Chapter 4 - Mia Was Taken From the Rossi Mansion—And Lorenzo Blamed Himself Until I Found the One Clue Everyone Else MissedThe kidnapping lasted seventeen minutes.
Seventeen.
I would remember that number for the rest of my life.
Security locked down the estate.
Every vehicle was checked.
Every road monitored.
Police arrived.
Lorenzo became someone I barely recognized.
He wasn't the calm billionaire anymore.
He was a father whose daughter had been taken.
He tore through the mansion searching rooms himself.
“Find her.”
His voice shook the walls.
Then he turned to me.
“You were with her.”
I flinched.
“I was looking at the photograph.”
“You were supposed to watch her.”
“I know.”
He stepped closer.
I saw the guilt in his eyes.
Then he stopped.
“No.”
“What?”
“This isn't your fault.”
He looked away.
“It's mine.”
We found the first clue in the garden.
A small silver button.
I recognized it.
Matteo's coat.
“The button belongs to your uncle.”
Lorenzo stared.
“Matteo.”
Security chief called.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We found a vehicle.”
“Where?”
“Two blocks away.”
We rushed there.
The car was abandoned.
Inside was Mia's backpack.
No Mia.
A message was taped to the windshield.
MIDNIGHT. SOUTH PIER. COME ALONE.
Lorenzo looked at me.
“You stay here.”
“No.”
“Karen.”
“She's my responsibility too.”
“She isn't your daughter.”
I stared at him.
“She became important to me.”
He looked at me.
Then nodded.
“You're coming.”
At midnight, we reached the pier.
No police.
No visible security.
A figure stepped from the shadows.
Matteo.
He held Mia.
My heart stopped.
Mia was crying.
Lorenzo took one step forward.
“Let her go.”
Matteo smiled.
“You still think this is about money.”
“Then what?”
“Your wife.”
Lorenzo's face hardened.
“What did you do to Isabella?”
“Nothing.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“Alive.”
My heart raced.
“Why?”
Matteo looked at Mia.
“Because Isabella discovered something.”
“What?”
“That her husband wasn't the only powerful man in the Rossi family.”
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
“What are you talking about?”
Matteo smiled.
“The company isn't yours.”
“What?”
“Your father left it to someone else.”
Lorenzo froze.
“Who?”
Matteo looked at Mia.
“Her.”
Silence.
Mia stared at him.
“She is the legal heir.”
Lorenzo shook his head.
“No.”
“She was born with a trust.”
“What trust?”
“One established by your grandfather.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew you would eventually destroy the family.”
Lorenzo's face darkened.
“You're lying.”
Matteo laughed.
“Am I?”
He reached into his coat.
Pulled out documents.
The trust.
Mia's name.
Everything.
Lorenzo read it.
His hands shook.
I whispered,
“There's another page.”
“What?”
I pointed.
“Beneficiary."
There was a second name.
Lucia Rossi.
Mia's supposed unborn sibling.
Lorenzo stared.
Matteo smiled.
“Exactly.”
“You know where she is.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Where she's always been.”
He looked at me.
“At the estate.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Your mother has been living there.”
I froze.
Isabella.
Alive.
In the same hidden estate we'd discovered.
And Lucia—
alive too.
Matteo's smile widened.
“You were never supposed to find them.”
Lorenzo raised his weapon.
Matteo pulled Mia close.
“Shoot me and she dies.”
Lorenzo lowered the gun.
“Let her go.”
“Sign the trust.”
“No.”
“Then she stays.”
I stepped forward.
“Matteo.”
He looked at me.
“What?”
“You've made one mistake.”
“What?”
“You think Lorenzo is the only person who wants Mia alive.”
His eyes narrowed.
I continued.
“So do I.”
I threw the small flashlight in my hand.
It struck his face.
Lorenzo moved.
Security stormed from the darkness.
Matteo dropped Mia.
I caught her.
Gunfire erupted.
Lorenzo tackled Matteo.
The police arrived.
Matteo was arrested.
Mia clung to me.
“Karen.”
“I’m here.”
She cried.
“I thought you left.”
“I told you.”
I held her.
“I don't leave children behind.”
Lorenzo looked at me.
Something changed in his eyes.
Gratitude.
Trust.
And something more dangerous.
Love, perhaps.
But none of us had time to name it.
Because one hour later, we arrived at the hidden estate.
The doors opened.
A woman stood at the top of the stairs.
Blonde hair.
Pale face.
Tears.
“Mia?”
Mia screamed.
“Mommy!”
Lorenzo stopped breathing.
Isabella ran toward her daughter.
They embraced.
Lorenzo stood frozen.
Then she looked at him.
“Lorenzo.”
He whispered,
“Isabella.”
She began crying.
He crossed the room.
For years, he had believed she was dead.
Now she stood in front of him.
Alive.
Older.
Broken.
But alive.
She reached for his face.
“I am sorry.”
He couldn't speak.
Then she looked at me.
“You.”
I swallowed.
“Me?”
“You're Karen.”
“Yes.”
She smiled through tears.
“Thank you for finding them.”
I looked at Lorenzo.
“We found each other.”
Isabella's expression changed.
“What do you mean?”
Before I could answer, she whispered,
“Matteo wasn't acting alone.”
The room went silent.
“Who else?”
Isabella looked at Lorenzo.
“Your father.”
Lorenzo froze.
“My father is dead.”
“No.”
May you like
She shook her head.
“He isn't.”
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