But he didn’t.
Instead, without breaking eye contact, he pulled out his phone.
One press of a single button—speed dial.
Then a rush of low, rapid Italian poured from his mouth, clipped and official.
After a moment he ended the call, slid the phone away, and fixed me with a stare cold enough to rearrange bone.
“I heard you flew in from Greece,” he said, voice low and unhurried. “So maybe you forgot who owns the air you’re breathing right now.”
He took one step closer.
“This is Dmitri Volkov’s territory. No one born under the sun defies him and keeps their smile.”
He lifted two fingers.
“You have two choices. One: you walk out this door with me quietly. Two: I walk away right now, and in sixty seconds thisroom is full of men who will take your son somewhere you will never—ever—find him.”
A pause.
A threat carved from ice.
“Choose.”
“You would do no such thing,” Vanya snarled, stepping even closer, small fists balled. “You touch my mom, and—and—God will punish you!”
Giovanni’s jaw clenched. “Clock’s ticking.”
Ice flooded my spine.
Because I knew Giovanni. Cruel to the world. Loyal to Dmitri Volkov.
And I knew he would actually take Vanya if pushed. His threats were never empty.
The idea of anyone taking my son—even for a second—felt like someone ripping the skin off my bones.
But what kind of enforcer weaponizes a child against his own mother just because she isn’t ready to face his arrogant boss?
I swallowed hard.
“Take me to him,” I said quietly.
A small gasp cut through the room—sharp, wounded. Vanya spun around, eyes glossing with hurt even as his jaw locked in fierce resolve.
“No!” he shouted. “I’m coming too. I won’t let them take my mom.”
My heart broke cleanly in two.
I dropped to one knee and cupped his beautiful, furious face in both my hands.
“Vanya... stay here.”
My voice wobbled. “As soon as I leave, lock the door. I’ll return in under twenty minutes. On your name, baby—I swear it.”
“I want to go with you,” he insisted, voice cracking. “You can’t leave me. You always say we’re a team.”
“I know, baby.” I pressed my forehead to his. “But your mom needs to fix something first.”
