Chapter 13: The Kidnapping
Isabella’s patience had run out.
After failing to manipulate Alexander and seeing her influence over him disappear, she decided to take a more direct approach. If she couldn’t control him through charm or lies anymore, then she would use the one thing he seemed to care about most right now — Sophia.
Late one night, she met with two men she had secretly kept on her payroll. They were not part of Vittorio’s organization. They were outsiders — dangerous and expensive.
“I want the girl,” Isabella said coldly. “Bring her to me alive. I don’t care what happens to anyone else who gets in the way.”
One of the men frowned.
“Boss said the girl is under heavy protection now. Vittorio moved her to a new house with extra security.”
Isabella’s eyes narrowed.
“I don’t care how many men he has watching her. Find a way. Use the gardener if you have to. That old man still has feelings for the girl.”
The two men exchanged a look but didn’t argue. They knew better than to question Isabella when she was like this.
Two nights later, they made their move.
They waited until most of the guards at Vittorio’s new house had rotated. One of them managed to slip a message to Renzo, claiming that Vittorio wanted to see him urgently. Being loyal, Renzo left his post to check.
That was the opening they needed.
By the time Renzo realized it was a trap, it was already too late. They subdued him quickly and quietly. Then they moved toward the house, heading straight for Sophia’s room on the second floor.
But they had underestimated one thing.
Vittorio had installed new security measures that even Isabella didn’t know about. The moment someone tried to enter Sophia’s room from the outside, a silent alarm was triggered.
Inside his study, Vittorio’s phone lit up with an alert.
He was on his feet instantly.
Without wasting a second, he grabbed his gun and rushed toward Sophia’s room. At the same time, his men moved in from different parts of the house.
When the kidnappers broke into Sophia’s bedroom, they found her bed empty. Before they could react, Vittorio’s men burst in. A short, violent fight broke out.
By the time Vittorio reached the room, the two men were already on the floor — one unconscious, the other being restrained.
Sophia was hiding inside the closet, clutching her stuffed rabbit tightly. When she saw Vittorio, she ran straight into his arms.
“Papa…” she whispered, her voice shaking.
Vittorio held her tightly, his jaw clenched.
He looked at the two men on the floor, his eyes cold and murderous.
“Take them away,” he ordered his men. “I want to know who sent them. And I want the answer tonight.”
As his men dragged the kidnappers away, Vittorio carried Sophia out of the room. She buried her face in his shoulder, still trembling.
For the first time, Vittorio felt something he had rarely allowed himself to feel in his line of work.
Fear.
Not for himself.
May you like
But for the little girl in his arms.
