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Betrayal

In the early hours of the morning, Nicholas' guards entered the room and chained Francesco along the wall next to Logan. Francesco sat next to Logan on the floor, fighting back his tears as he wracked his brain. He needed to get them out of here. But Luciano hadn't told him anything other than 'tour the Mediterranean'. The boy tried, but could not get his hands free, despite the roomy feel of his shackles.

"Don't; you'll injure yourself."

"But mom!"

"Don't worry. I have a plan to get you two out safely."

"What about you?"

"As long as your mother's safe, it doesn't matter."

An angry Nicholas came into the room. He had a black eye and paced about the room, angrily cursing and knocking things over. He walked over to Francesco and grabbed the boy by the throat.

"You did this!" He shouted.

Nicholas squeezed his hand, making Francesco cough.

"Don't hurt him!" Logan roared.

Nicholas glanced at Logan with disgust. "Beg for your son. Today is the last you'll see of him." He laughed as he tightened his grip. Francesco flailed his limbs frantically as pain shot from his neck up to his head.

"He's your son!" Logan shouted.

Nicholas stopped for a moment, then laughed. "Nice try."

"Aurora lied! Adam's your son, not mine."

Nicholas watched the boy squirm under his grip. "I saw his birth certificate; your name was on it."

Logan shook his head. "Assistant Morbidelli must have added it in. There was no father name before he took it."

Nicholas watched Logan from the corner of his eye. "Why would she lie?"

"She didn't want to be forced to marry you."

Nicholas' gaze moved between Logan and Francesco. The boy was barely fighting back; his eyes had rolled back, showing their whites. When Nicholas didn't let go of Francesco, Logan continued. "She found out she was pregnant while you were in Aruba. Why do you think she ran away?!"

Nicholas let go of the boy. He stood over Francesco, lost in thought. "He's my son." He said softly. He bent down and poked Francesco's face. "He's my son!" He laughed.

Nicholas kissed Francesco's forehead, then hurried to the bed and kissed Aurora. "Soon, my love, our dream will come true."

After Nicholas left, a doctor came in and administered to Francesco and Aurora. Apart from soreness and a mild cough resulting in a few spots of blood, the doctor deemed the boy to be fine. Aurora, on the other hand, could not help. Nothing he tried worked. The doctor still couldn't wake Aurora after an hour; this annoyed Nicholas, who berated the man and paced the room anxiously.

"We're meeting our parents in two days. I can't show up with her unconscious. Fix her!"

"Sir, I've tried everything I know. You need to take her to the hospital."

"The point of hiring you is to not have to go to the hospital. Do your job!"

"But I don't have the equipment or staff to properly diagnose and resuscitate her."

Nicholas watched the doctor angrily. He seemed to be wrestling with his decision. He paced the room nervously, sending frustrated fingers through his hair, before finally taking a deep breath and making a call. He didn't speak English to the person he called and was very docile with them.

"You'll have your staff and equipment. You better wake her up." He warned as he walked past the other man.

"Why did you do that?!" Francesco spat in a hoarse whisper at Logan once they were alone.

"You're Aurora's only child. If anything else happens to you...it'll kill her."

"But—"

"Adam. I spent the last week and a half watching him abuse her. If telling him the truth can save her, I'm willing to take the risk. He wouldn't listen to her mother, but I think, as his heir, your grandfather will listen to you. You can protect your mother better than I can."