Truths and Lies Duet

I stand at the same time Mom does. She envelops me in her arms and I breathe in her floral scent. “What if she’s hungry?” I cry out. “Or lonely?” My entire body shakes against my mom’s as she holds me tight. I can feel an anxiety attack coming on, but I already know I won’t be able to stop it. I’ve been having them every day since Zoe was taken. “What if they’ve hurt her…or worse…” I can’t even finish my sentence. My words are cut off with my cries. My head pounds so hard it feels like my entire body is vibrating. My heart is racing, and my legs feel like noodles.

“Talia, you have to calm down,” she says as I begin to hyperventilate. She walks us over to the couch and helps me to sit. I try to take in gulps of air, but it’s hard to breathe. My sweet little baby is somewhere out there with two crazy psychos who don’t love her. They don’t even care about her. Anything can happen to her, and every second she’s gone is less of a chance of ever finding her alive.

Stefano appears in front of me with a glass of water. “Here, sweetheart, take these.” He extends his hand with two pills, but I shake my head.

“No, I need to be awake and lucid in case a solid lead comes in.” The last thing I want is to be out cold when my daughter needs me.

“Talia, you can’t keep going like this,” Mom demands. “Please, it will help you to calm down and rest. If a lead comes through, we’ll wake you up. Kostas is handling it.”

I want to argue with them, but they’re right. I haven’t slept in what feels like days. My body is over exhausted and shaking like a leaf in a storm.

With trembling hands, I take the glass and pills from Stefano. After swallowing them, my mom pulls me back into her side and rocks me until my body gives up and my eyes close.

My eyes flutter open, and when I look around, I see I’m in my bed. I listen for Zoe. The villa is quiet. Is she sleeping? What time is it? Does Kostas have her? And then I remember she’s not here. She’s missing. And my heart cracks all over again.

My phone vibrates on the end table and I grab it to see who is calling. Kostas. I check the time. It’s ten o’clock at night. I’ve been sleeping for almost eight hours thanks to the pills Stefano gave me.

I quickly answer the call, hoping he has good news. “Have you found her?”

“No, there’s been no leads that have panned out.”

My heart falls into my stomach. No leads. In a couple hours, it’s going to hit midnight and it will be another day without my baby girl.

“I was calling to check on you,” he adds. His voice sounds worried. My mom must’ve told him I had another anxiety attack.

“Are you in your office?” I ask, sitting up and throwing the blankets off me.

“I am, but you need to get some sleep,” Kostas says softly.

“I’ve been sleeping all afternoon. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

I shower quickly, get dressed, and brush my teeth to get rid of the bad taste in my mouth. Then, I head to Kostas’s office, Basil hot on my trail. I’m thankful for my ever-present shadow. Mom and Stefano must’ve gone back to their villa for the night.

On the way, I see Phoenix walking down the pathway. He gives me a sad smile. “I was checking out another lead,” he says. “Another dead end.”

“Thank you for helping.” I wrap my arms around his waist and give him a hug.

“There’s nowhere else I would be,” Phoenix assures me. “We’re going to find her, Talia.”

I want to believe him, but with each passing day, my hopes are shattered more and more. None of it makes any sense. If Aris wanted money, he would’ve contacted us by now. If he wanted to use her as a bargaining chip to steal the business from Kostas, he would’ve reached out. And since Kostas made sure to announce publicly that Ezio is dead, Aris has to know by now that his father is no longer alive.

But he’s been completely silent. And that’s what worries me. If he took her with the intent to keep her, he could be anywhere by now, and we may never see her again. At least if he took her with the purpose of using her to negotiate, we could give him what he wants and get our daughter back. The problem is Aris believes Zoe is his. A lie I told at the time to save us, but now regret.

As I walk through the doors of the office, I see Kostas and a thought hits me. “Kostas.” He glances my way and walks toward me. “You told the world that Zoe is your daughter.”