I Hope You Suffer, My Ex Mafia Husband Chapter 4

Dante's POV

"Amanda!" Dante's heart dropped and panic hit him like a freight train. He rushed into the walk-in closet, her clothes were all there, her jewelry too. Only she was gone.

"Someone! Find her! Seal all the exits!" Dante tore downstairs like a maniac, grabbing the butler by the collar and roaring.

All hell broke loose at the estate.

"Sir... we found tire tracks near the blind spot by the back gate," a bodyguard reported nervously.

Dante burst into the security room, pulling up all footage from the past few days. He needed to know when Amanda had started planning her escape.

But as he reviewed the garden surveillance from two days ago, he saw something that made his blood run cold.

Though there was no audio, he could clearly see Maggie throwing a piece of meat to Bruno. The dog began convulsing shortly after eating it. Maggie stood watching with a cold, satisfied smirk, even kicking the dying animal with her foot.

Then the next day, Amanda had rushed out and jumped into the water...

"Crack!" Dante slapped himself hard across the face.

It was true. She hadn't lied. Maggie really had killed her dog. And he, he had struck Amanda for that viper, had driven her away.

He dropped into the chair. His head in his hands. He'd picked Maggie over her.

"What have I done... what the hell have I done..." Dante collapsed to his knees, clutching the diamond ring, tears streaming down his face.

"Sir, Maggie is downstairs crying, saying she feels dizzy..." the butler cautiously peered in from the doorway.

"Tell her to get out!" Dante's eyes were bloodshot, like a wounded beast.

With trembling hands, he pulled out his phone and dialed Amanda's number.

"Sorry, the user you are calling is currently unavailable."

The cold mechanical voice broke him completely.

"Find her! Turn over every stone if you have to!" Dante roared at his men. "She's my wife! She can only be mine!"

Then his voice cracked. "I don't care what it takes. Find my wife."

They searched everywhere. Airport, train station, bus terminals. No Amanda Rodriguez, no Amanda Russo. Nothing.

Dante checked every hotel, five-star places, cheap motels, everything. Still nothing.

"Boss, we've covered every exit point," Marco said. He looked exhausted. "It's like she just disappeared."

"She didn't disappear!" Dante slammed his fist on the desk. "She's not a ghost! Keep looking!"

But every hour that went by, he felt sicker.

Amanda, where are you? Just... please be safe.

Maggie showed up in his study that evening.

"Dante." Her voice was soft. "I wanted to talk about... about us. And the baby..."

He turned around slowly. She was standing in the doorway with one hand on her belly. That innocent look on her face.

"Why'd you do it?"

"Do... do what?"

"The dog, Maggie. Why'd you kill Amanda's dog?"

Her face went white. "I don't... I don't know what you're..."

"The cameras caught everything." He took a step toward her. "Everything."

"Dante, no, wait—" She backed up. "It's not what you think! The dog was dangerous, it kept growling at me, I was trying to protect the baby—"

"You lied." He took another step. "You made me think Amanda was losing it. You made me hit my wife."

"Please!" She dropped to her knees. "Please, I just... I needed a home for this baby. I wanted Luigi's child to have a father. I was desperate, I didn't know what else—"

"Get out."

"Dante—"

"I said GET OUT!"

She flinched. Then her face twisted. "Oh God... oh no..."

"What?"

"The baby..." Water soaked through her dress. "Dante, something's wrong, the baby's—"

Shit. He closed his eyes. Took a breath. Luigi, this is for Luigi.

"Get her to the hospital," he told Marco.

"Boss?"

"Now."

The delivery room was closed for three hours. Dante paced outside, his head completely screwed up.

Amanda. Maggie. Luigi. The promise. The lies. He couldn't think straight.

A nurse came out. "Mr. Russo? It's a boy. He's healthy. You can see him."

She put the baby in his arms before he could say no. He looked down. Tiny face, eyes closed, little fists against his chest.

So small.

"He has your eyes," the nurse said.

Everything just... stopped.

His son. His actual son. The one Amanda was carrying. He would've looked like this, he would've had His eyes.

"Sir? Are you okay?"

Dante couldn't talk, couldn't breathe. The baby blurred, and his eyes were filling up.

He killed that baby. He killed his own kid.

"Take him." He shoved the baby back at her. "Take him."

"But sir—"

"I said take him!"

He got out of there. The parking lot was dark, he leaned against his car and lost it.

Amanda. God. What has he done to her? What has he done?

He drove home without really seeing the road. The house was dark, empty. Their bedroom still smelled like her.

He'd find her, even if it meant getting down on his knees and begging. They'd try again, they'd have another baby, and he'd spend the rest of his life making this right.

He had to. He couldn't live with this otherwise.

The butler Carmine was waiting when he pulled up at dawn. He was holding a gold envelope.

"Mr. Russo, this came an hour ago."

"What is it?"

"An invitation. From the Severino family."

Dante took it, too tired to care. It was a wedding invitation. Sylvester Severino was getting married.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Sir, refusing would be disrespectful. The Severinos are very powerful..."

He looked down at the writing. Sylvester Severino requests your presence...

Wait. Something was off. He flipped it over, checked inside. Just Sylvester's name. No bride's name.

"Who's he marrying?"

"It doesn't say, sir."