Prisioner In Your Arms

Bruno couldn’t believe his luck. He took a deep breath before starting to speak.

“I need you to sit down, please.”

“Alright, but I want the whole truth. Why are there pictures of us in bed before we got married? And in the wedding photos, we didn’t look very happy.”

“On the day those pictures were taken, we were deceived. Your sister, Sondra, lured you into the room under false pretenses, pushed you inside, and locked the door. I was already inside, desperate because someone spiked my drink with an aphrodisiac. I thought it was you who did it. That night, we were together. In the morning, Sondra barged in with some reporters. I couldn’t stop the news from spreading. It got out of hand too quickly. Your father and my father forced us to get married.”

“I see. So, that means we never loved each other, and neither did you.”

“Not exactly. I fell in love with you, and you with me. Many things have happened, and I will gradually tell you everything. The doctor didn’t authorize sharing everything at once; it could be detrimental to your health.”

“I feel like a lot is being kept from me, but I know that sooner or later, I’ll find out everything that has happened. I’ll stay here because it’ll be easier for me to find out. But I’ll change rooms. I want you to understand that even though you remember everything we’ve experienced together, you’re a complete stranger to me. Also, if I stay here, I can find out what is being done to rescue our son. I don’t know what efforts are being made.”

At that moment, Leo’s cell phone started ringing. As he answered, he froze, and Nicole beside him could also hear.

“Hello.” A recording played.

“Please, I want to go with my mommy and daddy. I’m very hungry, and the floor is very cold, waaaah.”

Nicole and Bruno felt their hearts shatter into a thousand pieces. She had no memories of their son, but anyone would have their heart broken hearing his pleas and cries. Then Sergio’s voice could be heard.

“I’ll send someone in two days. You must have all the documents ready where Nicole transfers her entire fortune to me. Don’t try anything against the person who will come for the documents, or else your son will pay the consequences. Once I have that fortune in my possession, your son will have a better quality of life. He won’t return to you; you must forget about that. I’ll raise him as my own, and I’ll keep him alive as long as you fulfill your part of the deal.”

Bruno was about to respond, but Sergio hung up immediately.Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.

“What kind of monster is that man? I don’t remember anything about our son, but knowing that he is a part of me is enough. Fix everything. I don’t know what fortune he’s referring to, but I’ll transfer it to him.”

“I’ll talk to Noah right away.” Bruno was about to mention his parents, but she wasn’t ready to hear it yet. Experiencing all that pain again would be too much for her.

He felt helpless, unable to act. Sergio had made sure he wouldn’t attempt anything against him. He locked himself in his office and cried bitterly for his son. He hadn’t been with him since he was little, and now he wouldn’t be able to see him grow. He thought about notifying the authorities, but he knew Sergio would follow through with his threat to take his son’s life.

Nicole called Emma, and Sara prepared her a cup of tea to help her calm down a bit. Listening to that recording had been traumatizing.

“Mom, if you had heard that recording, my heart broke knowing what that little boy is suffering. That man has no feelings.”

Noah was talking in the office with Bruno.

“Sergio must feel a lot of hatred towards Nicole. Rina has told us that he blames her for her mother’s loss of love and for being Gío’s daughter.”

“That man is a damn lunatic. My son is desperate, hungry, and cold. I feel terrible knowing that he’s suffering while we’re comfortable at home with more than enough food.”

“It’s terrible what Santi is going through. Sergio did it because he knew it would cause us tremendous pain.”

Leandro arrived at that moment, and Nicole recognized him as the man who appeared in most of the photos and videos with her and her son.

“Hello, sister.”

He approached and hugged her, and she felt comforted in his arms. Leandro cried when she told him what had happened.

“I’ll say it again, my father is a heartless monster. How can he be so cruel to a child?”

Bruno came out of the office at that moment, and upon entering the living room, he didn’t like what he saw.

Leandro noticed it and immediately let go of Nicole. They were powerful men, but that meant nothing if they couldn’t act against Sergio.

