It doesn’t matter
Shelsy stood there, petrified. She wished she could tell him that she was expecting his child, but she couldn’t speak. She just watched him silently walk away while she cried. Endra approached her at that moment.
“Did you tell him?” he asked, seeing her state. He thought she hadn’t liked the news of her pregnancy.
“I couldn’t. He doesn’t want anything to do with me or my mom. I won’t force him to stay by my side.”
“The problem here is what you’ll tell your father. When he finds out, he’ll go after Leandro.”
“I’ll figure out what to tell him. Please, don’t say anything.”
Endra couldn’t understand what was going through his daughter’s mind. Leandro had the right to know he would have a child. If she didn’t tell him, she would.
Leandro returned to Milan in the helicopter. They had circled the city several times, hoping to spot the vans that matched the description they had been given, but it was futile. That woman had the ability to vanish in an instant. He called Bruno at that moment.
“Hello,” Bruno answered anxiously, eager to know what was happening.
“Bruno, Deborah was in Pavia with the n**o. She managed to escape.”
“Damn it! That woman doesn’t think about handing over my child. Who does she think she is, keeping him away?”
“All this time she was the neighbor of Shelsy’s parents. I didn’t know they had sheltered Sondra. She saw them and called Sergio. The police have taken her into custody as an accomplice. I’m worried because now my father is much closer. I fear he’ll find them first.”
“Sondra will pay dearly for this,” he clenched his fists. That cursed woman was determined to harm them.
Nicole approached upon hearing her sister’s name.
“Is something happening? I heard my sister’s name.”
“I’ll let you know of any updates, Leandro, and thank you so much.”
Bruno turned to look at Nicole. He preferred not to tell her yet what was happening. The doctor had recommended avoiding strong emotions for her, as they had already been through too much.Exclusive © material by Nô(/v)elDrama.Org.
“It was Leandro. He was asking about your sister.”
“Has he found any leads on Santi?”
“Not yet.”
“It’s been too long. I feel terrible. We go on with our lives while our son suffers far away from home. It’s awful not knowing if he’s eating well, if he’s warm, if he’s scared, or if he’s being mistreated. This uncertainty is killing me. He’ll think we abandoned him.”
Bruno approached her to embrace her. He didn’t say anything, but he felt the same. Every day when he woke up, he felt like he was failing his son. He was immensely grateful to Leandro. If it weren’t for him, he would have to leave Nicole alone in her condition.
“Our world is upside down. From what you’ve told me, mine has been since I met you,” Nicole had distanced herself from him. Now she stood in front of the window, gazing out at the garden. Her face reflected infinite sadness, and seeing her like that pained Bruno deeply. Perhaps she thought that if she hadn’t met him, her life would be different.
“Come on, you need to eat something. This beautiful baby needs nourishment,” he said while caressing her belly, then placing a tender kiss on it.
Nicole, upon seeing him, realized that he was an excellent father. If he showed so much love for the baby she carried in her womb, he would surely feel even more for their born child.
Rina and Gío were satisfied with the judge’s decision to immediately freeze all of Sergio’s assets. It was only a matter of days before everything would be transferred to their daughter. The only thing left was to rescue their grandson and apprehend Deborah and Sergio. They had plans to travel the world, just like Noah and Emma, as well as René and Mara. They had discussed it, and perhaps they would journey together. Gío wanted Rina to experience everything she desired. She had spent too much time locked away from the world. The problems had to be resolved favorably soon. They couldn’t be denied happiness after everything they had been through.
“You’ll see, soon our grandson will be by our side, and Sergio and Deborah will be behind bars,” Gío reassured Rina, trying to calm her. The woman couldn’t believe that Sergio was still causing her harm after all these years. She had once loved him, but now he was nothing more than a dark shadow in her life.
Meanwhile, Deborah felt cornered. The men accompanying her were highly nervous, and that was dangerous.
“Ma’am, you should hand over the child. An international alert has been issued. Now, not only Sergio and the child’s parents are looking for you, but the police as well. They’re not searching for us because they don’t know we exist.”
