I don’t have news and surely, he’d have called me if he knew anything.
Where is my son sleeping tonight? Is he cold? Scared? Does he understand what's happening?
I grip the edge of the counter until my knuckles are white as what-ifs plague my mind.
If I'd been honest with Luca years ago, would we be here now?
Or would we have been a real family, protected by both Monti and Vitale strength?
My phone vibrates against the counter, making me jump. Unknown number. I answer it hoping for good news, worried it’s a ransom call.
"Mrs. Vitale?" a woman asks. "This is Agent Ricci with the FBI."
My blood turns to ice. The FBI?
"We've located your son, Rocco."
My legs nearly give out as I clutch the counter. "Is he—" I can't finish the question.
"He's alive. Physically unharmed."
Tears of relief flood my eyes. "Where is he?" It’s only now that I’m wondering why the FBI has Rocco. Did Luca inform them?
"That's why I'm calling. We can arrange for you to be reunited. I’d like to meet with you.”
“About what?” Beyond returning my son to me, what’s there to meet about?
"Your world is unsafe, Mrs. Vitale," Agent Ricci says, her voice gentle and concerned. "We can help you and your children escape this life. Give them a normal childhood away from violence and crime. A fresh start with new identities, somewhere the Montis and Vitales can never find you."
I have a sense of déjà vu from when Agent Blackwood cornered me in the grocery store.
“I don’t need your help. What I need is my son.”
“And you can have him, but we need to stop the Vitale family?—”
“Wait a minute.” All of a sudden, I realize what she’s doing. “You’ve taken my six-year-old son and are using him as leverage to get me to inform on my family? You’re no better than the monsters you claim to want to protect us from."
"Ms. Vitale, that's not?—"
"My son was kidnapped from a public event, terrified and separated from his family, and you're dangling his return like a bargaining chip? How dare you."
"Please understand," Agent Ricci's tone changes, more urgent now. "That's not what I'm doing. I genuinely want to help you and your children be safe. The Bureau has resources?—"
"If you truly wanted to help, you'd return my son immediately." My voice breaks. "He's only six years old. He needs his mother."
"Ms. Vitale… Elena,” she starts, probably using my first name to connect with me at a personal level. “Think about your children's future. The Montis, the Vitales—they're not good people. Even Luca Monti?—"
"You are not good people either if you're using the return of my kidnapped son to extort information about my family."
"I have no intention of that. You can pick up your son."
“Where?”
She gives me the address of a diner, which seems odd to me. Wouldn’t she have brought Rocco back to her office? Or to a doctor?
Doesn’t matter.
Wherever Rocco is, I’m going to get him. I rush upstairs, changing into jeans and a sweater, my mind racing through possibilities.
