Chapter 97 Back to the supermarket

Chapter 97 Back to the supermarket

The line between them went silent for a beat.

Dante frowned. “Who are you asking about?”

Luca cut him off sharply. “Stop it, Dante. Don’t act like you don’t know.”

Dante froze. “Know what?”

“Where’s Sienna?” Luca asked again, this time slower, deeper, and filled with something that terrified Dante more than shouting.

Fear.

Dante straightened. His mind raced. “Why would I know where she is?”

Luca exhaled shakily. “Because you always seem to know. Because somehow everything goes back to you. Because she cares about you even when she shouldn’t.”

Dante swallowed hard.

Luca continued, trying to keep his voice steady. “We… went grocery shopping today.”

Dante paced toward the window of his bedroom, gripping the edge of the curtain. His stomach was twisting. “And?”

“We came out of the supermarket,” Luca said. “We walked to my car. That’s all. She stood beside the car while I checked my pockets and realized I forgot my keys inside.”

Dante closed his eyes, listening, afraid of what came next.

“I ran back in,” Luca continued. “Just for a minute. Maybe less. And when I came out she was gone.”

Dante’s heart slammed against his ribs.

Luca’s voice trembled now. “The grocery bags were on the ground. I called her and realized her phone was beside the grocery bags, ringing.”

Dante stopped pacing. His breath went shallow. His hand trembled beside him.

Luca continued, quieter, like the words weighed heavily on him. “I waited. I looked around. I asked. I searched. Nobody seemed to notice her. I drove back home, hoping to find her but she wasn't there either..”

Dante’s pulse pounded in his ears.

“Luca,” he whispered, “are you telling the truth?”

“Why would I lie about this?!” Luca suddenly snapped, voice cracking.

Dante opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He felt cold suddenly, cold in his bones.

Luca continued, “Dante… I don’t know where she is.”

There was silence. Silence that felt like a punch.

Then Dante spoke, voice shaking. “Meet me at the supermarket.”

Luca didn’t hesitate. “I’ll be on my way.”

They ended the call.

Dante stormed to his closet, dragging on a shirt and grabbing his keys so fast they clattered to the floor. His chest felt tight. His mind was spiraling.

What happened to Sienna? Is she missing? Did anything bad happen to her? Why did she go out with Luca? Why did he forget his keys? Is he behind it? Is it a prank to get him to see Sienna?

He shook off the last few thoughts, Luca sounded very serious.

His hands trembled as he grabbed his wallet.

He didn’t even hear Isabelle enter the room until she slammed the door shut.

He grabbed his keys and rushed toward the door.

But Isabelle suddenly stepped in front of him, blocking his path like she owned the air he breathed.

Her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
Her face twisted with irritation.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she demanded. “We have an appointment in thirty minutes. Daddy booked the designer from Paris. Do you know how hard it was to do that?”

Dante didn’t stop walking. He tried to move past her.

She slid sideways, blocking him again.
“Dante, I’m talking to you!”

“Move,” Dante said, voice low, trembling with barely contained emotion.

“No,” Isabelle snapped, lifting her chin. “You’re not just going to run out of the house like some wild dog. We have a wedding to prepare for.”

“Move,” Dante roared.

The sound echoed through the hallway.

Isabelle’s face went from annoyed to shocked. “Are you insane?! You don’t talk to me like that!”

He grabbed her wrists, shoved her aside not to hurt her, but to get the hell out of his own house.

She stumbled into the wall, gasping.

“Dante!” she shrieked. “What is wrong with you?!”

But he didn’t answer.

He didn’t even look back. He stormed out the door and slammed it so hard the frame shook.

Behind him, Isabelle stood trembling, fury burning so bright in her eyes she looked ready to tear the walls down.

“Run,” she whispered darkly. “Run all you want. You’ll still marry me.”

But he was already out the door. He ran down the stairs, two at a time.

His heart pounded one name in his chest.

Sienna. Oh, Sienna.

He didn’t stop until he reached the car and peeled out of the driveway, tires screeching.

When he arrived at the supermarket, Luca was already outside pacing dangerously fast, running his fingers through his hair, his shirt sticking to his back with stress. When he saw Dante’s car pull in, he exhaled shakily.

Dante stepped out quickly, not even closing the door behind him.

“Why are you here?” Luca asked quietly, unsure why Dante had shown up in person.

Dante didn’t answer.

He just brushed past Luca and walked straight into the supermarket.

