Luca's POVI slammed the glass on the wall, watching the shattered remains of the crystal tumbler litter the floor as the amber liquid seeped into the plush carpet. I stood motionless with my fists clenched at my sides. The silence in my study was broken only by the ticking of the antique clock that hung on the wall.It had been three days since Nazlynn ran off. Three days since I've had my men searching for her.She had nowhere to go to and no one to meet, so where could she have gone?A tentative knock sounded at the door. "Don Luca?" My jaw tightened. "What?" I snarled, not moving my gaze from the floor where the carpet had lapped up all the vodka.The door creaked open, revealing a shaking Gabriel. "Boss, I... the search teams have returned. There's no sign of her in any of the places we listed out."In two swift strides, I crossed the room and seized Gabriel by the collar. “I told you not to show your face to me, didn't I?” I hissed, slamming him against the wall. "You had one
The butler's eyes widened in surprise as he opened the door. "Don Luca, we weren't expecting...""Where is he?" I demanded, brushing past the startled man."In his study, sir, but..."I didn't wait to hear the rest. I strode through the familiar halls, pushed aside the memories of my childhood. Without knocking, I threw open the door to my father's study. Manuel Alessandro looked up from his desk, one eyebrow raised in mild surprise. "Luca. What do I owe the pleasure?"My words came out in a rush. "Nazlynn's gone, I don't know where. I need your help. Your connections, your resources – anything that could bring her home."Manuel leaned back in his chair, regarding his son with an unreadable expression. "Sit down, Luca.""Padre, I don't have time to...""Sit. Down."The command in my father's voice was unmistakable. Reluctantly, I sank into the chair across from the desk.He studied me for a long moment before speaking. "Do you know why I stepped down, Luca? Why I handed the control o
The insistent buzz of my phone cut through the silence that had covered the room. I glanced at the screen, brows furrowing at the unfamiliar number.With a growing sense of unease, I answered, stepping out of the room and into the hallway.“Ah! Don Luca. So good to finally speak with you, I'm sure you've gotten my message.”The voice on the other end was smooth, almost jovial. It sent a chill down my spine."Who is this?" I demanded, although a sinking feeling in my gut told me I already had my answer.He let out a low chuckle. "Come now, Luca. I think we both know who this is. It hasn't been that long."My free hand clenched into a fist. "Where the hell is my wife, you bastard?""Tsk, tsk. Such hostility. Your lovely wife is... shall we say, enjoying my hospitality for the moment. But her continued well-being…that depends entirely on you, my friend.""I'm not your friend," I growled. "What do you want?""What your pig-headed father refused to give me after all this time. The Marina D
I waved Sabrina over with a flick of my hand and she was at my side in an instant. "What? What did you find?"She turned the tablet in her hand towards me. "I increased the sound intensity of the video so I could analyze the background noises. So I could try to isolate any clues about where Nazlynn might be held. And I heard seagulls.""Seagulls?" Mathias frowned. "That could be anywhere along any coast."“No, no, it couldn't be just anywhere,” I said, standing up as I tried to rack my brain. “Seagulls flee from the coast around this time of the year because of the water temperature there. They migrate to cooler regions.”“Cooler regions like on a creek,” Mathias completed for me.“Bingo,” My mind was already spinning. "The lighthouse. Santos wants to meet me at the old lighthouse on Blackrock Point. Draw up the map of the area, find out if there's a creek around there."“Wait, did you say the lighthouse? That building is hanging on a thread. The whole top has collapsed, why would he
Luca's POVIt was an hour to midnight, and I stood in front of the large mirror in our room, adjusting the waistband of my pants. "So," I heard my father's voice say when I stepped out of the room. "I heard the plans from Mathias. You're really going through with this madness."I straightened, meeting my father's gaze. "I am."He was silent for a long moment. Then, to my surprise, he nodded. "Good. Bring our girl home, son. And make that bastard pay for ever laying a hand on your family."Mathias led the team of men who were coming with me to the meeting point. They already went ahead of me to find their positions. Santos said to come alone, but I might as well just sign my death wish.Marco and Gabriel led the men that were going to the house by the creek. The plan was a simple but not so simple one. It would have been simpler if we had a rough estimate of how many men were in both buildings, but we didn't. “I'm leaving the house now,” I said to Mathias over the phone as I steppe
Santos turned, looking around in a frenzy. The other three men were pointing their guns at random directions. None of them were trained gunmen, else, they would have easily traced where that shot came from. “Were you really so stupid to have your men surround mine?” He asked with a roar as he pointed a gun at me.I cocked my head. “I wouldn't do that if I were you. In fact, I should be asking you the same question.”Just as he opened his mouth to respond, gunfire shattered through the air. My men and Santos’ men exchanged bullets outside. Some of it whizzed past my head and entered into the already crumbling walls of the lighthouse. I dove behind a weathered pillar, pulling out my gun. My heart was thundering in my chest as I tapped the earpiece in my ear to start the transmission.“Marco. What's the situation there? Have you found my wife?” I asked in a whisper when I heard his voice.“No boss, we haven't gone in yet. There's no movement from the building yet.”“Don't wait. Find
