Matteo.
The first place I’d check was the safe house they were staying in. It made sense. Valentina would be there.
She’d be safe. She had to be.
The low hum of the car engine matched the pounding rhythm in my chest as I sped through the empty streets. The rain smeared the windshield, forcing the wipers to fight a losing battle, but I didn’t care. Every second wasted felt like a lifetime, and every lifetime felt like her slipping further away.
“Focus,” I muttered to myself, my hands gripping the wheel tightly.
The safe house was a logical choice. Reed had been there. That was the only available safe house close enough not to drain their resources. Reed was with her. Even if Valentina wouldn’t sit still and was stubborn as hell, he would be able to keep her safe.
Goddamn her.
A vibration in my pocket yanked me out of my thoughts. I hit the Bluetooth button on the console.
“What?” My voice came out sharper than I intended.
“Matteo.” It was Richard, his tone clipped and urgent. “We have an opportunity.”
I didn’t need him to elaborate. The only opportunity that mattered was getting to Valentina.
“Not now,” I snapped.
“You’re going to want to hear this,” he pressed. “It’s Lorenzo Giordano. He’s agreed to a private meeting.”
My foot eased off the gas slightly, the weight of his words sinking in. Lorenzo Giordano. The man he had told me about earlier that day, before the attack. The man who was the link to the answers I’d been chasing for years.
“When?” I asked, my jaw tightening.
“Tonight. An hour from now,” Richard replied. “It’s a small window, Matteo. If you miss it…”
“I know,” I bit out, cutting him off.
An hour. Enough time to reach the safe house, confirm Valentina was secure, and… what? Leave her again? Trust others to protect her while I chased ghosts?
“Matteo,” Richard continued, his voice softer. “I’m only doing this because my niece asked me to…” Fat chance he was doing anything because Annalise asked him to. “… but this is your chance.”
The line went dead, leaving me alone with the silence and the storm outside.
This was my chance.
I didn’t have time to think.
The safe house loomed in the distance, its dark silhouette barely visible through the rain. I pulled close to the little shack, rolling the window down to get a clearer view of the place. The cold, wet air slapped my face, but it barely registered.
I drove up the narrow path to the house. Every light was off except for a faint glow in one of the upstairs windows.
I parked the car, my movements automatic, and stepped out into the rain. The cold seeped through my clothes, but I ignored it, my focus solely on the front door.
It was unlocked.
Alarm bells rang in my head as I stepped inside, my hand instinctively reaching for the gun at my hip.
“Reed?” I called out, my voice echoing through the empty space.
No answer.
The glow from the upstairs window drew me forward, my boots heavy against the wooden floor. I moved quickly but cautiously, my eyes scanning every shadow.
At the top of the stairs, I found the source of the light. Valentina’s room.
The door was slightly ajar. I pushed it open, my heart pounding.
Empty.
Her bed was unmade, the faint scent of her perfume lingering in the air. A hoodie was missing from the back of her chair, and the duffel bag I’d seen her unpack was gone.
“Damn it,” I hissed, running a hand through my rain-soaked hair.
She’d left. They’d left.
The rain had eased slightly when I came out, but as I climbed into the car, the storm within me raged on. I dialled Richard as I sped back down the driveway.
“Cancel it,” I said as soon as he answered.
“What?” Richard sounded incredulous. “Matteo, this is Lorenzo we’re talking about. You can’t just…”
“I said cancel it,” I repeated, my voice cold. “My wife is missing. She takes priority.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line before Richard sighed heavily.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“Maybe,” I replied, my grip tightening on the wheel. “But it’s my mistake to make.”
I hung up before he could argue further, focusing all my attention on the road ahead.
Valentina was out there somewhere, and I would find her.
I had to.
The drive back to my estate felt like an eternity. My thoughts spiralled, and every possible scenario was playing out in my mind… none of them good. The rain blurred the city lights into a kaleidoscope of chaos, but I barely noticed. The only thing that mattered was Valentina.
I pressed the call button for Ethan, my last lifeline in this storm. He answered on the second ring, his voice laced with irritation.
“Please tell me you have something,” I demanded, skipping the pleasantries.
“Nothing yet,” Ethan replied, the frustration in his tone mirroring my own. “I’ve got my guys combing through every lead. She’s slippery, I’ll give her that.”
“She’s not slippery,” I snapped, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. “She’s probably scared or something. Reed is hiding their tracks.”
“Look,” he continued, his tone softening slightly, “we’ll find them. They couldn’t have gone far, not with everything going on. Just… hang tight.”
I hung up without another word, his assurances doing little to quell the fire burning inside me.
As I turned onto the main road leading to the estate, something caught my eye. Two figures stood near a supermarket, their silhouettes barely visible through the drizzle. They were close, too close, their postures tense and intimate.
My gut twisted.
I slowed the car, pulling over to the side of the road. The engine idled as I stepped out, the rain immediately soaking through my shirt.
“Valentina!” I called, my voice cutting through the night like a knife.
One of the figures froze.
It was her.
She turned slowly, her wide eyes locking onto mine. Her hair was damp, clinging to her face, and her hoodie hung loosely around her shoulders. She looked tired, fragile even, but alive.
Relief flooded through me, nearly bringing me to my knees. But it was quickly replaced by a surge of anger.
Why the hell was she here?
I closed the distance between us in a few long strides. Reed stepped forward, his posture protective, but I barely spared him a glance.
“Are you out of your mind?” I snapped, my eyes never leaving Valentina’s. “Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you to be out here?”
Her expression hardened, the weariness in her eyes giving way to defiance.
“I’m not a child, Matteo,” she shot back. “I don’t need you to lecture me.”
“No?” I took another step closer, towering over her. “Then maybe you need me to remind you that there are people out there who would kill you just to get to me.”
Didn’t she understand that her dying would kill me?