in the dim room, where silence became my only company. My wrists were raw from the ropes used in tying me up.Austin.FanstamaThe name echoed in my mind, alongside the face I thought I knew. It had been hours since he’d revealed himself as Fantasma, the ghost who had orchestrated everything. My kidnapping. The chaos. The pain Matteo and I had endured. I thought I knew betrayal, but this? This was something else entirely. Like he was fucking beside us the whole time watching us make a fool of ourselves from the beginning.The creak of the door pulled me from my thoughts, and I snapped my head toward the sound. Austin stepped inside, carrying a tray of food.“Dinner time,” he said, his voice annoyingly casual, like we were old friends. I glared at him, my lips pressing into a thin line. “I’m not hungry.” He let out a chuckle, setting the tray on the small table in front of me. “You might want to reconsider. You’ll need your stren
•MATTEO’S POV•The flight back home was the most nerve-wracking experience of my whole existence. My mind was home and my body in a plane, I was fucking disoriented. Anthony on the other hand had started placing calls back home and my dad was in full swing finding Aurora. Aurora's missing father finally made Bella talk, and when I say talk, right from the time In the bridal shop to the honeymoon and all of it. I knew I was in for a long lashing but hopefully, he does that after she’s found.Soon we landed and got into the car that was taking us home, as soon as we got to the front door Anthony slammed the car door shut behind him, his face tight with worry. Bella ran to me hugging me tightly with a worried face before she trailed behind us, her arms folded protectively across her chest.The house was a flurry of activity—guards scattered, phones ringing incessantly, and no one with any answers. I stood in the middle of the chaos, my fists clenched, trying to
•MATTEO’S POV•The room froze at Bella's words as Anthony and I stared at her as tho she had just dropped a bomb. Anthony was the first to react, his voice rising in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind?" he demanded, stepping closer to her. "You can’t just walk into this Bell, it’s a suicide mission!" Bella held her ground, her arms crossed defiantly. "He won’t hurt me. Alfredo doesn’t want my blood, he wants to send a message. And he won’t risk losing that leverage by hurting me." I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. "Bella, this isn’t some negotiation where you can charm your way out.” I tell her as a matter of fact. “Alfredo is a maniac. He doesn’t care about anything except his twisted revenge." "You think I don’t know that?" she shot back, her eyes blazing. "But if you go, Matteo, he’ll kill you and Aurora. He’s obsessed with destroying this family—this is personal for him." “And you are part of this family Bella don’t you forget that.” I yelled
•BELLA’S POV •"You have Aurora, don’t you, Alfredo?" I said, my voice sharp the very moment he picked up the call. "Don’t bother lying. I know you do. I know you called my brother. I overheard everything.”The line was silent for a moment, then his voice came through. "Bella, I didn’t expect a call from you. What do you want?" He asked coolly with suspicion hinting in his tone."I want to meet her," I said firmly. "Before you kill her." There was another pause, followed by a low chuckle. "And why would you want to do that? Want to save your sweet sister-in-law?” He asked in a sly tone.I forced a bitter laugh. "Because I want to see her broken, Alfredo. I’ve hated her since the day she stepped into our lives. Matteo used to be strong, focused, and untouchable. Then she came along and turned him into a weakling. She ruined everything." Pausing, I take a break hoping deep down he’s buying my lies.His skepticism was obvious even without seeing him. "You’re telling me yo
•BELLA’S POV•"You’re Fantasma," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I could feel the blood drain from my face as I stared at Austin, my mind racing to make sense of this. He tilted his head, an almost amused expression on his face. "I thought you were smarter than this, Bella.” He said with a smirk. “I even thought you’d be the first to find out given how sneaky you can be but lo and behold….it was easy to fool you guys as y’all are so obsessed with loyalty. Did you really think of me like Matteo’s loyal dog Bella? That I’ve been standing by all this time for nothing?" I opened my mouth to respond, but Alfredo cut in with a chuckle. "Oh, you should’ve seen your face when he walked in. Priceless. But don’t worry. Let me catch you up." Alfredo leaned casually against the doorframe, crossing his arms. "You see, Bella, Austin and I—we’ve been in this together for a while now. Aurora’s just the tip of the iceberg. Your dear brother Matteo has been playing into our hands
