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“Negative Says he’s been busy Too busy to worry about his oife’s whereabouts when he was entrusted with her life And as such, one of the stipulations of the betrothal contract was to keep her safe at all times, and if not, punishments would be doled out by The Ruin” My stare never wavers while I say this, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen an olive-complected man turn so pale and still have a heartbeat before

“You got it Should I look into his records and whereabouts as well?” Seth asks, and I tilt hts had been too overwhelmed with Arabella’s disappearance that I hadn’t pondered that far ahead yet

“That’s a very good idea,” I reply, letting Ferro stehat Seth could’ve suggested on the other end of the line he isn’t privy to

“Consider it done I’ll be in touch,” he says, and we hang up without farewells

“You better speak now or forever hold your peace if you know anything,” I warn Ferro, sliding my phone back into my pocket

Finally, he straightens his shoulders and lifts his chin, but the pose does nothing to cauards inforht before last She went shopping, and her driver said he dropped her off in her usual spot, but she never made it upstairs She either snuck away or was taken”

I feel stea out of the collar of my shirt with his every word “And you didn’t think to call hter never showed up, so I could i a step toward hi into fists

He takes a step back, his hands lifting in defense “I have all of our people on it You put e, and I have the same resources you do, so I didn’t want to unnecessarily worry you if she just went off galivanting I was going to call you in the ht”

He’s lying I know it in my very soul I don’t knohat about, exactly, whether it’s the part about hoas going to call me tomorrow of that he has our people on it But what I do know is he doesn’t have all the resources I do Ilike this were to ever happen and I needed someone to help me usurp y, MIT graduate at age seventeen, and the technological genius behind Imperiuht be a thousand miles away, if anyone on this planet could findfrom ATM transactions to traffic ca person through a facial recognition prograned that tapped into all the elevators’ surveillance cameras in the state of New York

“You better hope she turns up without a single scratch, stronzo And even ave everyone the slip She’s hter, after all If she wanted to escape, she could It’s in her blood But the fact that you hired guards that let her without even a trace…” I shakethe sentence hover between us “Let’s just say you’ll be the one to goif it turns out she didn’t just sneak off”

13

Arabella

“I'et some work done in my office Maxill be on watch, and if you need me, you knohere to find me, Bella,” DeLuca says from the doorway of his home library

We spoke casually over lunch, as if eren’t strangers at all, let alone captor and captive I don't knohat's co over me Maybe it's the freedom from Ferro

Ferro He ht? Must be out of his mind

Right?

What a s Real love, I would assu these simple questions If he cared about me, he would have found me by now

I give DeLuca a curt nod, a s up toa Shakespearean ro me a kiss on my forehead, he then whispers in my ear, “Non corri, bella Perché mi impazzirò senza di te Ti darò la caccia, principessa”

I gulp, aroused yet again, but afraid, knowing—like he just said—that he wouldn't stop until he found me

So from my eye as he leaves me No one has ever loved me The only love I've ever known is et a chance to tell hiain Would DeLuca ever let me see my dad? Will he believe I won't run froh? Will I?