Chapter 62: Where the hell is she?

Chapter 62: Where the hell is she?
CHAPTER 62
LUCAS pov

"She’s gone. And it’s my fault." I mumbled to myself

I hadn’t moved in over two hours. Just sat there like a ghost behind the wheel, parked off a lonely road while the night pressed in all around me. My fingers tapped mindlessly against the steering wheel, the sound sharp and relentless in the silence. I couldn’t think straight. Couldn’t breathe.

Where the hell could she be?

I dragged a hand through my hair and hissed through my teeth, frustration burning in my chest. My mother was still in the hospital, fighting for her life. My sister was by her side, expecting me to be there too. And Sofia? She was out there somewhere in the dark, and I had no clue where to even begin looking.

“Damn it, what did I do?” I muttered under my breath, punching the steering wheel once before leaning back hard against the seat.

Giovanni’s voice came flooding back to me like a curse I couldn’t escape.

“If anything happens to her, you’ll answer to me.” That was the deal. That was the rule. And I broke it.

I let her walk right out of my grasp. I let her disappear. And now, with every second ticking by, I felt the consequences breathing down my neck.

My phone rang just then, vibrating in my pocket and I pulled it out, peering into the screen. It was Riccardo. I heaved a heavy sigh as I picked the call, pressing the phone to my ear.

“Hello, Lucas?” Riccardo said calmly, his voice floating across the phone.

“Riccardo? What's up?” I asked, keeping my voice down.

“Has anyone called you?” he asked, and I furrowed my brows in confusion.

“Called me?” I asked, puzzled. “Nobody has. Why do you ask?”

“You're going to get a call from someone. I'd advise you to calmly listen to what he has to say,” Riccardo said, his voice sounding so casual that I began to feel uneasy.

“Who's going to call me? What's going on, Riccardo?” I asked impatiently, but the phone beeped, and the call ended.

“Riccardo?” I said, pulling my hand away from my ear and peering into the screen to see that the call had ended. “Damn you!”

I put the phone down and grabbed the steering wheel in annoyance, and then it started to ring again. I peered into the screen and saw that the call was from an unknown number. I hesitated for a second, took a deep breath and picked the call, holding my breath as I listened.

“Hello, boss?” the voice said, and I froze at the sound of the familiar voice.

“Who's this?” I asked, suppressing the rage that threatened to explode within me.

“Good evening, boss,” the voice greeted. “It's me, Diego.”

“Diego?!” I exclaimed, feeling a wave of anger wash over me. “Diego? You have the audacity to call me after getting Sofia out of my house? You really have got some audacity, but wait till I get hold of you. I'd kill you slowly, so slowly that you'd feel excruciating pain and wish you were never born.”

“Boss, you've got to relax and listen to me—” Diego said, but I cut him short.

“Listen to you?” I yelled, visibly angry now. “You betrayed me, you bastard! You were one of my most trusted men, one I could vouch for anytime, anyday. You went with me and accompanied me in most of my missions, and I always treated you like a brother than a boss. Yet, you went behind me to let Sofia out of the penthouse, and you're asking me to listen to you? What the hell is it that you've got to say, huh? Tell me!”

“If you allow your rage to lead you, you might end up losing that which you so earnestly seek, boss,” Diego said, his voice cold and calm.

“You sumbitch!” I growled, blinded by rage. “Why did you let her out of the house? Why?”

“She begged me to help her leave Italy and I just agreed, boss. It was nothing serious,” Diego replied and I only got more infuriated, breathing hard as I inhaled and exhaled heavily.

“She begged you to help her leave Italy and you agreed? Do you know the risk involved in what you did?” I barked, sharly cutting him short.

“She's no longer with me, boss,” Diego said and my mouth dropped open in shock. I felt chills go down my spine as I listened to him, and for a moment, my ears felt like wax and my knees buckled beneath me.

“What did you just say?” I asked, confused as I felt my blood go cold in astonishment. My pulse spiked as I raised my voice in panic. “Where's she? What's happened to her?”

Diego hesitated, heaving a heavy sigh before he responded. “Collins tricked us, sir. He had us ambushed and he took Sofia and disappeared. I have strong reasons to believe he's headed to Codice Oscuro with her, to hand her over to Unit 13,” Diego said, and I swallowed hard, my heart beating loudly against my chest. I processed his words and realized that Sofia was in even bigger trouble than I thought.

“Why's Unit 13 after Sofia? What do they want with her?” I asked, trying to steady my voice which shook with fear. I began to fidget at the mention of Unit 13 and my thoughts began to run wild

Diego said nothing in response, and my anger shot up a notch. “Diego?!” I yelled angrily.

“I have no idea, boss. But I'll tell you one thing: you'd better act fast, else Unit 13 will have the whole truth about Sofia uncovered in no time,” he said, his warning hitting me coldly.

The call ended abruptly and the phone dropped from my hands, my eyes widening as I began to wonder if Diego knew Sofia's true identity — if he knew about Sofia being Giovanni's daughter. I felt chills going down my spine at the possibility, also wondering
how many more men amongst my staff knew the truth.