Page 62 of Die for You
The question was, who?
I searched high and low but to no avail.
I thought it was Lenny, but when he swore it wasn’t him, I believed him.
Gianna had another enemy, and that enemy was now mine because I was no longer Gianna’s hidden secret weapon.
Just as I knew it eventually would, my identity was uncovered, which made me, and by extension, my family, a sitting duck.
“Nico!” I scream, my home in disarray as I frantically go from room to room.
Please, God, no. I chant this over and over, but when I burst through the back door and see Nico lying in the middle of the garden, bloody and beaten, I realize I was foolish to ever believe God was real.
My sandals are left behind in haste as I run toward Nico, dropping to my knees and gripping his head in my hands.
There’s so much blood.
“Nico!” I sob, tears blinding me, drowning memories of my once perfect life. “Where’s Lettie?”
He remains unconscious.
“Nico!” I scream his name over and over, to no avail.
I sit with him for what feels like hours, until he stirs.
Stroking his hair, I peer into the heavens and wish hard, just as Lettie did on her birthday. I wish that she would be brought back to me.
But as Nico groans, I know that wishes don’t come true.
“Where is Lettie?”
He wheezes, his eyes swollen shut.
I lower my ear to his mouth, and my world crumbles when he whispers, “She’s gone.”
I jolt upright, my body covered in perspiration.
Another nightmare.
However, this is real.
My daughter has been kidnapped without a word.
No ransom.
I have no idea what I need to do to get her back.
This is why I’m back here in America.
I need Lenny’s help.
With Lettie gone, we are both at risk because she is the greatest collateral one can have. I would rather he hear it from me than from whoever has her.
I know the consequences of withholding this from him will most likely bring down our kingdoms. Lenny will destroy anything and anyone once he knows the truth.
But I accept whatever response he has.
I will do anything to get Lettie back.