“We need to find my wife. Now!” I roared to Mathias, rushing into my car. He jumped into the passenger seat as I was reversing out of the area. It wasn't hard to locate where Marco and the others were because the fire in the building was still very much flaming. I was out the door before the car even halted to a stop. I grabbed Gabriel off the floor by his collar. “Where is Nazlynn?” I asked him with a growl. My whole body was shaking in what could have been mistaken for anger. It was fear, raw fear.He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. I took a quick glance around me. The other men were giving me subtle looks of pity. I pushed him, and he stumbled over, landing on his ass. “Nazlynn,” I yelled, rushing towards the burning house. The flames had started to reduce, but I didn't care. I just wanted my wife in my arms.“Wait, Luca, no,” Mathias said, appearing from nowhere and attempting to hold me back. I growled at him, flinging his hand away. As I made a move to
NAZLYNN’S POVI winced as the cotton swab ran over the open wound on my face. The liquid burned at my flesh. Maria, who could barely look me in the eye without tearing up, had helped me take a bath and change into a fresh set of clothes while the doctor waited outside my room. “Just a minute more, we're almost done cleaning your wounds,” the doctor, Dr Martin, said. I had completely expected Dr. Martin to be a man, but instead, I was greeted with a beautiful redhead in a lazy attire. Her hair colour reminded me of mine when it's not dyed into some new shade.I made sure not to turn my head to my left, where I knew a very angry looking Luca stood. “Okay, we might have to put a splint on your left arm, but let's run the other tests first. Is that okay?” she asked me. I nodded with a forced smile.My mind kept replaying the moment when the bullet flew into Dee’s neck. The way blood gushed out of her splintered vein like a leaking faucet. I kept staring at her body on the floor unti
I had just finished washing my hands and was back to where my men stood over Alice's body when I saw a ball of colours approaching me with speed from a distance. My face softened when the ball of colours got closer to me. Nazlynn threw herself into my arms, almost knocking us both off balance. I hugged her tight, breathing in her calming scent and presence. She ran her hand up and down the nape of my neck, and I involuntarily relaxed into it. She squeezed me tighter in her arms, like she was scared to let go.I attempted pulling away to see her face but she shook her head and held on firmly to me. Chuckling, I pulled her closer in my arms, placing a kiss into her hair. When she pulled away, she raked her eyes over my body, running her hand over it at the same time. “Are you hurt anywhere? Did you get… Oh my God, you're bleeding,” she said fearfully, as her hand touched a wet patch on my shirt.“No baby, hey, relax. It's water, I just washed my arms. I'm okay, I promise.”She nodded.
Elena ducked just in time for Enzo to aim for Alice's hand. The bullet went through her flesh, making her drop the gun and release her hold on Elena. She had pulled the trigger as her gun clattered to the ground.Alice glared at me, then looked at the door behind her through the corner of her eyes. I fired a shot as she pushed back into the door and into the library. I heard her groan that indicated my bullet had hit her but not enough to take her down.“I need someone in the rooms beneath and above the library. The rest of you secure this building in case there's a way outside of it. Gabriel, Enzo, with me,” I instructed before following behind her with my gun raised.Gabriel and Enzo walked silently behind me. When we got in, all the lights were turned off, making the library extremely dark. “You don't peg me as the ready type Alice. You can't exactly hide in there forever,” I called out as I walked further into the library.I silently cursed whoever had the idea of making a home
Enzo shot bullets after, but she was no longer in sight. “Go!” I barked at my men who were staring at the place where she stood in shock. “Don't kill her,” I said as they passed by me. “That's for me.”If anything, I was glad we left that floor and were going back to the ground.“I don't know who's sloppier, you or your men,” I heard her call out, cackling. “You have a lot of guts, talking when that would only help us find you faster,” I said, nodding to my men to follow the sound of her voice.“What makes you think that's not what I want?” She asked in a cunning tone. I halted my men, clenching my jaw.Her words were suggestive. The only thing I could think of was that she may be setting up a bomb inside, or she may have already done it within the few minutes she had earlier. She seems to like playing with explosives.She was behind a door, and we had the door surrounded from a safe distance. I knew my men were waiting for me to give a go ahead so they could march in, but everybod
