ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 169

CHAPTER 169

DAMON’S POV

A call from Gabrielle came in while I was still ogling at her photos.

I picked up almost immediately. “Gabrielle.”

There was no response from the other end, just the sound of a car engine fading with every second.

“Are you there?” I asked.

No response.

My chest tightened as I ended the call.

Something must have gone wrong.

I walked out of the room to find Rhys on the couch with a strange woman all over him, and Zane bent over the table as he worked on his laptop.

Rhys glanced up first.

“Damn,” he said lazily. “You look like someone just pissed in your drink.”

Zane didn’t look up from his laptop. “Considering how he usually looks, that’s saying something.”

“I think something’s wrong,” I said.

That got their attention.

Rhys slowly pushed the woman off his lap and sat forward. “Define wrong.

I held up my phone. “Gabrielle called. Didn’t say a word.”

Zane finally looked up. “Bad signal?”

I shook my head. “I could hear a car engine. Then nothing. The call just stayed open.

Rhys frowned. “Maybe she dropped the phone.”

“Maybe,” I said, though the tight feeling in my chest told me otherwise.

If Gabrielle could, she would have us on the phone all day, even while she slept. There was no way she’d call me and say nothing.

I tried calling her back, but it rang once then went straight to voicemail.

The air in the room shifted.

“Where was she headed?” Zane asked.

“The beach.”

Rhys‘ expression darkened slightly. “With who?”

“Fiorella,” I answered. “Probably with security too, but knowing Gabrielle I’m not sure.

Silence settled over the room.

etails. I’ll track her phone now.

put a tracker on her.”

out realizing it, every step making the pressure in my chest worse.

She was still on the move when I checked, but the location she was heading to made my heart drop.

I raised my eyes back to both men.

Neither of them asked anything else.

They already knew it meant Rocco had taken my wife.

“If even a single hair on her head is harmed,” I said, my voice calm, “another massacre is going to happen.”

GABRIELLE’S POV

We were on the road for hours.

Halfway through the drive, they blindfolded us to make sure we couldn’t see where we were heading. Good.

Because I couldn’t look at Fiorella for a second longer.

The ride felt endless.

Every turn, every sudden stop, and every burst of laughter from the men in the front seat made my stomach twist tighter.

My hands were tied behind my back, the rope biting into my wrists each time the car jolted over a bump. Beside me, Fiorella was breathing unevenly.

I could hear it even through the silence.

આદ્ય સ્વર કે આ મ ય ર

I turned my head away from her, even though the blindfold made the gesture pointless.

I didn’t want to hear her or even feel her presence beside me.

The car eventually slowed.

I heard the doors push open and more voices echoed around us, speaking Italian in low tones. “Out.”

Rough hands grabbed my arm and dragged me from the back seat.

My feet stumbled before I managed to steady myself.

But I was shoved again.

“Move.”

I caught myself before I could fall. “Maybe I’d move if I could see where I was going. Did you think about that?”

I regretted it the second the words left my mouth.

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CHAPTER 169

A hand gripped the back of my neck immediately, forcing me forward.

“Watch your mouth,” the man behind me muttered. “Rocco asked us to bring you in alive but he didn’t say what condition.”

My pulse hammered and I swallowed in fear, but kept my chin up.

Behind me, I heard Fiorella speak.

“You promise you wouldn’t hurt her,” she said. “That was-

“Shut up,” the man behind me shouted.

Her voice died instantly.

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I kept walking, turning in whichever direction they pushed me and praying for a miracle to happen.

I heard the clacking of metal, and then, the blindfold was ripped off.

Fiorella and I were thrown into a cell before my vision could adjust.

The shooter from earlier smiled at us. “Stay here quietly if you know what’s good for you.‘

>>

The metal door slammed shut behind him with a heavy clang, the sound echoing through the small room befor fading into silence.

I blinked several times, trying to adjust to the dim light.

We were in a bare cell with concrete walls.

There was a single narrow window high above that barely let in any light, and a thin mattress thrown carelessly

one corner.

Across from me, Fiorella sat on the floor where they had thrown her, her face streaked with tears and her shoulders trembling as she stared at the ground.

Our eyes almost met, but I looked away first

For a long moment, neither of us spoke.

But the rage inside me kept building up until I felt like it was about to rip me apart.

My jaw tightened.

“So,” I finally said, my voice cold. “You care to explain yourself or just stare at me all night?”

Fiorella flinched as if the words had physically struck her.

“I” her voice cracked, “I didn’t want this to happen.”

A bitter laugh escaped me.

“You didn’t want this?” I repeated slowly. “George is dead, Fiorella.”

Her head snapped up, tears already sliding down her face.

“I know!” she cried hoarsely. “You think I don’t know that?”

“Then why?!”

CHAPTER 169

My chest rose and fell with sharp breaths as anger pushed past the shock coursing through me.

Her gaze dropped again. “I had no choice.”

“That’s bullshit.”

Her head shook violently. “You don’t understand-”

“No,” I cut in, my voice shaking now. “I understand perfectly.”

My throat tightened as the reality of everything finally began to sink in.

“You betrayed me.”

The words hung heavily in the small cell.

Fiorella squeezed her eyes shut like she couldn’t bear to hear them. “I’m sorry. I’d never do anything-

“I don’t want to hear it, Fiorella,” I snapped, cutting her off. “Your voice makes me want to smash my head against the concrete.”

We fell into a tense silence again.

My wrists throbbed in pain as I shifted slightly on the cold floor.

Fiorella broke the silence.

“I didn’t know they were going to shoot him,” she said quickly. “They told me no one would get hurt.”

“Right,” I said dryly. “And you believed them.”

She didn’t answer.

That alone was enough to make anger flare in my chest again.

I turned and studied her properly this time.

Her hair was messy, her face pale, and her eyes swollen from crying.

She looked… broken.

But I refused to let that soften me, especially after what she had done.

“Why?” I asked again, quieter this time because I was so close to screaming. “What could possibly make you betray us like this?”

Another betrayal was the last thing I needed. And she knew that So I needed to know what was worth it.

She looked away from me. “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you.‘

I let out a humorless laugh. “You’re not serious right now. After everything, you owe me that at least. Tell me why!”

Her lips trembled.

For several seconds, she didn’t speak.

Then she whispered something so softly I almost didn’t catch it.

“They have him.”

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CHAPTER 169

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My brows pulled together. “Who?”

Her eyes lifted slowly to meet mine. “My son.”

I couldn’t breathe for a moment.

I stared at her, waiting for the rest of the sentence that never came. “You don’t have a son.”

She sighed. “I do.”

My jaw literally dropped.

A bitter smile touched her lips before disappearing again.

“You remember when I told you Damon saved me from an abusive marriage?” she asked.

I nodded slowly. “Yes.”

“Well, that happened after I was already married and pregnant,” she continued. “My son will be eleven in som months.”

My mind struggled to catch up with what she was saying.