Chapter 10 - The Kidnapping at Saint Jude's: When Matteo Disappeared into the Rain
The lockdown at the hotel came five minutes too late.
While the ballroom was in chaos, Julian’s encrypted phone buzzed with an urgent priority alert from the private medical floor at Saint Jude's Hospital, where Matteo was scheduled for pre-op testing under heavy guard.
Julian answered, putting it on speaker.
"Sir!" a guard’s frantic voice cried over the sound of gunfire. "They hit the hospital convoy! Smoke grenades... Sable’s mercenaries breached the private ward! They took the boy!"
Leah let out a bloodcurdling scream that shattered the silence of the grand ballroom. "MATTEO!"
She grabbed Julian’s lapels, her fingernails digging through the expensive fabric, tears flooding her eyes in pure agony. "Julian! He took Matteo! My baby! He doesn't have his heart medication—he won't survive the night!"
Julian’s phone chimed again. A video message popped up.
The screen showed Matteo tied to a chair in an abandoned, rain-soaked industrial warehouse. His face was pale, his breathing labored, clutching his red wooden train to his chest. Behind him stood Sable, holding a heavy automatic pistol to the eight-year-old's temple.
"You took my seat at the table, Julian," Sable sneered into the camera. "Now bring yourself and the girl to Pier 42 alone. No guards, no snipers, no police. If I see a single Vance shadow, I put a bullet through this kid's failing heart."
The video cut to static.
Leah collapsed to her knees on the marble floor, sobbing hysterically. "Please... God, please... not Matteo... take me instead..."
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Julian knelt beside her, his large hands cupping her face, forcing her to look into his eyes. In them, Leah saw no fear, no hesitation—only an ancient, unyielding fury that could burn the entire city to ash.
"Listen to me, Leah," Julian whispered with deadly conviction. "Look at me. I swear on my life, on my soul, on everything I am: Matteo will come home tonight. And every single man who touched him will beg for the mercy of death."
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