The Broken & Reborn Mafia Matriarch Chapter 05

The Broken & Reborn Mafia Matriarch Chapter 05

When Eric got home, the house was eerily empty. 

He tore through every room, panic clawing at his throat, until he reached the study. 

The computer screen glowed in the dark. 

It was open to the divorce papers. And beside 

them, hundreds of open windows filled with Zoe’s photos and that wedding video. 

All the color drained from Eric’s face. He froze, then let out a roar of rage and terror. 

“How dare you leave me, Mia! Look at what you’ve become! Who else would ever put up with your scarred face? Who else would ever love you?” 

“I played the loving husband for years! You don’t get to just walk away!” 

He grabbed his keys and raced to the Campbell estate, the only place he could think I might go. 

He slammed open the front door, screaming. 

“Where is she? Where did you hide Mia? She’s my wife! You have no right to keep her from me!” 

Aria, Zoe’s mother, stared at him like he’d lost his 

mind. 

“Mia? We disowned that useless thing the second 

her face burned up. She’s not here.” 

“Aren’t you in love with Zoe? Why the hell are your 

throwing a fit over Mia?” 

Eric froze. The rage drained out of him, leaving 

only cold dread. 

“You’re right. She’d never come back here. You 

cast aside her like trash when she needed you 

most. She hated you. She would never come 

back!” 

He drove for twenty–four hours straight, searching 

every corner of the city. Every hospital, every 

motel, every run–down apartment building. 

Drained of all strength, he collapsed on the study 

floor–until his gaze snapped back to the 

computer screen. 

“You looked at Zoe’s photos,” he whispered, a 

flicker of hope lighting up his eyes. “You were 

jealous, weren’t you? You were mad that I still 

cared about her. But she’s married, Mia! I could 

never be with her! What were you so scared of?” 

His voice softened, desperate and delusional. 

“Fake feelings turn real after all this time, don’t 

they? How could I not care about you, after everything we’ve been through?” 

“I was going to let her go. I was going to put it all 

behind me and be a good husband to you. Don’t you remember? I booked the wedding 

photographer already. I was waiting for you to heal. so we could take those photos you wanted.” 

He was so sure I’d come crawling back. 

But days turned into weeks. 

He started showing up late to work, staring 

blankly at his patients. The hospital forced him to 

take a leave of absence. 

He came home to a house full of my ghosts. 

a shelf full of stuffed animals we’d won together 

at the carnival. I’d laughed and said they’d be 

perfect for the kids. 

“Imagine how excited they’ll be when they see all 

these! Do you think we’ll have a boy or a girl? What 

should we name them?” 

A flood of small, sweet memories washed over 

him. Memories he’d once written off as nothing 

but a performance. 

They tore him apart. 

“Mia, what did I do?” he screamed, slamming his fists against the wall. “Oh God, what did I do? You loved kids so much. You’d stop and smile at every baby you saw. And I… I made sure you’d never 

have one.” 

He called my number a hundred times a day. 

First it went to voicemail. 

Then it said the number was no longer in service. 

“You have every right to hate me,” he whispered, tears streaming down his face. “Every right.” 

His phone rang. 

He jumped up, heart pounding, and answered it. 

“Mia! Where are you? I’ve been looking everywhere 

There was a pause. Then Zoe’s whiny, tearful voice 

came through the speaker. 

“Eric? It’s me, Zoe. Don’t you even recognize my number anymore?” 

“The hospital called me. They said you haven’t 

been to work in days. Did you and Mia fight?” 

Eric’s jaw tightened. 

“What do you want, Zoe?” 

She burst into tears. 

“Aiden’s cheating on me again, and this time he meant it!! He says he’s going to divorce me! If he 

kicks me out, the Campbells will throw me away 

just like they threw Mia away! I have nowhere to 

go.” 

He squeezed the phone so hard his knuckles 

whitened. 

“All these years, you only call me when you need something,” he said, his voice cold and sharp. “Did you ever call me on my birthday? Did you ever visit 

me when I was sick?” 

“I’m not your doormat, Zoe!” 

He hurled the phone at the wall. It shattered. 

He went through the closet. I’d taken nothing he’d bought me. Not a single dress, not a single piece 

of jewelry. 

In the back corner, tucked behind a suitcase, he 

found a small box. 

He opened it. 

Inside was the half–finished wool sweater I’d 

knitted for him. I’d been knitting for him. On the 

chest, I’d stitched two little cartoon figures, 

holding hands. 

Eric crumpled to the floor and cried out. 

“I destroyed everything. I destroyed us. Mia! Where 

are you? Please come back to me!”