Page 197 of Syndicate of Sin Bundle

I read the note again and again, my stomach twisting. Bile rose in my throat, but I pushed it back down before I puked again today. No. This can’t be. This … Sage is … she left me? Left us?

With tears blinding my vision, I sprinted out of the penthouse with the letter and to the staircase. I didn’t have time to wait for the elevator. Maybe she was still here. Maybe I could catch her before she skipped town and never came back.

When I reached her apartment, I typed her code on the keypad and pushed the door open. “Sage!” I shouted, running like a madwoman from room to room.

She … she couldn’t be gone. Not yet.

“Sage!”

Tears streamed down my cheeks, an ugly sob escaping my mouth. Her note had made it sound like she wasn’t planning to return anytime soon, like she might not return at all. She had left me and Constantino after she told me that she loved me.

All of her belongings were gone. The apartment was cleared out of any signs of her even living here.

“No,” I repeated, stumbling out into the main living area.

When I spotted the large painting on the dining table, another sob escaped my mouth.

A painting of me. That was all she had left.

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Stepping into the elevator, I hit the button for Sage’s floor and leaned against the metal wall with my hands stuffed into my pants pockets. Laila had officially been relieved from bed rest by Dr. Lin this morning, so I could take both my girls out for dinner tonight.

Sage hadn’t been herself since the incident. She had been skipping dinners and cutting visits upstairs short, not wanting to talk for long when I visited her throughout the week. I wanted to give her space to process things, but I also wanted her to know we cared.

That we still wanted this, no matter what.

Tonight, we would make sure she knew.

My lips curled into a soft smile as I thought about how Laila had been so excited to go baby shopping with Sage today. She had been gushing about it all week and nagging Dr. Lin to let her go. I hoped they had bought some clothes and furniture for the nursery today.

When my phone buzzed in my pocket, I pulled it out and pressed it to my ear. “Talk.”

“Hello, this is Fluorescence. We’re confirming your reservation for tonight at eight.”

“We’ll be there,” I said as the elevator doors opened, and then I clicked off the phone and walked to Sage’s apartment at the end of the hallway, excited that shit was finally cooling off and calming down with the FBI.

I paused in front of her door and knocked twice. “Sage!”

No answer, but I heard crying inside the apartment.

The door must’ve been unlocked because I pushed it right open and stepped into the room, listening to my wife’s sobs from the dining area. I sprinted into the next room and stared at Laila, curled up in a ball on the floor, wailing with tears and snot running down her face.

“What happened?” I asked Laila.

She balled my shirt into her fists and buried her face into my chest. “S-S-Sage!”

“Laila, what the fuck is going on?” I asked, scanning the room and noticing that all the decorations were gone, the walls were bare, and Sage’s belongings were not here. My chest tightened. “Where is she?”

“G-gone!” Laila cried, barely lifting her finger toward the table. “She’s gone!”

While still holding Laila, I reached for the letter in the center of the table that was stained with tears, next to the painting that Sage had done of Laila. I unfolded the note and stared down at Sage’s handwriting.

Laila,

I’m sorry I haven’t been myself lately, but I need a few days alone and away from the family. I wish I could’ve told you when we spoke earlier, but I didn’t want you to be angry with me. I don’t know when I’ll be back. Riccardo is coming with me for protection.

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