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.