Mafia's Princess(Under Editing)

Chapter 25

Third Person's POV

The sky was gradually darkening, signaling the arrival of evening. The sun was finally descending after shining brightly since morning, painting the sky in warm shades of orange and gold before slowly fading away. The air had begun to cool after the warmth that had lingered throughout the day.

Inside the mansion, the family and their guests were gathered in the spacious living room. They sat around elegant tables, chatting softly while sipping tea. However, none of them were truly immersed in the conversation. Their minds were elsewhere.

They were all thinking the same thing.

The outing group still hadn't returned.

They should have been back by now, Elena wondered quietly as she sat near the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the fading daylight.

"Shouldn't they have been back by now?" Alessia mirrored her thought, voicing out the same concern, her gaze moving from one person to another.

The mothers nodded slowly, worry clearly written on their faces. None of them liked the thought of their daughters staying out too long—especially when danger seemed to be lurking around every corner lately.

"Yeah, I know, right?" Evelyn sighed. "They should have been back by now. We told them not to spend too much time outside and to come back soon."

Vincenzo sat quietly in a corner of the room. His ears were tuned to the conversation, but his mind was somewhere else entirely.

The guards haven't informed me either... he thought. They been checking in every thirty minutes earlier.

Ethan voiced the exact thought that had just crossed Vincenzo's mind. "The guards haven't called either... it's been more than an hour now..."

Now everyone was restless.

The grandparents tried to calm the growing anxiety.
"Don't worry, kids," Teresa said gently. "They must be okay... probably on their way back."

Even though she tried to sound calm, her heart was beating faster with worry.

Suddenly a sharp ringtone echoed through the room, and everyone immediately turned toward the source.

It was Ethan's phone.

He pulled it out of his jeans pocket, feeling every pair of eyes in the room fixed on him.

Isabella.

"It's Isa," he informed everyone before swiping the screen to accept the call. The ringing stopped after he picked up the call.

Everyone straightened in their seats as Ethan placed the call on speaker.

"Bella?" he called.

But the only sound that came from the other side was heavy breathing. Ethan looked around briefly before focusing back on the phone.

"Bella, can you hear me?! Where the hell are you? You should've been home by now."

A frightened voice finally responded.

"Ethan..." Isa whispered weakly. She sounded completely drained. She had gone through something like this once before, and the memory had clearly resurfaced, sending her into panic again.

"Isa, what's wrong, baby? Are you okay?" Ethan asked urgently.

He knew that tone too well.

Years ago she had been kidnapped for an entire day, and it had taken months for her to recover emotionally.