23. Colette
23
Colette
L eo’s footsteps thunder across the hardwood floor, each step reverberating through the oppressive silence of the mansion. He clenches his jaw, tightening and loosening his fists at his sides as if he’s ready to punch something, or someone.
Me, most likely. Although, I know he would never hit a woman.
His eyes are dark, almost black with fury. Every few seconds, they flick toward me, making me shrink back into the plush cushions of the couch.
This is all my fault, I think.
I sit there, my hands twisting together in my lap, fingers knotted they hurt. My heart races, pounding against my ribs like a trapped bird. The tension in the room is so thick, I can cut through it with a knife. I can't look away from Leo. Every pass he makes feels like it's dragging out the inevitable confrontation.
Gabriela’s presence beside me is a slight comfort in the storm of Leo’s rage. She’s a sweet, kind woman, whose eyes are soft with concern.
“Would you like some juice, Colette?” she asks, holding out a glass. Her voice is soft and angelic, but it registers over the roaring in my ears.
I manage a distracted, “Um, thank you.” My voice trembles. I take the glass from her, but my eyes never leave Leo. He continues his furious pacing, each glance a dagger.
Yell at me, just get it over with, I want to say.
Gabriela follows my gaze, then sighs, a sound full of empathy and frustration. She knows there’s little she can do to ease this tension, but her presence is grounding.
The minutes after I called Leo were a blur. My hands shook as I dialed his number, panic tightening my throat. The moment I told him Antonio was missing, everything became a whirlwind. Leo and Gabriela arrived almost immediately, descending on the mansion by helicopter. It was a blur of movement and sharp, urgent voices, all coalescing into this tense standoff in the living room.
Through the window, I see Henry pacing just as frantically as Leo, his phone glued to his ear. His expression is a mirror of desperation and determination, eyes scanning the grounds as he talks to every contact he can think of. Each call ends with a shake of his head as his frustration grows with every passing minute.
“You haven’t seen him at all? Thank you, Sheriff. Please call me if you find anything,” he says.
Henry’s voice is sharp, almost pleading as he speaks into the phone. He ends the call and looks up into the evening sky, his free hand running through his hair in agitation. The desperation is palpable, leaving a terrible taste in my mouth.
“I haven't been able to get any word on Antonio,” he says, his voice strained. He runs a hand through his hair, the action betraying his mounting desperation.
Leo stops pacing for a moment, his eyes narrowing. “I’ve got my best men working on it,” he snaps, the confidence in his voice doing little to mask the underlying panic.
“If they haven’t called yet, Henry, what makes you think anyone else will have any better news?” He resumes his pacing, each step heavier than the last. His frustration is clear.
He just wants to help!
I say nothing, though. I just sit on the couch, feeling smaller with each passing second. Leo’s anger is a living thing, choking the life out of me.
“What were you thinking, Colette? Why would you let him have a phone?”
the inevitable comes.
I flinch at the venom in his voice. “I didn’t know he was going to use it to do a Google search! I just left him on a call with Henry,” I say, my voice trembling. “And if you ask me, hiding the truth didn’t seem like the best option. I believe we should have told him in a controlled environment and helped him through it.”
Leo’s eyes narrow further. “Controlled environment? You let him have a phone! You know what kind of state he’s in, and you gave him a phone? How is that controlled?”
Shit!
I struggle to hold his gaze, guilt and defensiveness warring within me. “I didn’t know it would be this bad,” I say, my voice above a whisper. “I didn’t know all the rules.”
Henry steps forward, placing himself between me and Leo. “She didn’t know, Leo. You can’t blame her for this. I didn’t explain everything to her.”
Leo’s anger shifts to Henry, his eyes flashing. “You knew the rules, Henry! We talked about this before I even let you have Antonio’s new number. Why didn’t you tell her? Why didn’t you keep her away from him?”
Keep him away from me? What am I? Leprosy?
Henry’s face hardens, his own temper rising. “I thought it would be fine. I didn’t think she needed to be kept away from him. They’re adults, Leo. You can’t control everything.”
Leo’s frustration reaches a boiling point. “This isn’t about control! It’s about protecting Antonio. If anything happens to him because of your negligence, I’ll never forgive either of you.”
I can feel my heart pounding faster, my chest tightening. The room is closing in and Leo’s words echo in my head, each accusation like a knife. I left Antonio with the phone. I made that mistake.
Fuck!
Leo’s eyes continue to glow with rage, but he takes a deep breath, trying to rein in his anger, and everyone goes quiet.
Henry turns to me, his expression softening. “We’ll find him, Colette. We just need to stay calm and work together.”
I nod, but the guilt is still there. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, more to myself than anyone else. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
I try to think, but my mind is a whirlwind of what-ifs and regrets. Every scenario runs through my head, each one worse than the last. I can’t shake the image of Antonio alone and in pain because of my mistake.
Leo’s phone rings, a sharp sound that cuts through the tension like a knife. He answers it, his voice terse. “Yes? Any news?”
