They took both of them but brought Mirabella home.
Did Eva arrange that or did Ivan not want the hassle of a child?
"I want every available man looking for them. Check every known Bratva property. Call in favors, put out the word on the street. I want locations within the hour."
Anger nearly blinds me as I imagine Mirabella’s terror.
She's only three.
She shouldn't have to endure being ripped from her mother.
And Eva… What are they doing to her right now?
I break every speed limit on the drive back. The compound gates barely open in time as I screech through them. Two steps at a time, I bound up to the main house. Someone in the Bratva is going to die tonight. It had better be Ivan.
"Where is Mirabella?" I demand the moment I'm through the door.
"Upstairs with Sophia," Alessandro says, emerging from his office with a grim expression. "Adriano?—"
I don't wait to hear whatever judgment he's prepared. I rush up the stairs and I follow the sound of muffled crying until I reach her.
Mirabella sits huddled against Sophia's side, her little body trembling.
When she sees me, she launches herself across the room.
"Daddy!"
I catch her, pulling her tight against my chest, breathing in her scent. Her tiny arms wrap around my neck.
"You're safe." I sit on the edge of her bed and rock her gently. "I've got you."
Her body shudders with hiccupping sobs. "The bad men took Mommy."
"I know, baby." I stroke her hair, fighting to stay strong for her. "But you're home now."
I nod to Sophia. “What happened?”
“She needed a doctor.” Sophia points to medicine on Mirabella’s nightstand. “Ear infection. The pharmacy just delivered it.”
I’m still not keeping up.
We have a doctor.
But I also know that whatever decision was made to leave the house was not made by her.
I press a kiss to Mirabella’s forehead and feel the heat from the fever. “She needs to rest.” I move to lay her down in her bed.
"No!" Mirabella clings tighter. "Don't leave me!"
"I'll be right back, Princess. Sophia will stay with you until then."
Gently, I transfer her to Sophia's arms instead of her bed.
She sniffles. "Are you going to save Mommy from the bad men?"
"Yes. I promise I will." Even as I say it, I know it could be a lie. Eva could already be dead, knowing Ivan. The Bratva doesn't take prisoners they intend to release.
I hurry back downstairs and barge into Alessandro's office, finding him already questioning the surviving men from the ambush. Their faces are ashen, blood still visible on their clothes.