ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 26

GABRIELLE’S POV

My fingers tightened around the photo.

Every trace of exhaustion and sadness vanished instantly.

I grabbed the note again and stared at the number beneath the message, my heartbeat turning violent.

No.

No, this was impossible.

Aiden was dead.

I watched Damon bury him.

Which meant this had to be someone else—or one of his associates.

Cold fear crawled up my spine as I looked back at the photo.

Lila looked terrified.

Aria was crying in Susan’s arms while one of the masked men held a gun against Susan’s head.

My children.

I couldn’t breathe.

Aiden’s mother was beside them, her face streaked with tears.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “This can’t be real.”

I looked instinctively toward the bedroom door, my thoughts racing.

Damon.

I needed Damon.

I turned quickly to leave the room, and on my way down, I dialed the number.

They answered on the first ring.

I lifted the phone to my ear. “Who is this?”

A male voice came through. “You called me. Don’t you think you should introduce yourself first?”

I paused on the staircase, anger surging through me.

“Listen to me,” I snapped. “You better not harm my children. Don’t harm any of them.”

He laughed like he was amused.

“Who are you?” I demanded. “Where did you take them?”

“You should lower your voice, Gabrielle,” he responded. “We wouldn't want to wake your children.”

Uneven breaths escaped me.

“What do you want?”

“I want you to listen carefully,” he said. “Because if you interrupt me again, I will shoot the nanny and granny first. Then the big sister. I’d hate to shoot the baby, but I’ll have to.”

The inside of my mouth went dry instantly.

I forced myself to stay silent.

“Good girl,” he murmured. “Now we can speak properly.”

I never thought I’d hate being called that, but I did in that moment, especially by the creep on the phone.

Rage burned through me so fast it almost overpowered the fear.

“Just go straight to the point!” I snapped. “If you think threatening my children is going to scare me into obeying you, then you are out of your fucking mind!”

The man laughed softly.

The sound made my stomach turn.

“You are much bolder than you look,” he said. “I assumed kidnapping them would force you into compliance but you must not care about them.”

I ran down the rest of the stairs. “Oh, just go straight to the fucking point already. Who are you?”

“A friend of Bellini,” he answered.

My blood ran cold.

I tightened my grip on the phone immediately. “What did you just say?”

A brief silence followed.

Then he spoke again, his tone calm and almost amused. “A friend of Bellini.”

A horrible feeling settled in my chest.

Sweat coated my palm around the phone.“What do you want from me?”

“What belongs to us,” he answered. “Bellini’s money.”

“If it’s money you want then you should have just asked,” I responded.

“The agreement did not end with Bellini’s death,” the man continued, ignoring my response. “Your husband knows that. The Gravaris still owes us their support.”

“We can—”

“Business has been shitty without him,” he cut me off. “And we lost respect since our Don died. It’s time to get it back.”

A wave of unease washed over me.

“We need his resources and his connections,” he added. “And we’re not asking nicely for what is owed to us.”

“How much do you want?” I asked.

“Three hundred million euros for now,” he replied immediately. “Cash. In six hours.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “We can make the transfer in hours. Cash would take longer than that. It’s the middle of the night and tomorrow is the weekend.”

“You’re a Gravari,” he countered calmly. “It is simply inconvenient but you can get it done. Either one of you can bring the cash alone.”

A brief silence followed.

Then his voice turned colder. “Or the nanny dies first.”

My breathing stopped.

“Followed by la nonna.”

My knees nearly gave out beneath me.

“And if another hour passes after that,” he continued casually, “I will shoot the older child too.”

Lila.

Pure terror ripped through me so hard that my vision blurred.

“No,” I whispered immediately. “Don’t touch them.”

“Then get the money.”

Thoughts raced desperately through my head.

We had six hours to get three hundred million euros in cash.

My bank manager could probably make that happen, but it wasn’t guaranteed on the weekend in such a short time.

“I need proof they’re alive,” I demanded. “Right now.”

The man hummed thoughtfully, his voice fading slightly as he pulled away from the phone and spoke in Italian.

Then I heard movement on the other end before a muffled sob reached my ears.

“Mummy?” Lila cried weakly through the phone. “Mummy, I’m scared—”

The man’s voice cut her off. “That’s enough proof.”

A violent jerk ran through my entire body. “Lila!”

“She’s fine,” he said, his voice bored. “I can’t stand kids, do you know that? They’re always so whiny and crying about something.”

I pressed my hand against my mouth as I broke down, not wanting to show how much hearing her voice affected me.

“My second request, is that your bastard brother-in-law steps down from his position,” he continued. “The audacity he has to think a nameless man can lead us is ridiculous.”

I swallowed back my tears so I could speak. “I’ll get you the money and anything else you want. But if you touch any of them you are going to die in the worst way possible.”

A soft laugh came through the phone again.

“That threat would be far more intimidating if your husband were making it,” he said. “But you did well, though. I feel a little scared.”

My silence lasted a second too long.

“Gabrielle?”

Fear crawled up my throat.

“They’re gone,” I whispered.

A long pause followed.

Then Damon’s voice lowered. “What do you mean they’re gone?”

My knees buckled again.

“I found a photo waiting for me in the mail,” I said shakily. “Someone took them. Lila, Aria, Susan… even Aiden’s mother.”

Silence.

Dead silence.

Then, “Who?”

“A Rocco’s loyalist. He wants three hundred million euros in cash and he wants Rhys removed from leadership.”

Another pause.

I could hear the change in Damon’s breathing now.

“I spoke to Lila and she was scared,” I admitted weakly. “He said they’d kill Susan first if you started hunting them before they got paid.”

Damon’s voice was calm. “I’m coming back.”

The line disconnected before I could respond.

❧

When Damon returned I was sitting on the front porch still wrapped in his jacket.

I hadn’t even gone upstairs for the bath anymore.

My knees weren’t clean and my hair was tangled, but none of it mattered.

All I could think about was the girls.

Every second that passed made the panic worse.

Headlights finally cut through the darkness as Damon’s car pulled into the driveway.

I stood up so fast my legs nearly gave out beneath me.

The moment he stepped out of the car, I walked straight into him.

He caught me instantly.

“Hey,” he murmured, one hand sliding behind my head.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered brokenly. “I should have left them at—”

“This is not your fault.”

His voice was calm, but there was something terrifying underneath it now.

I pulled back enough to look at him. “They said one of us has to come alone. That I should keep this from you until the last moment.”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t keep this from me.”

I would never do that again, especially after what had happened tonight.

“I have people dealing with Aiden’s friends,” he said, his voice rough. “I’ll deal with this myself.”

“Damon—”

“If they want me alone, then I’ll go alone,” he said quietly. “And they’ll believe I wasn’t aware until the last moment. I’ll bring everyone home, I promise you.”

I managed to calm down a little at his reassurance.

And I recognized that look in his eyes.

The same look he had before someone died.

Damon wiped away my tears with his thumb. “Tell me exactly what he said. I'll handle this.”