We all hold our breath, watching him. His expression shifts, a flicker of hope, then frustration. “Keep looking,” he says, hanging up. “They’ve got nothing.”
I nod, but the fear in my chest remains. We have to find him. We have to.
Leo’s eyes flash with anger, and he takes a step closer before speaking up again. “Why did you give him a phone?”
Leo isn’t done, and I don’t blame him.
I feel the guilt clawing at me, but I stand my ground. “The phone wasn’t the problem. It’s because you hid it from him,” I insist, my voice shaking. “He was bound to find out.”
Leo’s face contorts with fury. “Are you trying to tell me how to handle my brother? You think you know better?”
I flinch at his words, but I can’t back down now. “Yes, because we could have avoided this if we had just been upfront with him. We could have helped him through it.”
“Helped him?” Leo scoffs. “You’re not in any position to help anyone, Colette. You have your own issues to deal with.”
Now he’s just being a jerk.
His words hit me. “That’s not fair,” I whisper, feeling the tears well up. “I’m trying to help.”
Henry steps in, his face flushed with anger. “Don’t talk to her like that, Leo. She’s doing her best.”
Leo’s fury shifts towards Henry. “Her best isn’t good enough! If anything happens to Antonio, I’ll blame you both.”
Leo’s words are sharp, cutting deep into my sense of self-worth.
Gabriela steps forward, her voice calm. “Leo, please. Yelling isn’t helping. We need to stay focused.”
Leo takes a deep breath. “We need to find him, and fast. I can’t lose him, not again.”
Leo’s anger doesn’t abate. “This is a mess of your making,” he says, his voice cold. “You should have stayed away from him. Do you even understand the gravity of this situation, Colette? You’re messing with things you don’t understand.”
How could he say that?
I feel my heart rate spike; the panic setting in. “I understand more than you think,” I say, my voice trembling. “I know what it’s like to be in pain.”
Leo’s face contorts with anger. “Don’t you dare compare your situation to his? You do not know what he’s been through.”
Henry steps in again, his voice rising. “That’s enough, Leo. She’s trying to help. We all are.”
Leo’s accusations ring in my ears. “You and your sister are fucking up my brother’s life again!”
The room feels like it’s about to explode. Henry and Leo are almost nose-to-nose, their tempers flaring. “Never talk to my sister like that and don’t you dare threaten us, Leo,” Henry warns, his voice low and dangerous.
Gabriela steps between them, her hands raised in a plea for calm. “Stop it, both of you! This isn’t helping.”
The surrounding chaos is too overwhelming for me. My heart races, my vision blurs, and I feel like I’m about to collapse. The shouting continues, but it feels distant, like it’s happening in another room.
Henry’s anger is tangible. “We’re not the enemy here, Leo. We all want Antonio safe.”
Despite Gabriela’s efforts, the chaos ensues. Henry and Leo are still on the verge of blows. Their anger contained. “I can’t lose him again,” Leo says, his voice breaking with emotion.
Henry’s face softens. “We won’t let that happen. We’ll find him, Leo.”
I try to steady my breathing, but the panic is overwhelming. My vision tunnels, and I feel myself swaying.
What’s happening to me?
Just as I felt like I was going down, the head of Leo's security team bursts into the room, his face flushed with urgency. "We’ve found him!" he announces.
The atmosphere in the room shifts. A collective sigh of relief escapes from everyone, the high emotions that caused everyone to be on edge are dissipating. For a moment, the weight of anxiety lifts from my shoulders, and I feel a flood of gratitude and hope.
I can feel my legs again.
Relief washes over me in waves. My body feels lighter, as if a heavy burden has been removed. The tightness in my chest loosens, and I can breathe again. My hands also stop trembling. For the first time since Antonio disappeared, I feel a glimmer of peace.
"We need to go, now!" Leo commands, his voice urgent, but no longer filled with anger. Everyone scrambles to their feet, the room erupting into a flurry of movement. Gabriela grabs her purse, Henry grabs his jacket, and I stand up, ready to follow them out the door. But as I take my first step, the world around me tilts. My vision blurs once again. The colors of the room and people’s faces are smearing together into an indistinct haze.
A wave of dizziness crashes over me, and I grasp at the nearest piece of furniture for support.
"Colette, are you okay?" Henry's voice is distant, muffled, as if he’s speaking to me from underwater. I try to nod, to reassure him, but my body refuses to cooperate.
The room spins faster, and my legs feel like they’ve turned to jelly. Before I can process what’s happening, my knees buckle. The last thing I see is Henry's face, wide-eyed with alarm, rushing toward me as the darkness closes in.
I collapse to the floor, the world around me fading to black. I hear gasps, feel hands on me, but it all seems far away. My consciousness slips away, leaving me in a void of nothingness as the world around me fades.
Leo’s voice, so commanding, now sounds panicked. "Colette! Colette, stay with us!" He shouts, but I can't hear his words as I drift further away.
Gabriela’s soothing tones blend with the chaos. "She’ll be okay, but we need to get her some help," she says, her words a faint sound as my senses shut down.