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“Have Charlotte and Clara returned to the estate?” Each second waiting for his answer feels like pure torture.

“No.”

Ice-cold terror chills me to my core.

I swallow and look at Vin, his eyes darkening as understanding passes between us.

“Put the estate on lockdown now. Understood? And let me know as soon as they get there.” I end the call, panic flooding me. I tap Tommaso’s name, and the feeling boils over after he doesn’t answer.

“He’s going to take them,” I breathe harshly, my chest heaving violently. My grip tightens around my phone, the screen on the verge of cracking between my fingers. “He’s going to take them from me.”

I don’t wait to strategize.

I don’t look to the others for confirmation.

I just leave.

I rush out of the room and through the front door toward our line of SUVs. Rain falls heavily around me, soaking through my shirt as people jump out of my way. Sliding behind the steering wheel, Vin jumps in the passenger seat while Mauro and Leo take the back.

I slam my foot onto the accelerator and grip the leather-wrapped steering wheel until my knuckles ache.

“Where are you going?” Vin asks.

I turn onto the highway, the tires squealing against the cement. “They were coming back from the—”

My phone rings, and Charlotte’s name flashes on the dashboard screen. I lunge forward and slam my finger against it. “Is everything alright—”

“Something happened,” she rushes out, her sob echoing through the vehicle.

“What happened?” I take a deep breath, the rain pounding on the hood so loud I can barely hear. “Where are you?”

“In the car at the playground with Clara,” she answers. “Tommaso…he’s dead. They—” Her words break off. “Alex…” She pauses, breathing in shallow pants. “He found me.”

Those three words make bile rise in my stomach, and I slam my fist against the steering wheel. “No!” My foot presses harder on the accelerator until it hits the floorboard. “I’m coming! Do not get out of that vehicle.”

“He has the keys,” she whispers, her voice shaking. “He’s standing outside with the keys in his hand and…there are t-two other men here.”

“Fuck,” Vin says under his breath.

“Do you have the key I gave you?”

“No.” She sniffs. “It’s in the nightstand.”

This is bad.

This is very fucking bad.

“Fiorellina, I need you to listen to me.” My heart drums wildly beneath my rib cage, fury sweeping through every bone in my body. “Tommaso will have a gun tucked inside his jacket. I need you to get it.”

“But, I can’t—”

“Yes, you can.” My voice is edged with a command she’s never heard from me before. But their survival depends on her following my instructions.

She hesitates before saying, “Okay.” A few seconds later, I hear the rustle of movement. “I have it.”

“Good.” I let out a deep breath. “Do you remember everything I taught you?”

“Y-yes, I remember—” She goes silent. “It’s empty.”