I pulled Hailey out of her crib and into my arms, cradling her shakily. My eyes darted from Alice’s face to the door and back.Alice took a step towards me, and I scooted back on the floor, ignoring the stab of pain as my skin dragged across the shards of glass. “What's wrong? Waiting for hubby, or should I say your prince charming to save the day again?” She let out a menacing laugh. “Lucky for me, it's currently an all girl’s house.”“Please don't hurt my baby, I beg you, Alice,” I pleaded just as Hailey started to cry from the noise she had heard. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the door to the bathroom open slightly, and Enzo peeked into the room.He gave me a small nod. Once I saw him raise his gun, I ducked, covering Hailey with my entire body. Alice was faster than him, but unfortunately, she managed to dodge the bullets that Enzo rained down on her until she ran out through the door and into the main house.“Fuck,” he swore loudly, rushing to my side.“Are you okay? Did
Nazlynn’s POVAlice was certainly a girl who clearly didn't want to be found. Luca had his contacts pull some strings in the police department to put up a surveillance on her, but nothing has turned up so far. Nothing of essence was discovered at the house that Luca had found me in. Of course, his contacts in the police force had to cover up using some story about a robbery gone wrong. The bodies had already been taken care of by the time they arrived at the scene.I was up to speed at everything that was happening in no time. Elena and Mathias decided to have a small wedding but postponed it until after the whole Alice thing had been dealt with. Luca cleared things up with his father, and they were back to having their weird love-hate father-son thing. Whatever the hell that meant. I was about to convince Luca not to kill my so-called birth father. It's the least I could do since he saved my life.Our mansion was almost completely back on its feet, and we moved back in two days be
“What do you mean you couldn't find her?” I asked shakily. Luca gave me a concerned look.“Luca, what do you mean by that?” I asked again, scooting towards the head of the bed and away from him.“Hey Nazlynn, calm down, baby. I'm right here, and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, okay?” He said, reaching out to me.I smacked his hand away before it could come in contact with my skin. “No! No, no. She's going to kill me. She's going to kill us all. My baby. Where's my baby?” I asked hysterically. Luca shot up from his position on the chair and approached me carefully. I could see concern for me in his eyes.“Wh..where's Hailey?” I stammered as tears started streaming down my face. “Dr Martin!” Luca said, trying not to shout too loudly but making sure his voice was loud enough. He kept his eyes on me. He edged closer to me until I was cowered up by a corner of the bed. “Gabriel, get Dr. Martin now!” He yelled again.I grabbed his hand tightly, and I could feel my fingernails diggi
Nazlynn’s POVLuca stared at me in shock for over a minute but didn't even give himself some time to answer me before standing up and yelling for Dr. Martin. I had expected to wake up to the pungent smell of a hospital room and the faint beeping of machines that had been working tirelessly to keep me alive but the room I was in looked like the average bedroom. Bright light seeped through the window, casting a glow over the space.As I struggled to sit up, the sharp pain shot through my whole body made me groan. Luca was back by my side in a flash. His gentle hand grasped my shoulder, easing me back onto the pillow.“Take it easy, chica bella. You'll rip your stitches,” he whispered softly. It had been so long since I heard his voice that I wanted to cry at the sound. It felt like music to my ears. Dr. Martin dashed in, greeting me with a smile before she began to do some further checks on me. It was extremely strange to hear someone tell you “welcome back to the living”. It should b
“Baby, can you hear me?” I asked, tightening my grip on her hand so I wouldn't miss any motion.“Gabriel,” I bellowed, and he scrambled in. “Get Dr. Martin here now! Tell her my wife moved,” I said without looking back.I heard no movement after a few seconds, and when I turned, I was met with a wide-eyed Gabriel who was staring at me with shock.Moving closer to her on the bed, I spoke again. “If you can hear me, can you tap me with your finger again?” There was nothing but I stayed put. It was a very uncomfortable position for me, holding Hailey up with one arm while the other was stretched out to her mother, but I was way past the point of caring.It was like Hailey knew something had just happened. She twisted her neck to see what I was doing.“She's here,” Gabriel announced barely five minutes after he had left. I frowned. That was fast.“Hey Luca. I was already on my way here when he called me. What's going on?” Dr Martin said, clearing my confusion as she approached us on the
“You found him?” I asked, shocked to hear it. “How?”Mathias gave me a look. “On my list of ten possible things you would say first, that certainly wasn't a part of it. Is there something else I should know, Luca?”I sighed in resignation. “He's her father Mathias, her birth father, and I think she should have a say in what we do with him,” I said truthfully. “Is he in our custody yet or….” I trailed off.“Not yet. We wanted to receive instructions from you first. I have guys watching and trailing his every move. He's been acting scared as fuck and I don't think it's just you he's afraid of,” he said.“Alice?” He nodded.“That girl must be a total nutcase. I can't help but wonder just what happened there. The only person who can tell us is well, not available,” I said looking at Nazlynn.“She's stronger than you give her credit for, I know she is. She'll pull through,” he said, giving me a pat on the back before standing up. He was almost at the door when he turned. “Come with me.”