Liora's POV
"Tell me, where is Julian?!"
I shook Matteo's body, who stood stiff like a statue. Fifteen minutes I had been repeating the same question, but he remained silent.
"I don't know. He vanished."
That sentence sounded light for uttering something so devastating.
"Didn't you say you wanted to stroll with him?! And now you show up by yourself and say he disappeared?!"
I lost my voice. A raging scream cramped my chest. My head throbbed so hard, and my fists fisted in my own hair.
Matteo simply shook his head slowly. That small motion was like a lash tearing the last thread of my hope apart.
Suddenly, my phone rang.
My eyes widened as Julian's name flashed on the screen.
I grabbed it and clutched it with shaking hands quickly.
"Mom… help me!"
That small voice cried in terror.
I grasped the phone tightly. My lips quivered badly.
"Where are you, honey?"
"In the woods, Mom. T-there's a bear. It's pursuing me. I think it's starving, I'm frightened…"
His breathing was heavy, I heard rushed footsteps and snapped twigs on the ground. His crying made my whole body shudder.
It was like my blood had frozen.
"Forest? But…didn't your dad tell you you were going to the zoo?"
My voice rose, a mix of fear, panic, and suffocating rage.
“No! My dad had said he wanted to go deer hunting with me. But then I lost him. He disappeared from sight. I attempted to call him, but his phone was off. So I called you."
My eyes instinctively locked onto Matteo. Our eyes clashed for a second but his lips remained shut.
"Listen, baby. I'm coming. I promise."
My voice shivered, holding back tears.
"Meanwhile, get someplace safe to hide. Stand your ground. Don't draw attention. I'm going to take care of you now. And don't—"
The phone call was cut off abruptly.
"Julian? Julian?!"
I was panicked. I panted in short gasps of air. Without delay, I grabbed Matteo's wrist and yanked it firmly.
"We have to go. Now."
I didn't mind the battle we hadn't finished. I only knew that my son was alone in the woods and being hunted by death.
"No." His answer fell like that, blunt. His body not moving. "I won't go get him."
I spun around, staring at him in shock.
"What do you mean?!”
“Just imagine it's a lesson for Julian, he's the one that got Nora into a coma," Matteo spoke indifferently.
And in that instant, my world absolutely fell apart.
Nora. A little girl of five, daughter of my best friend, Clara Banned.
That day, Clara arrived as always, bringing Nora to play with Julian at my place.
Julian went outside to pee for a minute, and in an instant, Nora ran to the edge of the pool and fell.
That little body was not able to swim. Nobody saw. And she never opened her eyes again from that day on.
I emerged out of the mournful flashback.
"It was an accident, Matteo!" my voice nearly cracked.
"Julian is only a child! He doesn't know anything! You're blaming your own son? It should have been Clara who was looking after her daughter, not Julian!"
Matteo didn't say anything. He just turned and left, as if everything I'd said was not worth hearing. As if he preferred having Clara guarded better.
But I did. I saw the CCTV recording of the day. While I was busy cooking in the kitchen, Matteo took Clara into his bedroom.
Then afterwards a couple of minutes later when the maid broke the news about Nora, Clara came out from the room with a frantic face.
She had a few of her shirt buttons undone, her hair in disarray, and she held on to her dying daughter.
I tried to follow after Matteo.
Instinctively, I fell to my knees and wrapped his legs around me from behind. I wept.
"Matteo… please… one second can save everything. Our child is out there. Frightened, alone, and at risk."
Matteo kicked his leg wildly, trying to push me away. But I held on, begging with one hand, though the other hand was being trampled and hurt just as much.
“Listen to me, Julian is only eight years old. He’s just a child. I’m afraid that bear will really eat him. Please help me.”
Matteo stared at me sharply. His jaw clenched.
“If he wants to survive, let him learn.”
His voice sounded like a knife. “Think of it as punishment.”
“You’re insane?! He’s your son, Matteo! Not your enemy!”
I screamed, desperate, my face drenched in tears.
Matteo ignored me, slapping his foot down again, causing my grip to falter.
My body landed on the hard ground.
My voice echoed off walls that provided no response—just as his heart provided none.
I felt as if I was begging a callous stranger.
My eyes followed his back as it slowly walked away. Leaving me with welts too sensitive to speak.
He was the one who loved me. Who chased me over and over, begging me to accept his love.
He came at me as a cold, ruthless mafia, but to me, he remained always warm and kind.
That dark part reared its head again—something I was sure of.
Clara. My best friend.
The woman who one night stood on my threshold in the rain, crying and shivering, knocking on my door with a bruised face.
She had her child tucked around her, holding a small teddy bear, his eyes glued wide with fear.
"Liora, rescue me! My husband will kill me! He is crazy!"
Her clothes in tatters. Her body soiled, and she hadn't even bothered to wear shoes.
I accepted her. An apartment. The warmth of a family, and safeguard.
And what I got in return was the exact opposite.
Slowly, she gained my husband's attention.
She filled the position which was mine.
Now, I am a nobody in my own husband's eyes.
I got up, roughly rubbing my face.
Not wasting time, I called the rescue team.
The helicopter rattled with the wind while we hovered low over the woods. My eyes crazily swept below.
And then I saw Julian. That tiny body was being dragged by a bear.
His legs were smeared with blood, his clothes torn, his face with claw marks.
He was already thin and weak, as if surrendering to his fate.
"There! Administer the shot now!"
Two tranquilizer shots were administered.
The bear screamed, stumbled, then collapsed.
The helicopter came down quickly. I ran through the shrubs.
"Julian!"
I folded his shivering and cold body into my arms. My palms were dirty with blood. His breathing was faint, and his half-open eyes stared at me.
"Mom… You came."
"I'm sorry, baby! I was a bit delayed to save you. Hold on tight."
I cried against his chest.
His hand tried to touch my face, and then fell powerless.
My heart was broken.
Enough! I don't want to go back to Matteo anymore.
****
Julian was still being treated inside, while I sat waiting outside the ICU. My hand trembled as I opened my contacts and pressed my mother’s number.
Over the past month, I had secretly reconnected with her. Her assistant had managed to find me. I was the lost daughter, stolen from my family before I ever knew who I was.
Matteo never knew. All he knew was that I was just a pitiful orphan.
When we met again, my mother asked me to live with her and help manage the family business. But at that time, I refused. Instead, I begged her to secretly help Matteo by investing in his company under another name, in order to save his business, which was on the verge of bankruptcy.
I was still foolish back then… still hoping he would change.
The call connected.
“Mom, can you withdraw your investment from my husband’s company? You remember, right, when I asked you to go in under another name? This time, I’ll accept your offer to live with you and help manage our company.”
She didn’t ask questions, didn’t pry. She simply answered softly,
“I’ll do whatever you ask, Sweetheart. Leave it to me. In seven days, you and Julian will be living with me.”
I slowly ended the call and looked toward the ICU. In seven days, I would take my son out of this hell.
