The house was quiet. Too quiet.
Aria stood in the kitchen, pouring warm milk into two cups for Nico and Nino. They had just been playing in the living room, laughing, fighting over whose car was faster. She could still hear their giggles in her head, but now, the silence wrapped around her like a shroud.
She turned, glancing toward the hallway. Something felt wrong.
Her eyes caught the back door.
Open.
The cup fell from her hands, shattering against the tile. Her breath caught in her throat as she ran, feet slipping over broken glass. "Nico? Nino!" Her voice echoed through the rooms, growing sharper, more desperate.
No answer.
She threw open the closets. Looked under beds. Pulled open bathroom doors.
Nothing.
Their backpacks were still there. Jackets hanging by the wall. The toy cars were still on the floor, mid-race. But her boys were gone.
Aria stumbled onto the front porch, barefoot and drenched by the sudden downpour. She screamed so loud her voice cracked, hoping, and praying that someone, anyone, would hear.
Luciano arrived minutes later, his SUV tearing into the driveway. The second he saw her, soaked, shaking, arms wrapped around herself, his heart dropped.
"They're gone!" she sobbed. "They were right here... I only left the room for a minute. I didn't hear anything. I didn't see...."
He held her arms, forcing her to focus. "Start from the beginning. When did you last see them?"
"Five minutes ago. Maybe ten. I don't know. I heard nothing. Just silence."
Luciano turned to his men without hesitation. "Check every camera. Every door. Every neighbor. I want faces, plates, anything. No one leaves this street until we get answers."
They scattered like trained hounds. Luciano pulled out his phone. "Code Black. Two minors. Lock every route out of Ridge Hollow. Notify every checkpoint. No exceptions."
Aria sat on the porch step, trembling. "I never should've let you in. I should've kept hiding. It's my fault."
"No," he said fiercely. "It's mine. Because I wasn't here to stop them."
Across town, behind a metal door, Nico and Nino huddled together on a mattress. The room was dark and cold, lit only by a single bulb that flickered overhead. Nino cried softly, burying his face in his brother's shoulder.
"Where's Mom?" he whispered.
"I don't know," Nico answered, his voice shaking. "But she's coming."
They clung to each other as footsteps passed outside the door. A man's voice said something low into the phone. "She'll do what we say… or she never sees them again."
Back in the house, Luciano and Matteo reviewed the security footage. It showed two men in black hoodies. One picked the lock on the back door; the other waited near the alley. Quick, clean, quiet. Like professionals.
"They were trained," Matteo muttered. "Not street level."
"Blow up the footage, enhance the plate. I don't care if it's blurry. Run it through everything we've got."
"No hits so far."
Luciano clenched his jaw. "Then hit harder."
Aria entered the room, her voice calmer now, but edged with steel. "I want to help."
"You are helping," Luca said, not looking up.
"I mean it. I want to be in this. Fully."
He stood, stepping toward her. "This isn't just a search, Aria. It's a war."
"They're my children," she said. "And I'm not sitting on the sidelines."
For a moment, they stared at each other. Then he nodded.
Luciano received a name that evening. Anton Bellini. A man from the underworld, a former military, now in human trafficking. Luciano had heard his name whispered for years. He had never been able to touch him. But now, it was personal.
"We think he's working out of the docks," Matteo said. "Private warehouses. High level protection."
"I want eyes on every building he owns."
Luciano wasn't the only one making calls. Upstairs, Aria dialed a number she hadn't touched in years.
The woman who answered sounded both cold and curious. "Aria Castell. I thought you were dead."
"I need a favor."
"You disappeared on us. No warning. No goodbye."
"I was protecting my kids."
"And now?"
"They're gone."
"David?" the woman asked.
"No. Someone worse. His name's Anton Bellini."
The woman paused. "You know what this means."
"I do. Call in the favor whenever you want. Just help me find them."
Aria didn't wait for a response before hanging up. She stared at the wall, her fists clenched. She would burn every bridge if it meant saving her sons.
At midnight, Luciano got a message with an address. A warehouse on the south pier. The message was short.
**Come alone. Or they die.**
He knew it was a trap.
He didn't care.
He grabbed his gun and left.
Aria watched from the upstairs window as his taillights disappeared down the street. Something inside her twisted. She couldn't sit still. Not now. She grabbed her keys, her coat, and followed.
The warehouse smelled like salt and rust. Luciano stepped through the side door quietly, his boots barely making a sound on the concrete. A spotlight switched on above him, blinding him for a second.
Then a voice echoed from the shadows.
"Luciano De Rossi. Finally, the prince of the underworld comes crawling."
Anton Bellini stood just out of the light, his smile smug. "Didn't think you'd actually show."
"I'm here. Now where are the boys?"
Anton motioned behind him. "They're alive. For now. But this isn't about them. It's about you."
"I figured."
"I want your empire. You walk away. Tonight. For good. And you get your sons back."
Luciano didn't flinch. "You think that's how this works?"
"You've got until midnight," Anton said. "After that… we start sending pieces."
Luciano's eyes flicked toward the upper level. A dusty glass pane. A small hand pressed against it.
Nino.
Still alive.
Still fighting.
Before he could respond, a rustle behind him caught his attention. Luciano turned slightly, hand reaching for his gun.
Another man.
Gun raised. Silent footsteps.
Then.....
"LUCA!" Aria's voice rang through the air.
He ducked. The bullet missed his head by inches. Luciano fired back. One clean shot. The man dropped.
But the distraction cost him.
Anton grabbed Nino and yanked him close, pressing a gun to the boy's temple.
"Drop the weapon, De Rossi."
Luciano froze, hand still on the trigger. He dropped the gun slowly, eyes on Nino. The boy was crying now. Silent tears, mouth quivering.
Aria stepped forward, her voice steady. "Take me instead."
Anton's eyes shifted.
"I'm the one you want," she said. "Use me. Just let him go."
"No," Luciano growled.
But she kept walking. "I'm worth more to you. I know people. I have connections. Let him go, and I'll come quietly."
Anton tilted his head. "You've got fire. I like that."
"Do we have a deal?" she asked.
He considered it. Then nodded.
"Deal."
He shoved Nino forward. Luciano rushed to catch him.
And Anton lunged at Aria.
A shot rang out.
Anton froze.
Blood bloomed on his chest.
He collapsed at Aria's feet.
Luciano stood behind her, gun still raised, breathing hard.
It was over.
Police arrived minutes later. Someone had called them anonymously. Aria never asked who. She already knew.
Nico and Nino ran into her arms the second they saw her, sobbing uncontrollably. She clutched them both, kissing their foreheads, repeating the same words again and again.
"I've got you. I've got you. You're safe."
Luciano stood a few feet away, silent, watchful. Not intruding. Just there.
Aria turned toward him, tears still in her eyes. She walked up, reaching for his hand.
"You came," she said softly.
"I always will."
She didn't let go.
But far from the docks, in a city high rise, another phone buzzed.
"She survived," said a man to the receiver. "The boys too. Anton failed."
A voice, cold and slow, responded from the shadows.
"Then we move to Phase Two."