Page 99 of Mafia King's Forbidden Obsession

“Fuck!” Elio curses in my ears, his eyes fixed on my phone. Fuck, indeed!

My hands quake as I put the phone back to my ear, a flood of emotions surging through me.

Matteo’s voice oozes back into my ear, taunting. “I know about your little secret…the little bastard in her tummy. Now I’m going to need a little favor from you. You’re going to send me the financial records. All of them. And not the sanitized ones you present to the public. The real ones. I want the records that showevery dirty thing you’re involved in. Money laundering, officers on your payroll, bribes, offshore transfers, you name it. Call it a fail-safe in case you go back on your word. One wrong move, and I’ll have them plastered on every newspaper and online site.”

Financial records.My throat goes dry.

“You have twenty-four hours to send those files, or they die.”

The call disconnects, and the screen goes dark.

For a moment, I can’t move.

Raven. Our baby.

My body shakes violently. The rage I feel is too much to contain.

“Elio,” I croak, barely getting the words out, “Traccia quella chiamata(Track that call).”

His face tenses as his hands ball into a fist. “We tried, but the signal’s untraceable,” he says quickly.

I strike my fist against the desk. Papers fly, scattering across the room.

“Dammit!” Rage shoots through me.

Elio doesn’t flinch. He watches me carefully but doesn’t speak.

I dig a hand into my hair, tugging forcefully at my strands as my mind reels, replaying the image of Raven.

I take a seat, the knots in my stomach tightening as the realization hits me. Matteo must’ve been plotting this for a while. His first attempt to destroy my image failed and he’s still at it. The bastard now wants me to use my own hands to tear down all I’ve struggled to build.

“I need to find them.” I jerk the chair back and stand up, adrenaline fueling my movements. “He wants the financial records. I can’t.”

There’s no way in hell I’m giving him power to the mafia.

“You can’t, Ezra,” Elio says, stepping in front of me, his expression serious. “We’ll find Matteo, and we’ll get Raven back.Ma non in questo modo(But not like this).Sei ferito(You’re injured)…”

“I have twenty-four hours,” I growl, pushing past him. “If I don’t give him what he wants, he’ll…”

“We’ll figure something out,” Elio cuts me off, his voice firm. “He wants you to rush in. If you make a mistake, he wins.”

I pause, inhaling deeply, rage threatening to consume me. He’s right, but how can I stay calm? Raven’s in danger. And our baby. My hands clench into fists as I fight to keep myself from falling apart.

With a heavy breath, I slump into the chair, cupping my head in my palm. “What do we know about his location?”

Elio shakes his head. “Niente ancora(Nothing yet), but we will search every possible lead.”

“We need to find that bastard and fast!”

Chapter thirty-one

Raven

It’s been a few hours since Matteo left the room after the call, yet his voice still rings in my ears. His threats to Ezra keep replaying in my head like some twisted lullaby. I know the mafia is important to Ezra, and he might not care about me since I left him voluntarily, but…

At the thought of the baby, I hug myself. He’ll come… he’ll come for us. I sigh loudly, dragging my bound hands down my face.

I’m not sure what’s worse— the burning ache from the ropes digging into my wrists, the sickening silence, or the fear clawing inside me just thinking about Matteo actually carrying out his threats.