Who are they?
Each of them had a reason, a motive to end Sergio De Santis, while he felt secure in himself, confident that he would soon eliminate his enemies.
He kept them under surveillance, ready to act at the precise moment.
Bruno came home early from the office, and Nicole had cooked his favorite dish. After eating, Bruno spoke to Nicole.
“I think it’s time for us to move to the new house. I want us to go right now to choose the furniture, and as soon as they deliver it, we’ll move. What do you think?”
“Alright, let’s go pick them.”
“Can I come with you?”
“Of course, you can choose the furniture for your room.”
“Dad, what about the furniture in my room here?”
“Everything will stay as it is here. We can stay here whenever we want.”
They went out to buy the furniture and spent the whole afternoon selecting them. In the last store they visited, Nicole left them for a moment to go to the restroom. While Santi was choosing his furniture, Lidia walked by and approached Bruno.
“Hello handsome, I’m glad to find you here. You haven’t called me.”
“Hello Lidia, this is my son, Santi.”
“Hello cutie, you look just like your father,” she said while pinching his cheeks.
Santi made a face of displeasure and hid behind Bruno.
“I’m sorry, he can be shy sometimes.”
“My parents are organizing a reception on Saturday night, and I’d like you to attend. I’ll send the invitation to your office.”
“Thank you.”
The girl approached Bruno too closely, then gave him a goodbye kiss while whispering in his ear.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“I assure you that you won’t regret going.”
Bruno felt uncomfortable. When the girl moved away from him, he saw Nicole watching them, and her expression showed her disapproval.
“I believe you already know my wife,” he said, extending his hand to Nicole.
She approached and took his hand. He placed his hand on her waist and pulled her closer.
“Oh, I didn’t know. I thought she was Amadeus’ partner.”
“Amadeus is a great friend.”
“I’m truly sorry. In Bruno’s invitation for this Saturday’s event, we only included one spot. What a shame. I hope you can still come, Bruno. Well, I’ll say goodbye now. Excuse me,” Lidia walked away, sashaying flirtatiously.
“I’m really sorry. I know her comment about the party was in poor taste,” Bruno felt embarrassed about how the girl treated Nicole.
“Do you plan on attending?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No way. I’ll figure out how to apologize to her father later.”
“Mummy, I don’t like that woman. I don’t want her touching my face again.”
“She touched my son?”
“That was her way of greeting him.”
“She squeezed my cheeks tightly.”
Nicole noticed that his cheeks were reddish.
“Hey, how could you let her do that?”
“I’m sorry, she caught me off guard.”
After that unfortunate incident with Lidia, they continued choosing the remaining furniture. Their bodyguards kept a close watch on them, without being too obvious. Apart from them, there was another person observing them from a distance, doing so for days. They had become like a shadow.
Later, they returned home exhausted. Santi fell asleep immediately after dinner.
Bruno carried him to his room, while Nicole went to take a shower. As she was doing so, she heard the bathroom door open. Within seconds, Bruno was behind her, caressing her back. He grabbed a sponge and poured soap on it, gently scrubbing her body. They kissed passionately, reciprocating each other’s actions. Bruno tenderly washed her body, and his caresses became more intense.
“Not here, let’s go to bed.”
He smiled, took a towel, and slowly dried her body. Then he dried himself. He lifted her in his arms and carried her to bed, playing soft music. He approached her and began caressing her again.
Bruno paused for a moment, thinking he heard a noise, but then he continued. They made love intensely, knowing how to enjoy each other’s bodies. They finished exhausted, satisfied with each other.
“In the morning, Sara persistently knocked on their bedroom door. She was going to take Santi downstairs for breakfast and then help him get ready for school.
Bruno was finishing getting ready, and Nicole had just finished showering when he opened the door due to Sara’s insistence.
“Mr. Bruno, if Santi doesn’t hurry, he’ll be late for school.”
“Santi is in his room.”
“No, sir. I just came from there. I thought he would be with you.”
“He must have gone down to play in the garden. It’s strange because it’s very early.”
“I’ll go look for him right away.”
Moments later, terrified screams echoed from Sara. Bruno and Nicole rushed downstairs. The woman couldn’t tell them what was happening; she only cried.