Luca followed, still shaken.

Inside, Dante approached the security station.

A guard looked up at him with irritation. “Can I help you?”

“Yes,” Dante said. “I need access to the security footage from this morning. Especially outside, near the parking lot.”

The guard frowned. “Sir, customers are not allowed access to the cameras.”

“This is urgent.”

“I said no.”

Dante’s jaw clenched. “Someone is missing.”

“That’s not my problem,” the guard shot back, crossing his arms.

Dante stepped closer, his voice low and dangerous. “Show me the footage.”

The guard straightened defensively. “Back away, sir. You should go to the police station and file a missing person report.”

Dante didn’t move.

Luca placed a hand on Dante’s arm. “Dante.”

“No.” Dante shook him off, staring at the guard with fire in his eyes. “A woman was taken from your parking lot today. Her bag and phone were left on the ground. And you’re telling me I’m supposed to wait for the police to take their sweet time?”

The guard scoffed. “Sir, I’m following protocol. If you don’t like it, call the police.”

Dante stepped forward again, tension thick around him.

The guard too stepped forward, chest out, almost daring him.

“You need to leave,” the guard said. “Both of you.”

Dante’s fists balled.

He was seconds away from throwing the first punch.

Seconds away from grabbing the guard by the collar.

Seconds away from smashing the monitor himself.

But then, a deep voice spoke from behind.
The voice was calm, commanding, and cold enough to freeze the air between them.

“Is there a problem here?”

The guard stiffened first, shoulders jerking up. Dante and Luca turned slowly.

A tall man stood a few feet away, dressed too neatly for a supermarket. Sharp suit, polished shoes, hair perfectly slicked back. He looked like someone who belonged at a board meeting, not near shopping carts.

But it wasn’t his appearance that made Dante’s stomach drop.

It was his face. It was the faint, knowing smirk. It was the fact that this man recognized Dante even before Dante recognized him.

He stepped closer, each footstep slow and confident, like he already owned the room.

The guard swallowed and straightened. “Uh..sir..this man is being aggressive.”

“No,” the man corrected, tone smooth. “This man is a Varon.”

The guard immediately paled.

Dante felt his throat tighten. He knew that voice. He knew that face. He had seen him before at Varon gala nights, security briefings, and private family meetings.

A man Jean-Paul Varon trusted. A man Dante never liked. A man who always lingered in the shadows rather than the light.

“Mr. Ferrand,” Dante said slowly, the name forming like a bitter taste on his tongue.

Luca looked between them. “Who is he?”

The man didn’t even glance at Luca. He only smiled slightly at Dante, eyes sharp behind the calm.

“Someone your father relies on,” Ferrand said. “More than he relies on anyone else.”

The guard took a step back, suddenly desperate to look busy.

Ferrand tilted his head, observing Dante’s expression. “You seem troubled.”

Dante clenched his jaw. “I’m looking for someone.”

“So I heard,” Ferrand replied. “The guard said you were demanding access to our surveillance footage.”

“Because someone is missing,” Dante said, voice tight. “Someone important.”

Ferrand’s brows lifted slightly not with surprise, but with interest. “Ah.”

“Ah?” Luca snapped. “Is that all you have to say?”

Ferrand ignored him again. This time, it wasn’t subtle, it was intentional. Luca wasn’t important to him. He wasn’t worth acknowledging.

Ferrand turned back to Dante. “If someone has gone missing from this property, then you should have started with that information.”

Dante’s anger spiked. “I did.”

“Not clearly,” Ferrand answered, raising one eyebrow. “You lost your temper instead. You Varon men are always so dramatic when the problem is personal.”

Luca stepped forward angrily. “Can you stop talking like this is a joke?! Her phone was left behind. I'm sure she didn’t walk away. Someone took her.”

Ferrand finally turned toward Luca, slowly.

His eyes narrowed. “And who exactly are you?”

“Varon’s second son.” Luca snapped. “The one who was with her. The one who left her alone for a minute.”

Dante noticed the guilt in Luca’s voice.

Ferrand scanned him once, unimpressed. “Mm. I see.”

He turned back to Dante. “You look shaken.”

“Just show me the footage,” Dante said. “And I'll be out of here.”

Ferrand looked at the guard. “Open the control room for them.”

The guard blinked. “But, sir, protocol..”

“Protocol,” Ferrand said softly, “is whatever I say it is.”

The guard hurried toward the back hallway, trembling.