“That’s why it’s better for me to stay hidden. You can go out to get supplies. No one knows I’m here. Renting this house was a good idea, and I’ve already told you I’ll pay you triple what Sergio used to pay,” Deborah replied.
The men couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t hand over the child. It would make it easier for her to escape, and they would stay with her as long as she could pay them and there were no problems. They also had to hide from Sergio because they had betrayed him. Deborah no longer knew how to get out of the situation. Handing over Santi was no longer an option for her. She had managed to melt the ice in her cold heart. She needed him by her side.
Bruno spoke with Sondra’s parents, believing they had the right to know what was happening with their daughter.
“Thank you for informing us. I knew Sondra would end up in trouble sooner or later. We will travel there to see her case, although I don’t think there’s much we can do. It’s clear that she’s involved,” Bruno said.
Emma listened in silence, tears streaming down her face. After all, Sondra was her daughter.
Meanwhile, in a prison in Milan, the redhead couldn’t believe her luck. She was confined in that prison where the majority of inmates were there due to drug-related issues.
She didn’t know what her fate would be, as she had no one looking out for her. She had denied all charges, but a large sum of money had been found in her bank account, matching the day and time of the call she had made to Sergio.
The IP address had led the police to a seedy hotel in Bergamo. They had set up multiple security filters at the city’s exits. They were certain that Sergio hadn’t left Milan.
Both Sondra and Alizza had collaborated with him for different reasons, and now they were paying the price. The man remained fixated on his revenge. They had ruined his life, and he would make them pay. One of his men was in contact with the relatives of the men who were with Sondra. He knew that sooner or later they would reach out to them and inform them of the large sum of money being offered.
“I know they will eventually hand her over. They betrayed me out of greed, and I know they will do the same to her,” he said.
That day, he spoke with one of his former partners, demanding a large sum of money or he would expose the documents proving tax evasion and theft from other companies.
“If I send that money, I’ll be getting myself into big trouble. You can’t do this to me,” the man said desperately as he adjusted his tie.
“It will be worse for you if you don’t. Nobody has you in their sights, and you’ll transfer it under someone else’s name. If you refuse, I will send those documents to the authorities and the major news outlets.”
The man eventually agreed. He was caught between a rock and a hard place.
Nicole had already reached her seventh month of pregnancy. Bruno only went to the corporate office in the mornings, trying to spend as much time as possible with her during the pregnancy.
That day he would arrive later as he had an important meeting. Nicole was doing her exercises that she had learned in the psychoprophylactic course to strengthen her muscles. Bruno had accompanied her to the classes and even practiced breathing exercises with her. Her phone began ringing insistently, and the voice she heard when she answered froze her blood.
“Hello, beautiful.”
“What do you want? How did you get my phone number?”
“That’s beside the point. Getting the number of someone who provides a public service is no big deal. Now listen to me carefully, and don’t hang up. I have located Deborah and your son. It’s only a matter of hours before he’s with me. I want you to stay alert for my call. I will contact you and give you some instructions you must follow if you want to see your son alive. If anyone finds out about this call, you’ll never see him again.”
Sergio hung up immediately. Nicole was pale and didn’t know how to react. If she spoke, her son would be in danger. Sara called her to come downstairs for dinner, and she got scared when she saw Nicole looking so pale.
“My dear, what’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing, nanny, it was just a cramp. It took me by surprise.”
“Let’s go downstairs so you can eat. It’s getting late.”
“Thank you, nanny, but I don’t have an appetite. I’m going to lie down.”
“Alright, but you’ll have to come down and eat later.”
Bruno arrived, and Nicole was still asleep. He woke her up to have dinner with him.
He liked seeing her like that. Her huge belly made her look beautiful. He hadn’t had the chance to see her like this with Santi, and the previous pregnancy hadn’t reached this level of growth.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re beautiful. Pregnancy suits you very well.”
“Thank you. I don’t know if it’s just my perception, but knowing that you’ll be a father suits you very well too.”
“Hey, those are my words, hahaha.”
“Haha, sometimes it’s good to take from others what we like.”
“Then take from me whatever you want.”
He said, winking at her. He took her hand and they went downstairs to have dinner. Nicole made an effort to hold back her tears. She didn’t want him to notice what she was going through.