"What the hell is going on?" I demand, advancing toward him.
Samuel straightens, his expression shifting from confusion to alarm as he registers the tension in the room. "Don Feretti, I?—"
"Where were you supposed to be right now?" Alessio cuts in, his voice deadly calm.
"Guarding the prisoner, sir," Samuel admits,swallowing hard. "But Mrs Lucrezia came down in a state. Said she heard noises from the garage area, something about intruders. She insisted I check immediately."
"And you left your post?" Alessio's question sounds almost conversational, which makes it all the more terrifying.
"Only for a few minutes," Samuel rushes to explain. "I wasn't gone long, so they can't have?—"
"They?" The single word falls from my lips like a stone.
Samuel's eyes widen as he realizes his mistake. "I went back and the cell was empty. Both Mrs Lucrezia and Mrs. Feretti were gone."
The room goes absolutely silent.
"How long ago?" I ask, each word precise and measured.
"Twenty minutes, maybe less," Samuel answers. "They can't be far."
I whip around to face Samuel. "How the fuck did they leave the house with only you on guard?" My voice comes out dangerously quiet.
Samuel starts to stammer an explanation, but I cut him off with a sharp gesture.
"We had most of our closest men out searching for that bastard Byron," Alessio interjects, rubbing his temple. "The security rotation is thin right now."
"You had one fucking job, Samuel," I snarl, advancing toward him. "One. Fucking. Job."
The man visibly shrinks under my gaze, taking a step back.
"This doesn't end here." I jab a finger at his chest. "Get the fuck out of my sight."
Samuel practically runs from the room. I turn to Alessio.
"Contact Daniel. I want this entire mansion locked down now. Nobody in, nobody out except for us. And I want eyes on every street camera between here and the city."
Alessio nods, already pulling out his phone as he strides from the room.
"Damiano." Enzo's voice pulls my attention. He stands at the kitchen counter, holding a piece of paper in one hand and Lucrezia's cell phone in the other. "Found this."
He passes me the note. Lucrezia's looping handwriting stares back at me:
Don't come after us. She deserves to know the truth about her father. About Byron. About everything. I'm keeping her safe until you remember who you really are.
"Cazzo!" I swear, crumpling the note in my fist. "That foolish, reckless—" I can't even finish the sentence, fury choking my words.
"She thinks she's protecting her," Enzo says quietly.
"She's putting both their lives at risk," I growl, slamming my palm against the counter. "If Byron finds them before we do?—"
"Then we need to move. Now." Enzo checks his gun, tucking it into his holster. "I'll take the north side, you take south?"
I'm already heading toward the door. "Let's go. We take separate cars, cover more ground."
As we race to the garage, I pull out my phone, opening the tracking app connected to Lucrezia's Audi. A small blue dot pulses on the screen.
"Got her," I tell Enzo as we reach our vehicles. "She's close."
