Ariana’s POV
Two days, forty-eight hours... two thousand eight hundred eighty minutes, that’s how long Asher had been gone.
That was how long we had been waiting.
Hoping.
Praying.
Dying.
Every minute felt like an hour, every hour felt like a day.
Every day felt like a lifeti.
I sat on the couch. I hadn’t moved in hours. I hadn’t slept or eaten.
I couldn’t, and every ti I closed my eyes, I saw his face.
Asher’s face.
His smile.
His laugh.
The way he said "mummy." The way he ran into my arms.
The way he looked at was like I was his whole world.
And now he was gone, taken and stolen by that woman lissa by the monster who had already taken so much from .
Dante was on the phone.
Again.
With the police.
With the FBI.
With private investigators.
With anyone who could help.
He had been on the phone for two days straight. His voice was hoarse, and his eyes were red.
He looked like he hadn’t slept either; maybe he hadn’t.
Maybe none of us had.
The door opened, and Marcus walked in. He had a bag of food, sandwiches, and coffee. Things we should be eating.
Things we should be drinking, things we couldn’t stomach.
"Any news?" he asked with his voice quiet and careful.
Dante shook his head and ended his call.
He put his phone on the table. "Nothing. No leads, no sightings, absolutely nothing. It’s like she disappeared as they both disappeared."
Marcus put the food on the table. "The police are doing everything they can. They have people looking and have drones, dogs. They’ll find him."
I laughed; it was a bitter sound and hollow. "They’ll find him, that’s what they said two days ago. That’s what they said yesterday. That’s what they’ll say tomorrow and the day after and the day after that, and Asher will still be gone. Still missing, still with her."
Marcus looked at , his face was full of pity. I hated pity. "Ariana, you need to eat. You need to keep your strength up for when we find him and when he cos ho."
I shook my head. "I can’t eat, I can’t sleep. I can’t do anything but think about him. About where he is. About what she’s doing to him. About whether he’s scared. Whether he’s crying. Whether he’s calling for ."
Dante walked over.
He sat beside on the couch
. He put his hand on my back. "Ariana, please. Just a few bites, just sothing. You’re going to make yourself sick."
I pulled away from him and stood up.
"Don’t," I said, my voice was cold. "Don’t touch or comfort . Don’t pretend everything is going to be okay."
Dante stood up, trying to erase the distance between us. "I’m not pretending. I’m just trying to take care of you. I’m trying to keep you alive. I’m trying to—"
"I told you." I turned to face him, my eyes were burning, and my hands were shaking. "I told you, Dante. I told you things would never be the sa. I told you we could never have a happy ending. I told you that wherever we are together, chaos follows, and now look. Look at what’s happened. Asher’s life is in danger because of us, because of , and you."
Dante’s face crumbled.
"That’s not true. This isn’t your fault or my fault. This is lissa’s fault; she’s the one who took him. She’s the one who’s doing this, not us."
I shook my head. "If we hadn’t gotten back together, if we hadn’t tried to fix things. If we hadn’t been so selfish. She wouldn’t have had a reason to do this. She’s jealous and angry. She’s vengeful, and we gave her the perfect target. Our son."
Dante reached for I stepped back. "Ariana, please, please don’t do this. Please don’t push away. We need each other right now more than ever. This fight won’t do any good to us."
I laughed again."We need each other? Look what happens when we’re together, Dante. Look at the destruction, the pain, the chaos. Our son is gone. Our baby is missing, and you want to hold my hand and pretend everything is fine?"
"I’m not pretending anything. I’m just trying to survive. I’m trying to keep you alive. I’m trying to keep our family together. I’m trying to—"
"Stop trying!" I scread. The words tore out of my throat. "Stop trying to fix everything. Stop trying to save everyone. Stop trying to be the hero you can’t save us, Dante. You never could. You only make things worse."
Dante’s face went white.
His hands dropped to his sides.
He looked like I had punched him, maybe I had. Maybe I had finally said the words that would make him leave and give up.
The phone buzzed.
We both looked at it.
On the table. Lighting up.
A text from an unknown number.
Dante grabbed it and read the ssage. His face changed
"What is it?" I asked. "What does it say?"
Dante looked at , his face was pale. "It’s lissa, she wants money. A lot of money. She says if we pay, she’ll let Asher go."
My heart stopped. My blood ran cold. "Let him go? Will she let him go? That’s what she said?"
Dante nodded.
He handed the phone, and I read the ssage.
Ten million dollars. Cash.
Unmarked bills. You have 48 hours. I’ll send the location when you have the money. Don’t contact the police or try anything stupid. Or I swear to you, your son dies.
I handed the phone back to Dante with my legs weak and my head spinning. "We have to pay it. We have to give her whatever she wants and have to get him back."
Dante nodded. "I already called the bank. I’m liquidating everything. I’ll have the money by tomorrow."
Marcus stepped forward. "Dante, be careful. This could be a trap. She could take the money and still—"
"I don’t care!" Dante shouted. "I don’t care if it’s a trap. I don’t care if she takes the money. I don’t care if I lose everything. I just want my son back."
The room was quiet.
No one spoke.
I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I put my hand over my heart. It was pounding too fast and hard.
I couldn’t breathe.
The room was spinning.
"Ariana?" Dante’s voice was far away. "Ariana, what’s wrong?"
I tried to answer, but I couldn’t. The words wouldn’t co, and my vision was blurring.
The edges were getting dark.
"Ariana! Soone call an ambulance! Now!"
Dante’s hands were on my face. I couldn’t feel anything, just the pain.
"I’m sorry," I whispered
Then everything went black.
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