Chapter Ninety-Nine
Luca was halfway down the steps when he heard the door behind him open.
“Luca, wait.”
Antonio.
Luca paused but didn’t turn. He wasn’t in the mood for delays. His mind was on finding Sutton.
Antonio caught up, stopping beside him in the drive.
“You should’ve told me,” Luca said without looking at him.
“About Bella?”
Luca turned his head slowly. “Yeah. That you had feelings for her. That you’ve been walking around lately like a wounded bear.”
Antonio didn’t deny it. Just looked down at his shoes. “It didn’t seem like it mattered. Dad had made up his mind. You were always the one.”
“The one what?”
“The one who got everything. The business. The praise. The bride, sure—but the respect too. I didn’t build a fortune like you, Luca. I didn’t strike out and make my own name. I just followed the path Dad laid out.”
Luca let out a short laugh, but there was no real humor in it. “You work in the family business. That’s not nothing. You’ve kept it going. I only broke away because I hated shipping and exports. I still hate it.”
Antonio looked up. “So you really think I should marry her?”
“If anyone’s better suited to take over both businesses and keep this whole dynasty alive, it’s you. Not me. I don’t want it. I never did. I think in the long run both families will be happier with this arrangement. God, I think we both are.”
They stood in silence for a moment before Luca clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Just don’t lie to yourself, okay? If you’re gonna, do it—marry Bella—do it because you want to. Not because you think you have to. But if the look on your face is anything to go by, I would say you are very happy.”
Antonio nodded. “Good luck finding her.”
Luca got into his car, pulled the door closed, started the car, and just sat there for a second. He watched as his brother headed back inside.
His phone rang. He glanced at the screen.
“Ricci,” he said, answering.
His head of security didn’t waste time. “We’ve tracked Audrey’s movements.”
Luca straightened. “And?”
“She vanished.”
“What the hell does that mean? How can she vanish?”
“It means she boarded a flight out of Milan two days ago. One-way ticket. Destination—New York.”
“So, she’s in New York?” Surely, they can pick her up on the other side. People didn’t just vanish. Not in the modern world.
A pause. “That’s the thing. No one by her name came through immigration at JFK or any of the other major airports. It’s like she disappeared.”
Luca swore under his breath. “How is that even possible?”
“We’re checking that now. But wherever she is, she didn’t want to be found.”
Luca closed his eyes. He had a baby out there—and his woman. And no goddamn idea how to find them.
“Keep looking,” he said. “Find her. I don’t care what it takes. Just find her.”
He ended the call, frustration humming through his veins with if-only’s pounding through his brain. If only he had believed her. If only he didn’t leave it for over a week.
Audrey was gone. And he had no one to blame but himself.
Luca’s fingers drummed on the steering wheel as he stared at the windshield, barely seeing the driveway in front of him. The call with Ricci had left him wired, restless, and pissed at the entire world—including himself.
He yanked his phone back up and dialed Ricci again.
The head of security picked up fast. “Boss?”
“Hire private investigators,” Luca said, no hesitation. “I want the best. Not good. Not decent. The best in the damn country.”
A pause. “Understood. I’ll get a shortlist together and vet them personally.”
“Do it fast. And Ricci?”
“Yeah?”
“Discreet. I don’t want this leaking. If a single word ends up in the press, you’ll be the one cleaning it up.”
“You got it.”
Luca hung up and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat. His jaw clenched so tight his temples ached. The worst part wasn’t that Audrey had disappeared—it was that she didn’t want to be found. She’d erased herself. And that meant she wasn’t just hiding.
He couldn’t even say Audrey was running—because he was the one who pushed her away.
This was all on him.
He swore, slapped the steering wheel, then snatched the phone back up and dialed Nicole.
She picked up on the second ring, as always. “Luca?”
He didn’t say anything at first.
“Luca?” Nicole sounded surprised. “Everything okay?”
“No,” he said flatly. “But that’s not why I’m calling. I’ve changed my mind about Cyber10.”
There was a pause. “You said it wasn’t a priority. That it didn’t interest you. Because the whole company was a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
“Well, it does now. I want it. And I want it yesterday.”
“What changed?”
Luca didn’t answer. Not directly.
“Set up a meeting with the owner. I want it on the books for this week. Fly them in or I’ll fly out. I don’t care. Just make it happen.”
“You’re serious?”
“I wouldn’t be calling if I wasn’t.”
Nicole cleared her throat, the sound of her keyboard already clacking in the background. “Got it. I’ll get on it right away. Is there a reason for the sudden change in heart?”
Luca ended the call without answering and leaned back in his seat, finally putting the car in drive.
Cyber10 wasn’t just a convenient acquisition. It was based in New York. Over the next few months, he was going to move his operations there.
If Audrey was anywhere in the States, then that’s where he needed to be.
He had no proof she was there. She could have taken a flight onto somewhere else. But it was a place to start.
Still… he trusted his gut.
And it told him she was in New York.
He and his team just needed to find her.
His little Audrey wasn’t escaping him again.