Two days later, a strange man arrived at the mansion. He was Sergio’s envoy. Bruno and Nicole already had all the documents ready. She signed them, and after that, the man left with the documents. Bruno’s lawyer had drafted them in a way that wouldn’t raise any questions when Nicole read them. Williams and Rossano were now a single company, and she imagined the name was based on one of the partners.

Minutes later, Bruno’s phone rang. It was Sergio again.

“De Santis, you have what you wanted, to hand over my son to me.”

“That’s not the deal. I’ll keep him alive as long as you don’t interfere with me. Tell Nicole thank you very much for her generous contribution. I’ll allow you to hear your son once every month, to prove that he’s still alive.” He hung up immediately.

Everyone present turned to look. Tears streamed down their cheeks.

“This can’t go on. I have to rescue my son.”

“We have to plan very carefully and act at the right moment. Sergio is insane and won’t hesitate to harm my grandson.”

“I don’t understand. What did we do to that man that he hates us so much?”

“It’s a long story, and we’ll tell you little by little. In reality, he’s the one who has hurt us out of ambition.”

A month passed, and Nicole was still trying to adapt to that life. She underwent different therapies to try to remember, but with no results. Sergio contacted Bruno again, and when they answered, they heard a recording with Santi’s voice, followed by Sergio speaking.

“As you can hear, your son is still alive.”

“It’s not enough proof. We want to speak with him. Release my son, and I’ll go in his place,” Bruno pleaded.

“We agree that it’s easier to deal with a child than an adult. Next month, you’ll be able to speak with him for 30 seconds.”

After saying that, he hung up. Hearing an audio with their son’s voice saying that he missed them tore them apart even more.

Time passed, and Nicole still couldn’t remember. It was Santi’s sixth birthday, and Bruno felt like he was going insane. He looked thinner, and he had to continue his life without his son by his side. On top of it all, to Nicole, he was nothing more than a stranger.

He felt like his brain was on the verge of collapse, so he headed to a bar to have a whiskey. He needed to forget, even for just a moment, all the problems. In that moment, he understood why Nicole’s brain had reacted the way it did in an attempt to protect her.

He was sitting at the bar, sipping his drink, when in front of him, a young guy entered and greeted a man who was already there with a kiss.

This wouldn’t have caught his attention since it was quite common these days, except he recognized both men. He quickly finished his drink, wishing he could pinch himself to see if he was hallucinating. Those two men were Amadeus and Máx. What the hell was going on? The world was turned upside down. As far as he knew, both of them were in love with Nicole not too long ago.

The two men were chatting and laughing in the dimness of the bar when suddenly Máx’s gaze met Bruno’s curious gaze. How long had he been observing them? Bruno covered his face with his hands.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Amadeus asked.

Máx was about to answer when they both heard a voice they knew very well.

“Good evening. Am I interrupting?”

The two men tried to remain calm. Amadeus tried to respond as calmly as possible.

“Good evening, Leone. What brings you here?”

“I needed a drink after everything that has happened. I was surprised to find you here and see that you’re together,” Bruno decided to be direct.

“That’s right, as you can see, we’re together. Various things have happened, and when we’re ready, we’ll announce our relationship. We kindly ask that you don’t mention what you’ve seen.”

“No need to worry about that. I wouldn’t talk about something that only concerns the two of you.”

“Thank you,” Máx sincerely expressed his gratitude. He never thought Bruno would take it that way. He had always thought that Bruno hated him.

They stayed at the bar until the early hours of the morning. Nicole couldn’t sleep, worried that something might have happened to Bruno. He always went straight to the mansion after leaving the office.

She was surprised to see him enter in that state. She approached to help him climb the stairs after seeing him fall several times.

She guided him to his bedroom and helped him lie down. He took her face in his hands.

“Forgive me for all the harm I’ve caused you.”

Nicole observed him in astonishment. What on earth did he mean by that?