MATTEO’S POV"No."That was the first word out of my mouth the moment Aurora stepped into the room. I had thought about how I would try to talk her out of joining us in meeting Sofia but seeing how she looked right now told me that if I didn’t stop her, she would pull up something reckless when we got there. Dressed in a black leather jumpsuit paired with a pair of black boots, Her eyes still had that mechanical look to them and she just looked… DANGEROUS."You're not coming with us," I said again, louder this time.She didn’t flinch. "I am." She bent down to adjust the laces of her boots as if I wasn’t talking to her. Bella blinked. "Aurora… you look like you're heading to kill someone.""I might.""Absolutely not," I snapped, moving toward her. "You’re not going into that place dressed like—""Like someone ready to get her son back?" she interrupted.Anthony stood behind me, arms folded and just stared at Aurora before he spoke up. "This isn't a battlefield, Aurora.""Isn’t it? My
MATTEO’S POVThe whole house was thrown into chaos with Liam’s disappearance with Sofia. Aurora hadn’t said a word for hours, as if in a trance and the worst part…Riccardo had insisted on not talking which was nerve-wracking. “All fingers point to Sofia, she has a hand in Alfredo’s disappearance.”Bella pointed out a matter of factly as we tried without end to reach Sofia’s phone but to no avail. “I can’t believe this is happening again and to my son at that. I wish she took me instead.” Aurora’s voice came from the corner of the where she sat in tears. “I really do wish she took me instead of my son, my baby is too young and precious for this.” Loud sobs came at the last part as her body shook violently. I pulled my wife into my arms whispering comforting things to her. Bella and Anthony came close, “Sofia won’t hurt him Aurora, she might be acting this way but would never hurt her nephew. She might be acting up cause of something.” Bella said softly.“But what does she want?” I fi
AURORA’S POV“At this rate, I’ll be late picking up Liam.” I sighed as I took another glance at my watch, it was more than twenty minutes and no sign of Bella. She’d asked to meet but she wasn’t showing up. Dailing her number a couple of times with no response I made to leave the ice cream shop heading towards my car when a message dropped in. Opening my inbox my blood ran cold. “No…no.” I whispered in fear as I looked at the image of my baby boy asleep in the back seat of a car. My mind went black as I jumped into my car and sped up to his kindergarten which was just a three-minute drive from the ice cream shop. “God it better be a prank… not my baby God I beg of you.” I kept praying as my heart slammed against my chest in fear. Immediately I got to the school premises I caught sight of Liam’s homeroom teacher out in the front with some other kids whose parents were yet to pick up. She sees me and waves my way. “Mrs Rocco, what are you doing here?” She asks warmly with a confused
MATTEO’S POVDay three into Sofia’s disappearance and Alfredo's supposed death. That was how long it had been then. Three days, and we still had nothing except her abandoned car in the hotel parking lot. She checked in and never came out leaving everyone fucking worried.And as if that isn't enough, the damn DNA results were still being delayed by Hughes and Dawson. "I want those results on my desk in an hour," I snapped into the phone talking to Dawson, pacing the length of my office. "I don't care what the holdup is. Make it happen. And don’t bring up that crap that he was burnt beyond recognition else I'll Have you burnt as well."The man on the other end stammered, trying to feed me more excuses. I hung up before I lost my temper completely. This was already getting me on edge as it's been days and we've still had nothing from the forensics or the CCTV footage.I turned to Anthony, who was leaning against the desk, his eyes glued to the screen monitoring the CCTV footage. "Go p
