To my great relief, the door finally opened. I smiled, expecting to see May or my father, but the person standing in front of me was a complete stranger. It was an old man. He had a cigarette in his mouth and he looked disgruntled.
“Who the hell are you and why the hell are you banging on my door like that?” he demanded.
“I apologize. I didn't mean to disturb you.” A frown tensed my face as I tried peering beyond the entryway. “Do you live here alone?”
“What's it to you?” he raised his voice.
“I used to live here a few years back,” I explained. “I was hoping my family would still be here.”
“I know nothing 'bout that, sweetheart. Ain't nobody else here,” he snapped, sparking up his cigarette and puffing a cloud of smoke in the air. “Only me.”
I swallowed. All the blood drained from my head. “May I ask how long you’ve been living here?”
He blew out another puff of smoke. “Roughly two years.”
“And you know nothing about the former tenants?” I asked hopefully.
“Nope. Not a damn thing,” the man said. “The house was empty when I moved in.”
Bitter realization swept over me and my entire world crashed in a second. I was frozen in place, and kept staring at that man, looking through him.
“Anything else I can help you with, darlin’?” he inquired.
I snapped out of my trance and forced a sour smile on my lips. “No, Sir. That would be all. Thank you for your help.”
The man slammed the door in my face. I remained standing there a few moments longer, trying to stop the fat tears rolling down my face.
The car door opened and Alessandro’s expensive shoes crunched against the gravel. “Olivia...” I heard him call my name.
I wiped the tears and focused on my breathing. Then, I turned around and slowly walked to the car, avoiding Alessandro’s curious gaze. He strode to the front of the car and waited for me.
“Olivia, what happened?” he asked softly. “Did he tell you about your sister?”
I shook my head and stared at the ground. “She doesn't live here anymore.”
He tilted my chin and made me meet his black gaze. “Do you know where she could’ve gone or where else we could look?”
Tears overflew my eyes, and I couldn't hold them back anymore. I broke down crying in front of Alessandro, shaking my head in hopeless agony.
He swore under his breath, and pulled me into his embrace. “Shh, calm down, cara,” he whispered, tightening his arms around me. “It will be okay.”
“What if I never see her again?” I asked desperately, sobbing on his chest.
“You will see her, cara. I'm sure that you will,” he said with absolute certainty. “Don't worry. We'll find her.”
I wished I could share his enthusiasm and believe everything would be okay, but my faith was slipping away. Where are you May?
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
The Present
May was nowhere to be found, but Alessandro still expected me to travel to Italy. That night, I had a nightmare about my little sister, and I woke up screaming in Alessandro's arms. I begged him to postpone the trip and help me look for May, but he refused and told me not to worry because he would take care of it. I had no idea what he meant and when I asked, he didn't want to tell me. I was in no mood to travel, but wasn’t given a choice in the matter. As it was, I wasn't the only one who tried convincing him to stay without success.
Lorenzo was livid at the news Alessandro decided to leave for Italy so abruptly. When he heard we would be gone for ten days, they had gotten into another argument over the phone. Their heated conversation ended in pretty much the same manner like the one from the day before. Alessandro informed him he'd try to keep in touch from Italy, but there were no guarantees. It was a nice way of saying he didn't really care if Lorenzo could manage without him. Then, he hung up the phone and focused his attention on me. I had never seen this side of Alessandro. Even though we had never spent much time together in the past, I knew the business and 'the family' came first no matter what. He had operated this way for years. What could be the reason for this sudden change in his set of values?
Apart from four men I had never seen before, only me and Alessandro boarded the plane.