The hunt is on.
Officers. Volunteers. Search parties. Media coverage. Helicopters hovering in the skies. Once again our family has been thrown into the deep end. Oscar and Slonne used to be my lifeline and now they’ve been stripped from me. SPD made it clear that what happened in the early hours of yesterday morning could be one of two things. One, a random carjacking and the perpetrators didn’t notice the children. Or two, another vendetta trap in line with Addilyn’s disappearance. Deep down I know it’s the latter. There has to be a connection.
The tragedy binds us all together.
Kayla and Lance came to see us the moment they heard the news. It surprised me when Marcus and Bryce also joined us on day one of the search yesterday. Well, mostly surprised about Marcus. They encouraged us and when my brother-in-law saw me, he pulled me into a hug and apologized for acting the way he did. He even went as far as to clear the air with Helena. Tension will always remain there, but at least now it’s simmered.
Somebody else that I didn’t expect to hear from was Zoe. She had heard on the news while driving Samuel to school and somehow found my number to extend her best wishes, alongside an apology. After Giulio laid out our situation straight, Samuel and Slonne remain friends, but she isn’t disturbed with unwelcome kisses anymore. Zoe admitted that she crossed the line and after more moms at the school began avoiding her, she apparently went through some inner soul searching. And who was I to complain? I’ve learned some people do deserve second chances; I mean, I never expected to be friends with a sarcastic Englishman, but life works in strange concepts. So when Zoe mentioned that once this is over she wants to have coffee and start from zero as a peace offering, I decided to give our relationship a second chance.
Naturally, none of us attended work on Monday or today. Giulio made it clear that until Oscar and Slonne are returned to us, Notti Designs will have to run without us. As much as emotion paralyzes me, the entire two days I haven’t shed a tear. Not because this doesn’t affect me but because I’d been too worked up with dismay and exhaustion over constantly being faced with such trauma.
Experiencing this for the second time has destroyed me, but it won’t kill me; that’s what they would want. Whoever is behind this wants us to suffer. I’m not going to allow that to happen.
Once again, the search today is called off just after 7 P.M. These thirty-seven hours without Oscar and Slonne have been hell, but Helena and I return home to hope with a vegetable casserole made by our mother. Given everything going on, Helena thought it would be safer for Weston and Daisy to stay with their grandma in Belltown for the rest of the week while my father’s still in Austria. I couldn’t agree more.
Helena and I talk of every single possible outcome over dinner together. Not if but when the twins will be found safe. I take my anti-depressants after the meal because in the commotion of these past two mornings, I’ve forgotten.
When Helena retreats to bed, I stay in the living room. My mind doesn’t stop ticking. When I’m not thinking of the twins, I’m thinking of Addilyn, and then Giulio. I try to understand why he shot those final shots. Every time the feeling becomes overwhelming, I take a sip of my ginger tea.
When midnight strikes I know I should get a couple of hours of sleep because if I’m not energized in the morning it’ll be impossible to continue the search.
My phone vibrates to a message from an unknown number.
Unknown: Oscar and Slonne Giannotti.
My fingers slap against the screen.
Valencia: Who is this?
Unknown: Come outside and the twins are yours.
What?
If I wasn’t on edge before, I certainly am now. I rush to switch off all the lights and peer through the living room window. My breath staggers at a man leaning against a silver car, a cigarette in one hand, and a phone in the other. My mind jogs back to six weeks ago when I first saw this man across the street. It seems like the same car and it’s no irony that it would be the same guy too.
Oh my…
My first instinct is to call 911 but then another text appears.
Unknown: You’re afraid. You should be.
Attached is a picture of Slonne and Oscar with tape across their mouths. The terror on their faces says it all. My babies…he has my babies…
I almost drop my phone to the floor…almost.
Valencia: Who are you?
Unknown: Come to the car, do what I ask and the twins are yours.
Valencia: You haven’t answered my question.
Unknown: And your husband killed one of ours. Hurry up, Valencia.
He knows.
I back away from the window and don’t think twice. I’m out the door with a clenched jaw and have no idea if this could escalate, but this is for my children and I will do anything for them. I’m still in my Levi’s and dark top from the search this morning. Thoughts of a shower and a change of clothes evaporate as I approach the man.
He looks me up and down as I slide my phone into my back pocket.
The man’s smug smirk grows when he takes one long drag and crushes the death stick underneath his shoe. “Ah, well if it isn’t the Mrs. Giannotti.”
“Where are they?”
“Ease down. We’ve got all night.”
“No, we don’t. I want to know where my children are and I want you to return them to me, now.”
I analyze the unfamiliar man’s every detail. I’ll need it if I ever have to describe him to the police. Dark blond buzz cut. Light, fair features. Lethal blue eyes. Dark garments. The car is a gray Mercedes and I memorize the license number