“Sara, you have to tell us what’s going on,” Bruno pleaded, but she didn’t speak. She just raised her hand and pointed outside. “Stay with her. I’ll see what’s happening.”
Upon stepping outside, Bruno saw the bodies of his bodyguards lying in a pool of blood. They were all dead.
He immediately grabbed the phone, called the police and his parents, and returned inside. He didn’t want Nicole to see everything.
“Don’t go outside for any reason, Nicole. I’ll go upstairs to look for Santi. Prepare some tea for Sara.”
He hurriedly went upstairs, searching the whole house but couldn’t find his son. It was then that he realized what had happened. It was clear that his son had been taken. He remembered the noise he had heard the previous night.
“I’m such a fool. If I had gone out to check, they wouldn’t have taken him.”
He sat down and wept bitterly. How could he tell Nicole that their son had been kidnapped? That he had failed to protect him, that they had taken him right in front of his eyes.
He went downstairs to talk to her, and at that moment, sirens could be heard. Several patrol cars arrived at the house.
“Nicole, you have to be strong. I assure you I will find our son soon.”
Nicole didn’t understand what he meant. She stared at him, then quickly went out to the garden to see what was happening. She saw bodies strewn everywhere and understood what was going on. She felt darkness engulfing her mind.
Bruno rushed to hold her, but she didn’t react. She completely lost consciousness. Bruno and Nicole’s parents arrived at that moment.
“For God’s sake, son, what happened?”
“They took our son.”
Everyone turned to look at each other in horror. How could they do this to their child? He was innocent.
Bruno had to give multiple statements. He was tired of repeating the same thing. Then he remembered the surveillance camera footage.
“I’ve told them a thousand times that we didn’t notice what was happening. We don’t know when it could have happened. We were asleep. I didn’t remember that the cameras were there. I don’t think they saw them. They’re hidden.”
He headed to the surveillance room. The guard wasn’t inside, and there was no blood. Bruno assumed that the guard must have stepped out for something and was killed then. As he watched the recordings, they realized how those men entered. Eight men had taken their son. It was clear that their weapons had silencers, which is why they didn’t hear any shots. The men wore masks, so their faces couldn’t be seen.
They carried out everything quickly. It was evident they were trained, and it seemed like they knew the house. Someone must have described it to them in detail. But who could have done that?
“That house was only known by the employees, Bruno, his parents, Sara, Nicole, and Sondra.”
“Damn it! I don’t know why, but I have a feeling it was Sondra. Something tells me it was her,” Bruno said.
“My daughter has a dark side, but I hope she hasn’t gone that far,” Noah replied.
Nicole was taken to a hospital. The doctor said that due to the intense emotions, it might take her some time to react, but she would likely do so in the next few hours.
Emma and Rina stayed by her side. Bruno, Noah, and Gío left the hospital. They had to keep an eye on Sergio to find Santi. Leandro caught up with them at the hospital entrance. Bruno had called him to inform him of what was happening.
“As soon as you called me, I went to look for my father. He’s not there, and neither is Deborah. I spoke to the bodyguards, and they said my father left the country early this morning. At the hangar, I managed to bribe the workers. They were taking a small child with them, and based on the description, I believe it’s Santi. They sedated him to avoid any trouble,” Leandro explained.
“Your father is a damn monster, and Deborah is a cursed hyena. If I had her in front of me, I would strangle her in an instant. Women like her shouldn’t be mothers,” Bruno exclaimed, his voice filled with fury and pain. He breathed heavily, feeling frustrated and helpless.
“You’re right in what you say. My father is a monster, and that woman is the worst I’ve ever known. At the hangar, they couldn’t tell me where they were heading. I’ve been thinking, but I have no idea. Although Sergio is my father, the truth is that I know very little about him.”
Rina came out to join them. Nicole had finally woken up. Bruno asked the others to wait for him so they could go find Santi. He quickly entered the room where Nicole was.
“Love, you finally woke up,” he said.
“We were very worried about you, dear,” Rina added.
Nicole opened her eyes wide. She didn’t understand what was happening and looked at Emma.
“Mom, who are these people?”