By Fate I Conquer (Sins of the Fathers #4)(5)

I didn’t sleep, though I was tired and hadn’t slept in more than a day. I kept counting the seconds, trying to let the familiar sound calm me.

Eleven hours had passed since I’d run away when I heard voices again but this time it wasn’t only Fabiano and Leona. Dad, Nino and Nevio were with them.

I made myself even smaller and breathed very slowly and low so they wouldn’t hear me. They weren’t in the storage room but in the corridor in front of it. I strained my ears to listen to their conversation.

“Are you sure she doesn’t know the fucking codes to leave the premises?” Dad snarled. “That’s hard to believe considering you slip out all the time.”

“Maybe she does. Greta is observant,” Nevio said. Despite what I’d seen him do, a part of me wanted to go to my brother. He’d always been the person who consoled and protected me. Now I hid from him and my family.

“She isn’t in our basement and she isn’t in the spare house basement. That leaves this basement,” Dad said.

“She hasn’t left the premises yet from our side. I checked the log of the last twelve hours,” Nino drawled. “The only code that was entered from our premises was the one to the door leading to your basement, Fabiano.”

I didn’t know they could see who put in a code.

“I don’t have a log of entered codes. Leona felt it was too stalkerish. There’s only an alarm if a wrong code is entered, and it wasn’t.”

“So she could have slipped out of your mansion,” Dad said in a tight voice.

“I doubt it.”

“You can’t base your doubt on facts,” Nino said.

“Fuck it,” Dad growled. “We have to find her. If something happens to her…”

“Maybe you should alert your soldiers in case she’s outside,” Fabiano suggested.

“No. I don’t want anyone to know. I don’t trust anyone with Greta. We’ll find her.”

“Let’s search your basement and mansion and the backyard, if we don’t find her there, we’ll consider further actions,” Nino said.

Their voices moved away. I swallowed. It was only a matter of time before they’d find me. Once I was sure they weren’t close by, I climbed out of the box once more and tiptoed toward the door. I wasn’t sure what I was waiting for. I just knew I couldn’t face them yet.

I glanced into the corridor which was empty but at the end light spilled out of two rooms, I looked to the other side where a steep staircase led up to the house. Taking a deep breath, I rushed toward it and climbed up. I slipped out of the basement. I could hear Fabiano and Nino somewhere on the first floor.

I sprinted out and upstairs toward the second floor. I’d been inside Fabiano’s house a few times and remembered the layout. I put my ear against Aurora’s door. It was quiet inside except for her soft humming. Without knocking, I slipped in.

Aurora sat on the floor surrounded by her Barbies and was playing, her back turned to me.

She turned and her eyes shot open in alarm. “Greta?”

“Shhh.” I pressed my finger against my lips. “Can I hide in your room?”

She got to her feet slowly, eyeing me. “What’s that on your clothes?”

“Blood,” I said.

She paled and looked sick. “Really?”

I nodded. I heard voices coming closer. “Can I hide? I really need to hide.”

“Did you do something bad?” Aurora asked, not coming closer.

I wasn’t even sure at this point anymore. “I don’t know. Will you help me?”

Aurora nodded hesitantly and pointed at her wall cupboard. I slipped inside and sank to the ground, hidden behind her dresses. I wasn’t sure why she had so many. She never wore them. Aurora closed the shutters, her face questioning.

She returned to her barbies and sank down a second before a knock sounded. Through the gaps in the shutters, I could see long legs enter the room. I recognized the white sneakers as Fabiano’s, and a moment later his voice sounded.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” she said, still bent over her Barbies, busying herself undressing one of them. “I’m in my room like you asked me to.”

He didn’t move. “That’s good. Have you heard something? Or maybe seen Greta?”

“Greta?” Aurora asked, lifting her head briefly.

“She ran away. She might have misunderstood something and is a bit confused.”

I bit my lip. I wasn’t confused. He said it so Aurora would tell on me in case she knew something.

“Okay,” Aurora said slowly. “What did she see?”

“Nothing to worry about. You’ll tell me if you see her, okay?” He moved closer to her and squatted beside her. I tensed because now I could see his face. I doubted he could see mine through the shutters as I wasn’t backlit like they were.

Aurora fumbled with her Barbie doll. If she kept acting like this, he might get suspicious.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” he asked quietly.

I held my breath.

“Greta and I aren’t close. I tried but she’s with the boys, not with me and Carlotta.”

Fabiano touched her shoulder. “Greta is different. It’s not about you, all right?”