Chapter 156

LORENZO’S P.O.V.

I rushed out of the office only to find Matteo and Mac already on their way down the stairs. They must have also seen the fires. Isabella was close behind me and I wanted to tell her to stay in and stay safe but a part of me knew she wouldn’t listen.

“Natalia is with Mac,” Matteo said and I felt small relief settle on my shoulders at the knowledge that my son was safe. “He woke up startled but she is calming him down a little.”

“Thank you, go ahead of me, I’ll be right there,” his brows furrowed in confusion but he nodded. It wasn’t in my nature to ask others to go ahead but I needed to speak to Isabella. I stopped her just before she got to the door. “I need you to stay inside, please.”

She raised a brow. “Why would I do that? Someone just set fire to our property. It could have been inside the house. I should be there.”

I glanced at her still flat stomach and she frowned. She crossed her arms over her chest in defiance and I realized this was the exact response I was trying to avoid. Isabella hated feeling vulnerable but the truth was that as long as she was pregnant with my child, she was vulnerable. I wasn’t willing to let her into danger head first like she normally would and it was going to take a lot of getting used to.

“I have been pregnant before, I am fine,” she argued trying to move past me but I blocked her.

“I am well aware that you have and that you were off exploring the city without me possibly putting your life in danger but now that I am here, I will not let you do that.”

She frowned deeply. “Enzo, you cannot start thinking like this now. There are things that need the both of us. You cannot keep me locked up forever or until I pop out the baby.”

“I’m not keeping you locked up, I am keeping you safe for now. We don’t know if there are traps out there. Just this once, I need you to stay in here and listen to me, please.”

It was clear that she was not happy about it but she mumbled a few words under her breath and trudged up the stairs. I watched her disappear and once she was gone, I let out a heavy sigh of relief as part of the tension bled out of my shoulders. I made sure her footsteps had receded completely before I made my way out and caught up to the others.

Most of the fire had already been put out when I got there. Mac and Enzo were just standing on the sidelines and staring with equal parts worry and confusion, they didn’t notice me immediately after I got there, it wasn't until I cleared my throat that they nearly jumped.

“What started it?” I asked but they both shrugged.

“I heard someone say they saw traces of an accelerant but I can’t be too sure. A lot of things have been yelled over this fire,” Mac answered. “There is one thing for sure, no one saw a thing. Whoever did this was very skilled. I don’t know how none of the men caught a glimpse of him.”

My brows furrowed. That was suspicious. I had my men patrolling the entire length of the building to prevent attacks like this. It was almost impossible for someone to sneak up on us especially because of the motion activated lights that we had around the house. Even if the person had come in through the forest, the moment they breached the edge, the lights would have been activated. I had a lot of questions but I decided to wait until the fire was out. There was so much to be done about this and I couldn’t even imagine all the paperwork that I would need to do.

I made a mental checklist which included calling the commissioner and having him sort out the police report about the fires. I wanted it played off as a stupid accident by teenagers gone wrong, anything to stop a deeper investigation. I also needed to check the cameras and try to find a glimpse of whoever was behind it.

Once the fire was out, we started our preliminary investigation. An accelerant was used just as Mac had said earlier. Whoever started the fire, started it from further into the forest and it spread outward. It was clear they hadn’t wanted to burn us, probably just to terrify is. I couldn’t help but wonder who would even think about pulling a stunt like this. There were not many people that came to mind, especially not in our world and most of them were dead.

“Lorenzo!” I heard Matteo call and I followed the sound of his voice deeper into the forest. He was standing in front of a large clearing but he blocked me so I wouldn’t see what was behind it. “I need you to be very calm before you walk in there.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked but he said nothing. I tried to sidestep him but he blocked me and I raised a brow in shock and amusement. Matteo never got in my way- ever- I wasn’t sure if I was impressed or offended. “Move out of my way right now or I will make you.”

“I will move, I just need you to have on a clear head, please,” after uttering the last words with such softness that I didn’t think he was capable of, he stepped aside.

As I took it in on a large scale, it was almost hard to decipher. There were pictures scattered everywhere with some scrawls over it but the closer I looked, the more I realized what it was and the more anger bubbled up inside of my chest. There were images of Leo and Isabella doing different things. I could see pictures of when he was younger and pictures taken as recently as two weeks ago on our trip. My blood boiled as I took them all in.

Whoever had done this had been stalking my family and I didn’t even realize. Pure and undiluted rage filtered through my skin like a fiery volcano and the only thing keeping me calm was the fact that I was surrounded by my men. They were not going to see me lose my cool, not in this lifetime or the next.

I took a step closer so that I could properly make out what was written over the pictures. It was drawn in red paint but was made to look like dripping blood. It was two simple words” Be Careful.

I took a deep breath before turning to face Matteo who I could see was watching me with worry in his eyes as if I was going to snap.

“We will find whoever did this or die trying, am I clear?”