47. Daniela

On the bench at the foot of the bed is a tray with snacks, and some wine. Victor’s off for a few days, and this tray is certainly not his work anyway. It looks like it was thrown together by a teenage boy, or a man who isn’t used to preparing snacks.

I pick up the decanter of Port and bring it to my nose. It’s the one that will be released under the new label. Was that just a week ago that we stood side by side celebrating?

Lost contact with the plane.I don’t have the strength to think about what that means.

After I get dressed, I go downstairs to make a pot of coffee. Duarte and Mia are on the first landing, flanking the bottom of the upper staircase. Normally, it’s just one of them at this time of the evening, stationed at the bottom of the stairs.

They nod when they see me.

“It’s going to be a long night. I’m going to make some coffee. Please help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”

“Thank you.”

I brew two pots of coffee and make sandwiches. Antonio and Cristiano are going to need sustenance. Or maybe I just need something to do.

I put one pot and a few sandwiches on a small cart Victor keeps in the kitchen, and add some cookies and water.

As I wheel the food to Antonio’s office, I pass two guards in the back foyer, who are normally stationed outside the house. Antonio doesn’t believe whatever happened with the plane was an accident. That’s what the added security is about.

When I reach the office, I knock. There’s light under the door, but no one answers.

I turn the knob quietly and crack the door. “Antonio?” Nothing. “Cristiano?” Still nothing.

I push open the door, to find an empty room. Did he leave? That doesn’t make sense. Why go to his office in the city at this hour? What could he possibly do there that he can’t do here?

I leave the cart and search the house for him, even though I know there’s nowhere else he’d be. But there’s a gnawing inside me. I need to find him.

“Have you seen Antonio?” I ask Duarte and Mia.

“Not since he passed us on the stairs,” Mia replies.

“Did he say anything about where he was going?”

They shake their heads. “He was on the phone.”

I don’t call Antonio, because I know he won’t answer. I call Cristiano instead, but my call goes directly to voicemail.

“It’s Daniela. I’m worried about Antonio. Call me.”

I go to the guards at the front door. “Have you seen Antonio?”

“Senhor Antonio left with Cristiano.”

Nervous energy is bouncing inside me now.

“Do you know where they went?”

“No.”

Not that you’d tell me even if you knew.

I call the guard house next. “Did Antonio leave the premises?”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss Senhor Antonio’s whereabouts.”

Of course not.

“What about Cristiano? Surely you can tell me if he’s still on the premises?”

“He’s not here.”

They’re together. That makes me feel a little better.

I try Cristiano again.

“Not a good time, Daniela. We’re about to board a plane.”

At least he answered.

A plane?What if what happened to Lydia’s plane wasn’t an accident? What if Antonio’s plane is compromised, too?

“Are you going to London?”

“We’re not going to London. We’re meeting rescue workers at the site of last contact.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“It’s the plan.” It’s impossible to tell if Cristiano thinks it’s a good plan, or if he’s just following a tortured Antonio into hell.

“Where exactly are you going?”

“Atlantic Ocean—somewhere between Porto and London.”

“Do you think the plane might have veered off course?”

“Anything’s possible.”

But not realistic. He doesn’t have to say it. I hear it in his tone.

I lower myself to the bottom riser of the stairs. The loss of a parent you love, who loves you, makes a bigger hole in your heart than you’re prepared to handle. The grief sneaks in at unexpected times, in unexpected ways. Antonio doesn’t operate well under those circumstances.

“Cristiano, is he okay?”

“He’s in full control mode. You can talk to Victor, but don’t tell anyone else that the plane is missing, or where Antonio is. Lucas is your go-to person. We will be able to communicate some from our location, but it will be sporadic and impossible at times.”

“Cristiano, don’t let him do anything foolish. I need him to come back to me. And don’t leave his side.”

“I don’t intend to.”