Page 49 of Forgotten Vows

"Matteo." My voice comes out sharper than I mean for it to, and he jumps, his head snapping up to look at me. "What is that?"

"I—" He looks down at the phone, and I can see the guilt written all over his face. "I found it. In my bag. I didn't know it was there, I swear."

I cross the room and snatch the phone out of his hands. He flinches, his eyes going wide. "Where did you get this?" I demand, my voice shaking. "Who gave this to you?"

"No one gave it to me." He shrinks back against the bed. "It was just in my bag. I didn't know it was there until today."

I look down at the phone, and my stomach drops. There are text messages on the screen, dozens of them, and they're all from the same number. I scroll through the messages, my hands shaking, and with each one I read, the knot in my chest tightens.

Matteo, it's Uncle Gio. I know you're scared, but I need you to know that I'm doing everything I can to get you back. That man who took you—he's dangerous. He's a kidnapper. He's not your father. He's lying to you.

Your mama is confused right now. She doesn't understand what's happening. But I'm going to fix this. I'm going to bring you both home.

I miss you, buddy. I miss you so much. Just hold on a little longer, okay? I'm coming for you.

Don't trust him. Don't trust anything he says. He's a violent man. He's going to hurt you and your mama if you're not careful.

I love you, Matteo. I'm going to get you back. I promise.

The phone slips from my hands and clatters to the floor. I stare at it like it's a snake, something venomous that's going to bite me if I get too close.

"Mama?" Matteo's voice is small. "Are you okay?"

I can't answer. Gio has been in contact with my son. He's been feeding him lies, poisoning his mind, making him think that Lachlan is the enemy and that Gio is the hero. And I didn't know. I was so focused on trying to figure out how to navigate this new nightmare that I didn't think to look for if Gio had found a way to reach us.

"Mama." Matteo reaches for me, and I can see the confusion in his eyes. "Uncle Gio said he's trying to help us. He said he misses me. He said?—"

"He's lying." The words come out harsh, and Matteo flinches. "He's lying to you, Matteo. Everything he said is a lie."

"But he said?—"

"I don't care what he said." I pick up the phone, gripping it so tightmy knuckles are white. "He's not trying to help us. He's trying to manipulate you. He's trying to make you think that Lachlan is the bad guy so you'll want to go back to him. But Lachlan isn't the bad guy, Matteo. Gio is."

"But Uncle Gio never hurt us." Matteo's voice is rising, and I can hear the desperation in it. "He took care of us. He kept us safe. And now we're here, and I'm scared, Mama. I'm so scared."

"I know." I drop to my knees in front of him, trying to make him look at me. "I know you're scared. But you have to trust me, okay? You have to trust that I'm doing what's best for us. Gio didn't keep us safe. He kept us prisoner. And Lachlan—" My voice breaks, and I have to swallow hard before I can continue. "Lachlanisyour father. And he's trying to protect us."

"I don't want him to be my father." Matteo is welling up with tears now. "I want to go home. I want things to go back to the way they were."

I have to close my eyes against the pain. He doesn't understand. He doesn't know what Gio did to me, what he was planning to do to him. He doesn't know that the life we had wasn't a life at all, and I let him grow up in it because I didn't know how to get us out.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. I pull him into my arms, holding him tight. "I'm so sorry, baby. I know this is hard. I know you don't understand. But I need you to trust me. Can you do that? Can you trust me?"

He doesn't answer. He just cries into my shoulder, his small body shaking.

—

I findLachlan in his office, sitting at his desk and staring at a laptop screen. He looks up when I walk in, and I can see the wariness in his eyes, like he's not sure if I'm going to yell at him or break down or both.

I hold up the phone. "We need to talk."

He stands up immediately, his eyes narrowing as he looks at the phone in my hand. "Where did you get that?"

"Matteo had it." I cross the room and set the phone on his desk. I can see his jaw tighten as he picks it up and starts scrolling through the messages. "Gio's been texting him. Telling him that you're a kidnapper. That I'm complicit. That he's trying to rescue us."

Lachlan's face goes dark, and I can see the fury building in his eyes. "How long has he had this?"

"I don't know. He said he found it in his bag today, but I don't know if that's true. He could have had it this whole time." I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly cold. "Gio's poisoning him against us. Against you. He's making Matteo think that you're the enemy and that he's the hero. And I don't know how to fix it."