Ana sat back in her seat.
Her aunt’s pinched expression from this morning flashed across her eyes. Her unusual panic.
She’d been so insistent on Ana accompanying Grandfather to his appointment, even though it had never been part of her duty before. She’d even made Ana reschedule her meeting with Bianca to fit in the appointment.
On top of that, all the sources who had named Celia as the gossiper had come from Auntie.
She had claimed that she didn’t know any of them. That those women, Sophia, Cora, and Claudia, were all unrelated and had helped them out of their goodwill. But they were not unrelated. All of them, including her aunt, were investors in Vitello’s business.
Ana covered her mouth.
Tremors started creeping up her arms.
I tried my best, in my way, to care for you–but the Mancini name carries a heavy weight.
Grabbing her purse, she pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Gio’s number.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
“You have reached the voicemail of–”
God, please.
She hung up and redialed.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
“You have reached the voicemail of–”
She hung up and switched over to text.
Ana: Gio, are you on a call?
Ana: Please call me. ASAP.
Ignoring Grandfather’s questions, she jumped out of her seat and rushed toward Reggie, who instantly stood up, alarmed by her expression.
“Have you heard from the Don?” she asked him breathlessly.
“No.” His eyes widened. Picking up his phone, he tried calling Gio as well.
Please, please, please…
After several consecutive attempts, Reggie glanced back at her somberly.
Ana’s head pounded, blood rushing to her brain. With clammy hands, she pushed back her long, braided hair, which was starting to come apart at the seams.
He must just be busy. That’s all. Gio was inundated with calls every single day, so he must be tied up with those, especially to plan out the attack on Vitello.
Reggie searched through his phone and began calling again. At the sound of the voicemail greeting, he frowned, his brows strained. “Weird.”