It was eerily quiet in the Dimera household that fateful night. EJ and Samantha were soundly sleeping after putting their infant twins to bed. They never thought that their perfect little family was in any danger. They would forever blame themselves for not awakening. For not saving their son.

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He crept into the house quietly. Careful not to disturb anyone. He entered the nursery and watched as they slept. So peaceful, so innocent, so full of promise. Especially Gianni, he had something special. Stefano knew that his grandson was destined for greatness. It was a pity that Samantha weakened Elvis. Her love had made him soft. He knew that he couldn’t entrust his son to raise Gianni to be the Dimera he was destined to be.

Stefano carefully lifted Gianni from his crib. The movement startled the baby and he began to fuss. Stefano quickly quieted him with a pacifer and snuck him out of the house. He made his way to the airport. He knew to avoid detection he would have to leave the country right away.

Sadly, they would not be able to go to his beloved Toscano. Stefano knew that would be the first place Elvis would look for his son. He had contacts all over the world but he chose to relocate to Saudi Arabia. They would never find them there. “Ah Gianni. You will be the perfect DiMera soldier. The likes of which the world has never seen.”

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Ali began to wail incessantly. It was if she sensed that her brother was no longer there. Her crying roused them both but Samantha insisted that EJ go back to sleep. “I’ll go,” she said as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “Mommy’s coming Ali. Mommy’s coming.” She entered the nursery and immediately picked up her squalling daughter from the crib. She managed to quiet her rather quickly. She went to Gianni’s crib to check on him before she went back to bed. She was unprepared for the sight before her.

The crib was empty.

Her body was in shock. Without thinking, she screamed. She screamed so hard and so loud that she passed out. EJ came running from the bedroom. He found his wife in a heap on the floor, his daughter crying, and his son…..his precious baby boy was gone. “NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” he collapsed to his knees and his emotions overtook him. With tears running down his face, he picked up the phone and dialed 911.

He screamed into the phone, “My son!! My son!!! He’s gone! He’s been kidnapped!!!”