Page 25 of The Veiling

Before I could get a word out, Noah snapped,VALENTINO!

I’m out right now,I grumbled.

No shit! I’m tracking you! Why the fuck are you going back to the mansion?

I have something I need to do.

Meet you there.

I have to do this alone.

I’m coming.

Noah, stay the fuck out of this!

Whatever you’re doing, I support,he rumbled.Just let me be there for extra protection. I’ll come alone.

Rolling my eyes, I hung the phone up, racing to my house. The quicker I got this figured out, the better. Staring ahead, I held the steering wheel so firmly my hands were cramping for the next hour.

The moment the black, wrought-iron gates parted, I zipped down the winding driveway at an alarming speed, skidding to a stop next to the front entrance. I switched the car off, jumped out, and sprinted to the door to let myself in.

“Sir?” My butler popped out from around the corner, hurrying behind me. “We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow.” The panic in his voice matched my mood. “Anything we can do?”

“No, Piers.” I did not bother to stop as I hurried to my office and sat at my desk, rolling the chair underneath. I flipped my laptop open and started to search every word on every file in my computer documents and email. There had to be something that would give me the answer, or at the very least, an indication.

“Sir, if you need anything, please let me know,” Piers offered. “We will help however we can.”

Glancing up briefly, I gave a single nod. The moment he exited the room, Noah came marching in. Lowering my gaze, I ignored his presence.

“You’re lucky I was on this side of the city so I could catch up. Joe took the other side.”

I got a cigarette and lighter from the drawer and lit it. Right now, I did not care if I smoked in the house or not. I pushed away from the desk and paced back and forth in the middle of the office.

“What brought you here?” He lit his own. “Laura called me and said you got a call.”

“Of course, she did,” I muttered.

“What the fuck is going on?”

I took a drag and lowered my hand to my side. Though I did not want to share it with anyone, I would do whatever it took to keep Isabelle safe until I found her. “The call was someone with a distorted voice. A man. He said I would get Isabelle back when Felipe and Jesse were dead.” I inhaled a deep drag, strolling over to one of the built-in bookcases, perching on the edge. “But then he said unless I was feeling brave enough to look for aghost of my pastanda safe house. None of it makes sense. Butthe blood was apparently never on my hands.”

“What the fuck?” Noah darted his eyes around the room.

“Any other time a call like that wouldn’t phase me, but I need to find her.”

“Who are the ghosts of your past?” He lifted the cigarette to his lips.

“There are many people I no longer talk to.”

“Is there anyone who got hurt that you blame yourself for gettingblood on your hands?”

“Just my fucking brother, Marco.” Sadness filled me to my core. Gaze lowered to the floor, I took several breaths. “I will always blame myself for it.”

“Forgive me, but maybe ghost, actually means a dead person?”

I shot him an angry glare.

“If you’re blaming yourself for it, that’s where the rest comes from.”

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