Chapter 114

Ethan

Guilt.

I couldn’t bring myself to return to that house knowing the state of things. Mainly, Layla.

When I’d handed Aldo the file I started on Vanessa, I practically threw it at him as opposed to getting out of the car and discussing it with him in person. The air was utterly electrified with tension since I’d shown up to break the news I’d first uncovered about Vanessa Rossetti.

Layla looked devastated. Heartbroken. So deeply betrayed that I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her burning distress.

How could she not? For Christ’s sake, she’d done nothing but extend her help and kindness and it ended up being shredded to pieces. How was she to know that her friend would have turned out to be a dangerous mafia member?

I felt nothing but a sheer mixture of shame and remorse, believing that I could have done better had I just gotten there sooner. I may not have been able to prevent those explosives from going off but there was still a possibility I could have stopped Vanessa from taking Eli.

After the initial look of pain faded from Layla’s eyes, a new look replaced it. Venomous rage. A look I had come to see from true criminals. It was beyond unnerving, to say the least and downright upsetting.

She’s better than this! She’s a friggin’ doctor and yet this was what she was choosing to resort to.

I clenched my jaw and mindlessly took out my phone. I pulled up Layla’s number and pressed the ‘call’ button. My nerves were teetering on the edge. I wanted her to see reason in her actions.

On the last ring, she finally answered. Her voice sounded calm and even, almost empty of feeling.

“What is it, Ethan?” she asked.

“Layla, I want to talk to you about this whole mess with Vanessa and Eli—”

“Have you found out something else?!”

Her voice instantly filled with a high-pitched desperation. It almost sounded like the way she used to talk when under a lot of pressure at the hospital. She sounded like her old self.

“No, it’s not that. Everything I could possibly find on Vanessa, I made sure to hand over to Aldo.” And even that was enough to make my nerves twitch.

I didn’t want to get any more personally involved in this situation than I already had. But for some reason, I felt morally obligated to at least try to appeal to the humanity I knew was still inside of her.

Layla sighed. And just like that, her tone returned to its original “Then why, may I ask, are you calling?”

My heart lowered into my stomach. “Layla, I know you’re hurting for Eli and that you want to get him back. But, I’m telling you there’s a better way to go about—”

“You seriously did not call me to give me a lecture about what I need to do in order to get my son back,” she hissed. “You have absolutely no idea what I’m feeling or the kind of pain that I’m dealing with.”

My anger started to flare. “I’m telling you, you’re going about this the wrong way,” I insisted.

“Tell me then, what the hell is the ‘right way’, huh?” she questioned bitterly. “Am I to wait around and fucking hope for Vanessa to come to her senses? Should I hand over this case for the police to deal with? You know, the same police that haven't been able to successfully deal with a single attack the Rossettis have committed on the public?”

My stomach rolled with indignity. Of course, she had a point. The Rossetti family, and anyone working for them, have been giving us the slip for weeks. No leads. No direct ties. It was like they were all just phantoms.

“No, Ethan. I’d be stupid to leave this up to anyone else,” Layla said. “Least of all you and the goddamn police. You don’t even know what she’s after.”

My heart jumped in my chest; my words got caught up in my throat. “...What is she after?”

“Perhaps, it’s best that you don’t know.”

“Layla, for God’s sake, would you stop for a moment and seriously think about what you're doing?!” I shouted. “You go down this path any further, then you and I will have to become enemies.”

It hurt to say those words. It felt like I was cutting ties.

I guess, in a way I was.

She had to be made aware of the severity and the consequences. This was not some game to be played. What she was planning to do was going to put herself and a lot of other people’s lives at risk.

“I used to be able to see the world in black and white too,” she said coldly. “When you’ve been through hell enough times, you realize that life isn’t so two-dimensional as you once believed. You know we didn’t start this, but I am prepared to finish it. Whatever it takes.”

The call ended. I’d hoped to get through to her one last time but all I was left with was a headache and pain in my chest that just wouldn't go away.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

I glanced down at my phone to find Aldo’s name across the small screen.

Aldo

Vanessa Rossetti.

The woman had guts. And intelligence it would seem. More so than the other Rossetti family members.

Unlike Michael, who demanded to be seen and heard, she chose patience and bought her time for the right moment to strike. She was meticulous and far more lethal than anyone would have ever guessed.

My heart wrenched for Layla. The woman merely wanted to extend a helping hand—give her kindness to someone who’d desperately needed it and this was the card fate had dealt her. Her kindness was not only taken for granted but utterly eviscerated.

All for revenge. Revenge against me. Eli—my son was merely her bargaining chip.

I needed to speak with Ethan. I was still determined to work something out about this situation. Carlo had his reservations when it came to me wanting to work with the man. And Layla...

I let out a sigh.

I knew well enough that her opinions on me wanting to reach out to Ethn weren’t that supportive either. In a way, I couldn’t blame her.

I took the chance to slip out for a little while. I knew both Layla and Carlo were going to be too busy strategizing to notice my absence, so I sent a message to Ethan, asking him to meet.

While I was proud to see Layla seamlessly step into her role as Donna, I held my concerns as well. I wasn’t entirely on board with the idea of her wanting to use every stitch of brute force and weapons.

Of course, I was worried for Eli. My son was everything to me as was she. But I wanted to find another possible solution. One that was far less violent and would lead to less bloodshed.

I pulled the car over to the side of the road and got out as soon as I spotted Ethan. There was no mistaking the scowl on his face.

“Thank you for meeting me.”

“I’m going to tell you this right now, Aldo. I already tried to reach out and talk to Layla to seeing reason. Needless to say, she’s not willing.”

I lowered my gaze and slowly shook my head. “That’s part of the reason why I called you out here,” I said.