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[MATTEO]

_"Just a little while, champ, Daddy is coming; I swear I'll get you out; just hold on..."_

And holding on was what he did, which kept him from sinking his teeth into the hands of the men after the first time he did it.

All of his life, he was used to adoration, teachers complimenting him for being a smartass, his mother savoring him in her warmth, and Grandma Maya dubbing him the cutest names.

What was unfamiliar to him were the acrid odors of smoke, the piercing stares he reciprocated, and the single instance when he had been struck while trying to shield Mia from being taken away.

But that time, the one whom he had suspected was the leader had told the smacker off, despite him placing a gun against the side of his head when he ordered him to speak to his father.

He was the one who referred to him as "Little Monster."

Since he got abducted, the only time he cried had been when Mia was taken from him; other than that, all he felt was anger for the men that had taken her silent