His hand reaches for mine, and he gives me a quick squeeze.
The priest launches into his speech, and even now I can see how frigid Sisi looks as she holds onto Rafaelo's arm.
I'm about to lean into Enzo to comment again when suddenly the entire room is flooded with smoke.
My first instinct is to grab onto Luca and take him in my arms. Enzo puts his arms over me, pushing us to the floor and protecting us with his body. Marcello does the same with Catalina and their daughter.
Random shots start ringing out, with people screaming and running about.
The hysteria lasts a good five minutes until the smoke starts to dissipate. Everyone is on the floor, slowly rising to see what happened.
Rafaelo is standing alone at the altar, looking around, disoriented. The priest rises from under his table, looking equally perplexed.
"Sisi, where is Sisi?" Marcello's voice booms in the church, and everyone seems to cower as they take in his anger.
He marches to the altar, grabbing Rafaelo by the lapels and lifting him into the air.
"Where the hell is my sister?" he yells at the poor boy.
"I-I-I..." Rafaelo stammers. "I d-d-on't k-know. Sh-e w-was h-here."
"Goddamn it!" Marcello's fist slams into the altar, almost breaking it.
"It's DeVille," Benedetto interjects. "It has to be!"
Considering that DeVille had tried to stop an Agosti-Guerra merger in the past, it would stand to reason they'd attempt the same with Lastra.
But how did they do it?
Enzo is quick to his feet, telling me to stay put as he offers his help to Marcello.
Everyone is just as confused as they look around the church. There's simply no trace of Assisi. It's like she just vanished into thin air.
"Wait," Enzo calls out, bending to pick up a piece of paper. "There's a note." He lifts the paper—a yellow Post-it note—and reads the contents out loud.
I seem to have misplaced my property
Don't worry, I've now recovered it.
Laters,
XOXO
EPILOGUE I—ENZO
Five Years Later, Shanghai, China
"What did you say it was, bug?" I look down at Luca as he places his magnifying glass over the piece of jade we'd just acquired.
"Emperor's jade. It's part of a mortuary mask."
"Mortuary mask?" my little tigress asks, entering the room with a huge box in her hands.
"Let me help you," I immediately reach out to take the box from her hands.
"Where did you learn those complicated words, kiddo?" she asks, ruffling his hair as she leans in to look at the gemstone.
"I read about it last night," Luca sighs, already knowing what's coming.
