Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 464

ARIELLA

There was coldness in his voice. There was anger there. And there was something else... Something that broke my heart.

Because in that moment... I knew. The Luca I knew...The man I trusted... The man Leon called Uncle... He wasn't here anymore. Not tonight. Maybe not ever again.

I slowly pushed myself back to my feet and looked over at my sleeping son. Luca wasn't going to save us. If Leon and I were getting out of this place alive... I was going to have to find another way.

The room fell into silence. I could still hear the noise from the warehouse outside, engines starting, men shouting, boxes scraping heavily across the concrete floor. Somewhere in the distance, metal clanged against metal. Life went on outside this office while mine had just fallen apart.

I looked towards Luca again. Of course, he wasn't watching me. I gave a disbelieving laugh before I stood up and slowly made my way back to Leon, lowering myself beside him.

"I'm here, baby," I whispered, brushing his hair away from his forehead. "Mommy's here."

Of course, he didn't move or stir. My eyes burned as I looked at his beautiful face. I didn't know what was worse, that he wasn't awake, or that he was just lying there so silent. I wondered how everything would be if he could see this betrayal from the man he called Uncle Luca.

Would he cry? Would he scream? Or would he try to be brave, just like his father had taught him?

God... I wished this was all some horrible nightmare. But, of course, it wasn't. It was real.

Every time I closed my eyes and opened them, I wished I would wake up in another reality, A new reality. But whenever I opened my eyes... I was still here. We were still here.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, kissing his forehead. "I'm so sorry that I brought you here. I shouldn't have left. This is all my fault."

As the words left my mouth, the office door suddenly opened again. I looked up immediately and saw Bastian walking back inside. This time, he wasn't alone. Three more men followed him in, all heavily armed.

Luca didn't seem bothered as he turned towards Bastian, of course not sparing me a single glance.

"Well," Bastian said cheerfully, rubbing his hands together. "Everything is ready."

My stomach tightened. I wanted to ask what was going on... But I didn't. By now, I knew no one was going to answer me, and I also knew that whatever he was about to say wouldn't be good news. Not for me. Not for Leon.

One of the men handed him a satellite phone. He looked down at the screen and smiled.

"Perfect timing." He looked towards Luca. "Our guest is here."

"Finally," Luca said.

Bastian nodded.

"Just one more little thing before you finally meet him, and everyone walks away happy tonight."

He spread his arms with a grin.

"Because tonight is the night everyone gets what they want.... Revenge. Power. Money." He smiled wider. "And women that have been forbidden..."

His eyes slowly came towards me.

"Untouchable."

The way he looked at me made me instinctively pull back as Fear settled deep inside me. Luca merely smiled in response.

Bastian pressed a few buttons on the phone before handing it back to one of his men.

"Get the camera ready."

Camera? I frowned.

"What camera?"

The question escaped my mouth before I could stop it. No one answered, of course. Two men immediately began moving furniture around the office. One dragged the desk farther back, and another adjusted a standing light. Then I saw another man wheeling in a camera mounted on a tripod.

My heart immediately started racing.

"What are you doing?"

"What is going on?"

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