SOFIA’S POV.I had to get Matteo off my tail and getting rid of my car was the first part. I parked it at the hotel where we usually hosted our family events, flashed a fake smile at the concierge, booked a room under my name, and took the requested to go out through the back exit and took a taxi to Alfredo’s hideout. I knew Matteo will track my car and it would be easy to find me. It’s been three days since our fall out and it was time to get plans rolling. Dawson has been on my neck cause of the pressure from Matteo and I had asked for three days. Damn it! I hate rushed things. "Ricardo, where's Matteo now?" I whisper, pacing Alfredo’s dimly lit apartment. My fingers drum against my thigh as I hold the phone tight to my ear. Leaving Riccardo behind wasn't part of my plan but worked in my favor as I could keep track of what my brother was up to."Still on the DNA results. He's pressing hard as Dawson is stalling to buy time for you. Anthony is headed to the forensics right now to
AURORA’S POVMatteo picked up on the third ring."What is it?" His voice was sharp and edgy. I guess his meeting at the morgue didn’t go well. Today was just one drama after another."Sofia just left the house," I said quickly. "She stormed out after a fight with Bella. I don’t know where she’s going, but she looked…dangerous Matteo, I’ve never seen her that way even when she was mad at someone. It didn’t feel right."A pause. "How long ago?" His voice came back on the line. "Minutes. She took her car, alone. Didn’t wait for her bodyguard.""Stay put. I’m coming back.""What? I thought you were still at the morgue?""I’m done there and heading home. I’ll be there soon. Don’t let Bella do anything reckless, she’s not the type that will let Sofia off the hook easily after a fight just because they’re siblings."He hung up before I could ask more. Typical.I turned to Bella, who was still fuming from the fight. She had a split lip, and her hands were shaking. Infact her whole body was v
SOFIA'S POV“Damn it.” I screamed jamming the door against its hinges as I stepped into my room. Fuck all of them, Fuck this family. After years of sidelining me, cause they thought of me as incapable of being in the family’s business, they’re still treating me like shit trying to boss me around. Breathing in and out I try to control my breath as I breathe in and out to calm my nerves. “Once I’m done with you guys, you’ll know better than mess me.” I throw myself back into bed and remain in that position looking at the ceiling for almost an hour when my phone notification beeps signaling a message.My hands trembled as I gripped my phone, staring at the last message Dawson sent me. He’s been pulling strings for me in prison in exchange for money to settle his wife’s hospital bills.“They’re questioning the body. Matteo ordered a DNA test. He’s insisting the body isn’t Alfredo’s.”Damn it.This wasn’t part of the plan. I never told Alfredo about this particular plan because I didn’t
MATTEO’S POVAlfredo. Dead. A supposed suicide. It didn’t add up.Alfredo was anything but he wasn’t a chicken head that would deliberately kill himself over a prison time. He would rather serve time and come out to continue his supposed revenge than die like a chicken.Anthony and I walked behind an attendant and a doctor who led the way into the morgue in the prison where the bodies are kept till consumed by the family of the deceased. “He’s he is.” The attendant says stopping in front of the freezer used to store the bodies before pulling it out for us to examine.Stepping closer to take a closer look, his face was totally disfigured almost to the point of no recognition. A burn? Did he set himself on fire? Why wasn’t this said over the phone before we got here?Dr. Hughes, the forensic pathologist, gestured toward the covered body on the steel table. “We received him early this morning. The official report states self-immolation inside his cell. Burned beyond recognition.”My jaw
AURORA’S POVIt’s 8:30 am and no signs of Sofia being back home, pretty sure she didn’t sleep at home last night as I didn’t see her bodyguard as well. Tried calling and she’s been unavailable.Bella strolls in lazily and plumps herself into a seat at the dining table where I, Matteo and Anthony are seated. “What’s for breakfast.” Her voice was patched and I passed her a glass of water. “Thanks, sweet girl.” She gulps down her water in one go. Anthony loads her plate with some food while Bella’s eyes scan the table questioningly, “Uhmm…where’s Soph? Has anyone checked in on her, she complained of cramps yesterday.” She noted. “I doubt she’s home, knocked on her door several times and nothing. Her phone’s not available as well.” I point out and just after I spoke we hear someone walk in and all heads turn simultaneously. There she is.Raising from my seat and grabbing a plate and spoon for her to use I query her “Where have you been? We’ve been looking for and just spoke about you ju