Chapter 5

Lilianna's POV

Sillas, my older brother, got married to the daughter of the Russian Don this week. This was the result of an arranged marriage planned by my father with the parents of my future brother-in-law. It looks like it will soon be my turn for the matchmaking part. My father always made his own choices. After finding out my father was a big part of the mafia, I started to realize that's how he operated. He even controls things concerning his children. The arranged marriage was done to reduce conflicts between them, related to their covert business activities. I suspect I will be matched after my older brother's marriage to the Russian Don's daughter goes smoothly. My father learned about and saw me give birth to a son with uncertain origins. Maybe they thought that the boy I gave birth to was the result of my relationship with Jeremy Petrov so today I never know his whereabouts after almost a year. He almost drove me crazy. Of course, which mother would be willing to have her child hidden away like that? I have been looking for the whereabouts of my son Callum for the past year. When he disappeared he was one year old. So I still closely recognize his face as do the other members of my family, including Sillas.

Sillas approached me with an expression that made me confused.

"Lilianna, I want to tell you something that I feel is very important to you."

"What is it? Say it!"

Every Sunday Sillas and I usually go together to visit the altar. This time I couldn't be there. Sillas went alone and said he sat at the back because he almost overslept. This was because I waited too long to leave but in the end I didn't go.

"I thought I saw Callum when I was at the altar earlier."

"Are you serious? Have you seen my son?"

My eyes sparkled with hope. Waiting for the reality that I have longed for to be able to reunite with my son.

"Yes, I saw him with an adult man, maybe he was the one who found your son Callum a year ago, I thought so."

I thought that my father had ordered someone to kidnap my son and give him or even sell him to someone else who wanted to have a child. Because my father never liked the birth of my son.

"Do you know who the man with Callum is?"

"No, I don't know the man at all. It's just that I saw the name tag on the jacket he was wearing. I didn't dare take the child he was carrying because I was afraid that maybe the child was just a child who looked like Callum."

"What's that guy's name?"

"I see Matteo Bogdan."

I was very surprised to hear that. So all this time Callum was with his biological father. Why did it happen? I don't know, I don't understand why this can happen in such a way.

"He was also walking with a young woman who I saw was younger than you, Lilianna. If I guessed it might be his wife or his nanny, I don't know for sure."

Sillas just walked away, leaving me alone, stuck in a daydream that made me explore all the possibilities regarding the whereabouts of my son, who is now with his biological father.

After Sillas spoke like that, I really thought about what he said. My mind returned to the image of three years ago when I experienced a serene night with that man named Matteo. I don't know him, it's just that his words have now come true. That finally I became the mother of his child.

I entered that dimension that night. Where touch after touch still felt warm and so memorable that it made all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up feeling the sensation of that unforgettable night. Until suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by my memory of the business card he had given me. I had put it in a drawer in my room in the cupboard. I immediately got up from my seat and ran to my room to look for the business card. Perhaps the cellular contact on the business card is still valid today.

When I got to the room I immediately looked for the business card. Finally I found it in a worn condition. The color is no longer contrasting and almost classic after three years have passed and I only keep it in this drawer.

"Luckily it's still intact. Hopefully Matteo's cell phone contact is still active." I'm talking to myself.

"What's active?" Suddenly my father surprised me from behind.

Suddenly I was shocked and immediately hid the business card I was holding in my trouser pocket.

"What's still active?" My father repeated the question again.

I took a deep breath and couldn't think of any way to dodge it. Now I feel cornered and confused about what to answer my father.

"Never mind, forget it, it doesn't seem too important to discuss, I just want to tell you something."

After my father spoke like that I can breathe more easily now.

"What did you want to tell me, Dad?"

"At Sillas's wedding, I want to introduce you to someone. The son of my father's business partner. Our relationship is very close. I hope you are willing to do that."

Without waiting for an answer and readiness from me, my father immediately walked away leaving me. My father is authoritarian and always imposes his will. I had guessed that before my father spoke just now. That it was true that what I had predicted would happen too. After Sillas, now it was my turn to be the subject of an arranged marriage by my father. Maybe it will be difficult for me to refuse unless I just follow the flow and then get tricky along the way.

After my father left my room, I immediately locked the door from the inside and looked at the business card again. Then I tried to record Matteo's number without delaying any longer. I immediately tried to contact Matteo as much as I was curious. Several people got a call but finally someone picked up and the phone started connecting.

Some of them hadn't been picked up yet, until finally Matteo's voice was clearly heard, which I could still recognize.

"Hello, is there anything I can help you with? Sorry you called me four times but I can only pick up now. Because I was on the road and driving a car just now."

I'm out of words and don't know what to say. Suddenly it becomes out of style and there is only a feeling of uncertainty. An unclear feeling along with a heartbeat that felt like it was beating very fast.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

I haven't dared to speak yet.

"Hello? I'll hang up if there's no sound."

Finally I got up the courage to say something. With a trembling voice I began to express my intention to contact Matteo for the first time.

"Is this true with Matteo Bogdan Castello?" I said his name very fully.