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Sadie Sorento and Brandon Avenetti were destined to be together. Their families were already planning the wedding of the Italian mafia prince and princess long before the pair had even star...
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8 years ago "Everything is still there." My dad's voice is panicked as he paces back and forth in the kitchen. "The Porters said she picked Adam up about eight o'clock last night, but they never came home. I checked the alarm system. No one was in or out of the house after about 7:30."
I press my ear to the kitchen door, not supposed to be listening to my parents' conversation. It's in the early hours of the morning, and as far as they know, I'm sound asleep upstairs. Usually I would be, but I haven't been able to sleep a single second after Sadie walked out. I keep replaying our conversation, and the hurt and despair in her eyes when she told me she was leaving. I'm not sure I'll ever get that image out of my head. Heavy tears in her eyes and the canyon wide distance between us. I've had years of practice reading Sadie, most of the time knowing what's going through her mind before she even finds the words to voice it, but in the moment I needed to most, I couldn't read a damn thing. We were both desperate to understand each other, but neither one of us could grasp what the other was going through.
I missed the first part of the conversation, so I'm not exactly sure what tipped my dad off and made him go check on Sadie and Adam. Something did though, and when he got over there and discovered two empty beds, he knew something was wrong.
"You think that cop came after them?" My mom's voice is hushed, fearful tears welling in her eyes.
The cop? What the hell is she talking about? What cop?
My father clenches his jaw. "I honestly don't know. The car isn't there, and there are just a few things missing. Some clothes and pictures off the walls. John's gun safe was open but there was only a small pistol missing. It doesn't seem like there was any struggle, like they left of their own will."
"What about the GPS on their phones?" My mom bites her lip.
Dad shakes his head. "It's not reading. Either their phones are dead or someone turned it off. Someone who knew how to work it." My dad rubs his temples.
I wince. Sadie knew very well how to turn the location off on her phone. She'd done it multiple times to try to evade her parents' watchful eye. We all knew that, and the realization sets in for both of my parents as I shake my head. I promised her I wouldn't tell my parents, but at this point, it doesn't even matter.
"Do you want me to get Brandon? Maybe he knows something." My mom offers..
I take a step backward so I can get upstairs before they catch me eavesdropping. Instead, I step on a squeaky board, alerting them both to my presence.
"Sounds like he's already here." My dad hisses, throwing the door open. "Care to join us?"
I stare at the floor, too ashamed to meet his eyes. He'll be livid when he finds out that I'd known for the last several hours and not told him.
