Chapter 3: THE PRESENT

LORENZO’S P.O.V. I stared at the little boy in confusion and shock. It was after his words settled that I began to see the similarities between the two of them. His skin was a few shades lighter than hers but they had the same nose and lips. In fact, the only thing that didn’t resemble Isabella were his eyes. They were a light shade of blue and I inhaled sharply. “I don’t know where you came from kid.” I tried to keep my voice as detached as I possibly could. “You’re not at the right place. I don’t know anyone named Isabella. I think you should leave.” He frowned. “She told me that you might say that.” He took off his backpack and immediately, the men had their guns pointed at the child. I wasn’t sure if he was truly mine or not but I wasn’t going to allow them to shoot a child. I held out my hand immediately and they turned to me in confusion. “Put your weapons away.” They hesitated and I could feel the annoyance climbing. “Did I fucking stutter?” This time, they tucked their guns away and the boy just stood there. His eyes were wide in shock and I realized that he must not know about our life. If he really was Isabella’s child then that wasn’t surprising. She never wanted a part of this life and I know she would do anything she can to keep her child out of it which was why I was surprised that she sent him to me. I watched as the boy opened up his bag and took out a picture. He handed it over to me and I hesitated before reaching out to take it. I inhaled sharply when my eyes landed on her. It had been almost eight years since I saw her face last. The picture was a collage- in the one on the left, she was visibly pregnant. She had braids in and although she was smiling, she looked tired. She wasn’t looking directly at the camera either and I couldn’t help but wonder who took the picture. The second picture was of her holding a blue blanket. I knew it was the little boy and even though I wanted to hold onto the picture as a remembrance of her, I couldn’t. Instead, I allowed it to drop to the ground and I looked up at the child. He had a hopeful look on his face and I hated myself because I knew that I was about to squash it. “I don’t know why your mother sent you here. Where is she?” “I don’t know.” He sounded sincere but he looked a little guilty as he spoke. “She put me in a car and asked someone to drop me off. He left me on the street and told me where to go. She said you would help me.” “Why would she say that?” “Because you’re my dad,” he answered cheerfully. “I have my birth certificate if you want to see it.” He was speaking but his words were not registering in my ears. All I could hear was the word ‘dad’ repeated over and over again. I didn’t want to believe that I was a dad and yet this was in front of me. The child was standing there with my eyes. Just yesterday, I was getting drunk with Matteo and now I was being told that I had a child to cater for. I was pissed. I was pissed at Isabella for leaving, I was pissed at her for having the child and I was pissed that she didn’t see fit to tell me until now. I couldn’t help but wonder what spurred her into sending him. It couldn’t have been a last-minute decision which meant something big was happening but I didn’t know what and I hated it. If there was anything I hated, it was not knowing. I turned to the guards. “Take him inside and put him in the room next to mine.” They looked shocked. I was sure they expected me to toss the boy out on his ass but they did as I asked without question. It was obvious that I was not in the mood to be messed with. I saw the boy sigh in relief at my words and just as they were leading him away, I realized something. “What’s your name?” I asked making him stop in his tracks. “Leonardo DeLucia.” I nodded to the guards because I was unable to form any other words and I watched as they led him inside. I knew I was going to have a lot of questions from my father but I couldn’t focus on that at the moment. I was a father and Isabella was in danger. “Lorenzo,” Matteo’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned to him. “Are you sure this is a good idea? You don’t even know that child.” “He is Isabella’s son,” I said dumbly and Matteo sighed. “What would you have me do? Do you want me to throw him out on his ass? He says he is my son.” “I know that but after all these years. You should consider that this is a ploy from the enemies to get to you.” “I can handle a child, Matteo. Didn’t you look at him? He looks like her,” Matteo just stared at me blankly. “Of course, I am skeptical of the child who showed up at my doorstep but if he truly is mine and Isabella’s child then I will not leave him on the streets. It isn’t safe for him.” “What happens now? Are you just going to keep him? I thought you were trying to forget about Isabella. This is a lot, Lorenzo.” “First, we are going to find out what car dropped him off. Get into the street cameras, run the plates, and find out who was driving. I need to know who has enough contact with Isabella to get in touch with her son.” “Okay.” He still didn’t attempt to move and I knew that he had something he wanted to say. “Spit it out, Matteo.” “I hope you know what you are doing.” He kept his voice soft as he spoke. “When Isabella is mentioned, you lose all sense of reasoning.” “Focus on your task, Matteo, and allow me to focus on mine.” He pursed his lips and I knew he didn’t agree but there was nothing he could do. He nodded and I watched him leave. Once I was alone, I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. Matteos’s concerns were fair. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing and if I wasn’t careful, it was going to come back and bite me in the ass.