It was night, and the office was silent, save for the sound of his pen against paper as Antonio worked on something that absolutely didn't need to be worked on at that time. At this rate, he'd be all caught up, and have to invent new things to do just to keep his mind occupied. But he didn't care. His tie hung haphazardly around his neck, his suit jacket lay carelessly across the back of his chair, and a garment bag containing the clothes he'd changed out of that day lay on the couch. Sleep deprivation was doing a number on him, dulling his senses and leaving his body heavy. His head pounded steadily, and his eyes burned from staring at documents he wasn’t even processing anymore. He almost felt drunk from him. Sighing tiredly, he stood, and walked to the coffee maker for the millionth time in the past three days. He took his coffee black and strong, then returned to his desk. Just as he was about to get back to work, his phone rang. It was Ricardo. "We found something that migh
"Penny for your thoughts," Dr Smith murmured softly as he wrapped his arms around Molly from behind, his chin resting lightly on her shoulder.They were in her bedroom, preparing to go down for dinner, and she'd stared off into space. This had become a regular occurrence, and Victor could feel the tension radiating off her. He tightened his hold just slightly, as if willing her to relax in his arms. Molly could see that he was getting worried. She leaned into his embrace with a deep sigh. "It's nothing, Victor." she said quietly, though her tone lacked conviction.As always, he never took no for an answer when it seemed like something was bothering her. He nipped gently at the side of her neck, his breath warm and comforting."Tell me." he whispered, his voice soft but firm.Another sigh escaped her lips before she admitted, "I'm worried about the kids.”"Me too," Victor murmured. "But I'm sure Antonio will find them soon. Don't worry too much, love."Molly gave a slight chuckle. "I
Antonio couldn't remember the last time he'd slept or eaten, but those necessities were the last thing on his mind as he tapped away at his computer. With Liam and Lena still missing, and Ria putting miles of space between them, he felt... He couldn't even describe how he felt. Adrift, maybe. Like the sole purpose of his existence had been yanked away from him, with nothing to fill up the gap left. So he worked. It was a poor substitute to actually finding the kids, but there was literally nothing he could do but wait. He had men out in the field every single day looking manually, and he had people combing through the city's surveillance cameras. Turns out needing to find one specific woman without knowing exactly who she was or what she looked like, was hella difficult. But when had that ever stopped him? He'd spent the previous night at his office, and was now ahead of his work. All he needed to do now was find something else to work on. Maybe Ricardo would have something. Slowl
Some days later, Molly was tending to her garden in the morning when a sudden commotion at the entrance to the house grounds caught her attention. She couldn't hear exactly what was going on, but she could see that the guards were trying to restrain someone. She dropped her trowel, pulled off her gardening gloves, then rushed to investigate, her heartbeat rising with each step she took. When she got closer to the scene, her breath caught. Adrian.Her nephew was struggling against the guards' hold, his face flushed red, jaw clenched, wild desperation in his eyes. He was practically vibrating with anger, hands fisted, chest heaving as though he’d sprinted all the way there. But the moment his gaze landed on her, some of the fire dimmed."Aunt Molly!" he called out, his voice raw."What's going on here?" Molly demanded, her sharp tone immediately quieting the immediate chaos around them.One of the guards spoke up. "Mr Moretti gave clear instructions to not let this man on the property
When Antonio returned, he found Molly waiting for him in the living room. "Mother. It's late." His brows drew together in mild confusion as he walked toward her. He was surprised to see her waiting up for him. "Why aren't you asleep? Is something wrong? Isn't Ria back from the hospital yet?" "Nothing's wrong," Molly said, rising slowly to her feet. There was concern in her eyes, though her voice remained calm. "Or at least nothing too serious at the moment. And yes. Ria's back. But she might not be here for long." Antonio stopped in his tracks, his face hardening slightly. "What do you mean?" He furrowed his brows, his voice low but sharp. Molly shrugged helplessly, sighing. "She wants to leave." "Leave? His jaw tightened. Leave where?" Antonio asked. "Leave here," Molly replied. "What? Where did she get that idea from? She's not going anywhere.""Go try telling her that. I managed to convince her to wait until you both could talk, but even at that, I still had to seize her sui
"Ready?" Molly asked softly as she packed up the last of Ria's things in the room. Ria nodded, hugging her arms around herself. "I'm just glad I'm finally being discharged.” She said quietly. “I don't like hospitals." Molly smiled faintly at that, though there was a weariness in her eyes. "Me too. Let's go."As they stepped out of the room, Ria immediately paused, her brows knitting together in confusion when she noticed the number of guards lined up in the hallway. Their tall figures stood rigid and at alert, like shadows ready to move at the slightest sign of danger."Um... What's going on?" She asked, her voice uncertain. "You'll get used to it," Molly said gently, reaching over to pat Ria's hand in reassurance. "Tonio doesn't want to take any more chances, so we're both stuck with the grumpiest guards in history.”Ria remained silent as she followed Molly and the guards down to the parking lot. The men didn't even let them take the elevator on their own. As they got into the ca