Page 81 of Dark Mafia Vows

I call Mr. Jenkins at the crack of dawn the next day, wondering if possibly Ginny tried to meet up with him. Maybe she’s looking to find a new building for her bakery. Maybe she’s tired of staying home all day.

He answers on the second ring, his voice groggy. “Mr. De Luca? Haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“Have you seen Ginevra, my fiancée?” I snap immediately.

There’s a pause. I hear him scratch at something, maybe his beard, as he thinks. “Yeah, yeah, she came by yesterday. She looked upset.”

“Upset?” I echo, my heart hammering. It’s the same thing Rosa said. “What do you mean?”

“Well, she didn’t seem like herself. It looked like she was seconds away from crying, especially when I told her you’d bought the building in her name. I thought she was just emotional over the gesture. Then she just thanked me and left,” he narrates as my heart pounds even faster.

“Where did she go?”

“I...I don’t know. When she left, I went back to the backyard where I’d been fixing something. She looked like she was in a hurry, though. Haven’t seen or heard from her since.”

“Around what time was that?” I breathe.

“Around 8 or 9 a.m., maybe?”

“But there’s something else… well?—”

“Tell me!”

“She didn’t take the car she drove here. She left it in the parking lot. I thought it was intentional or something, but now I realize I should have done something. I’m so sorry, Mr. De Luca. If I had known…”

I curse under my breath and hang up. She was there,right there. And now she’s gone.

My phone rings and my breath hitches when I see Lorenzo’s name on the screen.

“I’ve been trying to reach Ginny since yesterday morning, but she’s not answering,” he rushes out the moment I answer the call. “Is she by any chance with you?”

“Ginny’s missing,” I say through gritted teeth.

I hear the sound of his breathing over the line as he stays silent for a few seconds.

“What do you mean by that?” he finally asks, his voice low.

Irritation zings through me. “What you fucking heard, Lorenzo! If you’d answered your call last night, maybe you’d know.”

“What do you mean she’s missing?” he chokes out again. “You promised me you would protect and take care of her!”

I grind my jaws painfully, my hands balling into fists.

“I traveled out of the state for a business trip. I just got back last night. My workers say she drove off in the morning but never came back,” I rush out, my breath coming in heavy pants. “I know you’re fucking pissed?—”

“Of course, I’m pissed.” He interrupts me with a loud voice.

“Well, this is not the time for that. We need to join forces together and find Ginny,” I say harshly. “You said her number rang when you called. What time was that?”

“In the morning, around 11 a.m. But when I called later in the evening, her phone was switched off.”

I run a frustrated hand through my hair. “If she was taken...” I choke, taking a deep breath. “If she’s been kidnapped, they probably switched her phone off or threw it away.”

“Or smashed it,” Lorenzo exhaled shakily before his voice hardens. “I’ll contact my tech guy to track it. There must be a way to find her.”

When the call ends, I resist the urge to fling my phone across the room. I can’t be here. I can’t be at home while she’s missing. Without bothering to shower, I head out of the house. Throughout the day, all my movements are fruitless. All the people I go to meet—private investigators, informants—all tell me the same thing. It’ll take a few days to find her.

By the second day, I’m unraveling. There’s no positive news. No new leads to where she might have gone and what exactly had happened to her. Dread twists in my stomach as I wonder if she willingly left me. If the idea of marrying me in about a week got too scary and too real for her.

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