Page 156 of Monster in Disguise

"Look, Enzo," I put my hand up. "Catalina is not here. I swear. But if she's missing..."

"You actually want me to believe that? When you were so obsessed with her, you fucking raped her and then married her with no remorse? What kind of sick fuck does that?" He spits out, and I take it. Because he's not wrong.

"What is he talking about?" Assisi decides to grace us with her presence at that precise moment.

"Oh, Assisi. Did you know that your brother here is Claudia's father? Not only did he rape and torture Lina, but he left her to face the consequences by herself."

Sisi's face falls, and she looks at me in horror.

"Is that true?" Her voice is almost a whisper. I turn my head, shame filling me.

"Lord! It is true," she exclaims, her hand going to her mouth.

"And now Lina's missing. And your brother should know exactly where she is," Enzo adds smugly.

"I don't. I swear I have no idea where she is." I pause, immediately realizing that if she's not with Enzo...

"No..." I whisper. "No, it can't be..."

"What?" Enzo asks abrasively.

"Chimera." The words are out of my mouth.

But if she's missing... Lord, please let nothing happen to her.

"You meanyou?" Enzo laughs derisively.

Then I remember what Vlad said, that they think I was behind everything.

"No, damn it. Not me. Look, I don't profess to be innocent. I know what I did to Lina, and it's not something I'll ever forgive myself for. ButthisChimera isn't me. Someone's been impersonating Chimera to torment me."

"Convenient, isn't it?" He snorts.

"I swear I had nothing to do with it. I love Lina too. I wouldn't be able to hurt her."

"Right, you already did."

"Damn it! Listen, Enzo, if Lina is missing, then we need to focus on that."

"Lina can't be here," Assisi finally intervenes, giving me a look that conveys just how disappointed she is in me. "I've been watching Marcello closely for the past week. He had an incident." She pauses. "He's under supervision so he won't take his life."

Enzo's eyes widen, and he turns to me, opening his mouth to say something. But he doesn't.

"You're sure it isn't him?" he eventually asks Assisi.

"Positive." She takes a deep breath. "We need to find her, Enzo." Her tone has a slight desperation to it, and then she looks at me. "Marcello. Please."

"I'll give you my word, Agosti. I'll find her. Even if it's the last thing I do," I say solemnly.

"You'd better. Because if anything happens to Lina..." He shakes his head. "I'll kill you."

"And I'll let you." Because how could I live with myself thinking I'd failed her again?

I've been pacingmy study for the last hour like a madman. After Enzo had left, I'd submitted a comprehensive list of people for Adrian to test. It's still going to take time... Time we may not have, damn it. The fingerprint technician has to go through each print and manually match it to the one on record.

Fucking hell!

I don't even want to consider that something might have happened to Lina. According to Enzo, the entire video feed at his home had been off when Lina had gone missing. I'd suggested an inside job, because really, who else would have had access to his house? But Enzo had refused to believe someone from his circle would have sold his sister out.

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