Page 16 of Broken Mafia Bride (His to Break #2)

I tear after him, feet pounding against the earth as we sprint through the forest path. My breath comes in jagged gasps. The trees blur past me. My vision stings with tears, my legs barely holding me upright.

We burst through the clearing—and my worst nightmare solidifies.

The house is as deserted as it’s always been, the heavy padlock sealing the front door. Nelly doesn’t live here, nobody does. She’s not the new cheerful neighbor.

I don’t know who the fuck she is, but I know she has my daughter.

My knees buckle, and I collapse onto the dirt, a guttural, animal scream ripping out of me, shaking the leaves from the trees. The sound barely registers in my ears—there’s only one thought blaring in my mind:

She’s gone. And I let it happen.

Marco stares at the empty porch, his expression slack with disbelief.

“What the fuck—” he breathes, staggering back a step like the realization just punched him in the chest. “She… she played us. She fucking played us.”

His voice breaks halfway through, and then he’s shouting “Noemi! Noemi!” like she might somehow still be here, hiding, waiting.

“She’s really gone,” I whisper, my throat raw.

“We’ll find her, Giulia. I won’t let anything happen to her. It’s gonna be all right—” he tries again, but I cut him off, reeling.

“Don’t you fucking say that,” I choke, gripping my sides as pain claws its way up my chest. “Don’t stand there and lie to me. I let her in—I opened the goddamn door for her. I watched her smile and chat and I let her walk into our lives like it was nothing!”

Marco swears and kicks at the gravel, the veins in his neck standing out as he spins in circles like he doesn’t know where to direct his rage.

“Fuck! Fuck! How did I miss this? How did we miss this?”

“I should’ve known. I should’ve known this peace wasn’t real. I should’ve never let my guard down, not for a second.” My body trembles, my brain unraveling.

Marco crouches next to me, hands hovering like he wants to comfort me but doesn’t know how to even start.

“I thought we were safe,” I whisper. “I really believed we could live quietly. That maybe… maybe this darkness wouldn’t find us again.”

My thoughts spiral—fast, sharp, and merciless.

“Ariel, look,” Marco says suddenly.

He points to a corner cluttered with empty pizza boxes and crumpled paper bags. “This is where she must’ve been staying.”

Among the trash, I spot a camp bag. My heart lurches as I grab it and dump its contents onto the floor.

Clothes. A length of rope that makes bile rise in my throat. Photographs—one of my daughter in the school hallway, another of the two of us leaving the Amato house.

This sick woman has been stalking us for god knows how long.

“Holy shit,” Marco mutters, crouching to pick something up. He holds it out to me?—

A coin, old and worn, with an arrow etched on each side. One points north. The other, south.

“What is this?” I murmur, turning the coin in my hand, studying the strange markings.

Marco’s expression darkens. “It belongs to La Rete Rossi. The Red Network. They’re the most dangerous trafficking ring in all of Sardegna. Even the authorities pretend not to see them.”

A chill creeps down my spine. “Why would they come after Noemi?”

“They must’ve figured out who you really are. If you’re someone important enough…” His voice dips. “Then she’s not just a little girl. She’s leverage. A high-value piece they can sell—or use.”

My stomach turns. I haven’t told Marco the truth about who I really am, but it’s clear now—I may not have a choice. Still… none of this adds up.

Why would they care if she’s Raffaele’s daughter?

Why would a trafficking ring from Sardegna even?—

And then my thoughts slam to a halt.

Oh god.

Maybe this has nothing to do with Raffaele at all.

A chill slices through me—cold and absolute. My mind whirs, pulling pieces together, faster than I can stop them. The name I’ve been using… Sanna.

Lucio Sanna.

My grandfather.

He lives in Sardegna. I’ve worn his name like a cloak, like some kind of shield. But what if someone traced it? What if it wasn’t just a disguise—but a trail?

A breadcrumb I didn’t realize I was leaving.

My heart thunders in my ears.

What’s that stupid nickname Isabella always used? The one they whisper in Sardegna?

“Re Ombra,” I mutter.

Marco jerks like he’s been electrocuted, spinning to face me. “Where did you hear that name?”

“You know him?”

“Everyone in Sardegna knows Re Ombra,” he says, voice low. “He’s the man you don’t cross. A shadow king. People vanish around him—just disappear.” His eyes narrow. “Why would you ?—”

“He’s my grandfather.”

He stares at me like I’ve just grown horns.

Before he can say anything else, I cut him off. “There’s no time for explanations or family trees. We need to get to Sardegna. Now. He’s the only one who might be able to help us find Noemi.”

Marco hesitates, then nods grimly. “If anyone can find her, it’s him. But Giulia… asking for his help means stepping into a world we might not come back from.”

A bitter laugh slips out of my throat. He has no idea that I’m far more accustomed to the dark world than anything else.

“Let’s go save my baby,” I say, voice low and steady. “I don’t care what it takes. She’s all that matters.”

Whatever it takes, I’ll find my daughter. And when I do, I’m putting a bullet in Nelly’s fucking head.