“Soph,” Nats' voice said from the open doorway. “What’s—"
I couldn’t answer her. Rolling into my side, I curled into a ball and sobbed.
I had told him the truth, and he had left. Even knowing that his child was in danger, he had walked away.
But hadn’t I always suspected this would be his reaction? Matteo was never going to be the man I needed or the father Lily deserved.
“I heard him leaving.” She crept into the room. “That’s Lily’s father, isn’t it? That’s the man you loved?”
Loved? A crooked smile split my lips, and I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and sat, taking a deep breath. There was no love here, but I still loved him.
“Yeah.” I sucked in a breath, trying to calm my heart before I had a full-blown panic attack. “He’s her father.”
“Is he going to…”
With difficulty, I pushed myself to my feet. “He isn’t going to help me.”
Hadn’t I always known that, though? Matteo would never be there for us.
“We are on our own.”
“What do you want to do? Should we call the police?”
I paused. In my circles, that was a death sentence, but this wasn’t my old life, and my daughter’s life might be on the line. The old rules didn’t apply.
Not now.
“Yeah.” Shaking out my shoulders, I nodded. “Yeah, I can’t think of anything else we can do. I need to phone the police.”
The words had barely left my mouth when her phone rang. Wide-eyed, she stared at me. “It’s…”
Either Gio or Matteo. It didn’t really matter which one it was.
“Answer it,” I hissed.
“Hello?” Her eyes met mine as she listened to what was being said on the other end of the line. “Yeah, she’s here now. What? No.” She began to shake her head violently. “No, I won't do that, Gio. Just bring…”
I held out my hand demandingly. “Give me the phone,” I ordered. If it was Gio, then he had called to speak to me.
“Where is my daughter?” I hissed down the phone.
His mocking laughter filled my ears. “Safe for now. But I can’t promise you for how much longer.”
I blinked in shock.
“Did Matteo run away when he found out the truth?”
Wildly, I looked around. How did he know? How could he possibly know that Matteo had been here or did he now know the truth and had abandoned me?
“Just bring my daughter back, Gio. I don’t know why you are doing this, but she’s just a child. She’s your niece.”
He cut me off with more laughter. I had never heard him laugh like that.
“If you want her back, Sophia, then you will leave that dump you call home and get into the BMW at the end of the street. The keys are in the ignition.”
I swallowed hard. “And where do I go?”
“The address is programmed into the navigation. Come alone.”
