"Nella?"
Her voice sounds wrong. Thick. Like she's been crying.
"Gianna." I sit up straighter on my bed. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm fine."
"You're not fine. I can hear it."
Silence on the other end.
"Gianna. Talk to me."
She takes a shaky breath. "It's Papa."
My stomach drops. "What about him?"
"He's not answering his phone."
I wait for more. When she doesn't continue, I prompt her. "Maybe he's busy. He's in New York for work, right?"
"He's been there for almost a week, Nella. And he hasn't called once. Not me, not Claudio. We've both tried reaching him dozens of times."
I close my eyes.
"At first I thought maybe he was just busy," Gianna continues. "You know how he gets when he's working. He forgets to eat, forgets to sleep, forgets everything except whatever deal he's trying to close."
"Right."
"But it's been days. And he's not just missing calls. He's ignoring them. I can see that he's reading my texts. The little checkmarks show up. But he never responds."
My grip tightens on the phone.
"Claudio tried calling from a different number yesterday," Gianna says. "Papa picked up on the second ring. But as soon as he heard Claudio's voice, he made some excuse and hung up."
"What excuse?"
"Something about being in a meeting. I hate this." Her voice cracks. "I hate that I'm even thinking it. But I think he's avoiding us because... because he's doing it again."
I don't say anything.
"Tell me I'm wrong," Gianna pleads. "Tell me I'm being paranoid. Tell me Papa wouldn't do that to us. Not after everything. Not after you?—"
She stops herself.
Not after I married a stranger to save our family from his debts.
That's what she was going to say.
"Gianna."
"I know." She sniffles. "I know I'm probably overreacting. It's just... I have this feeling. This horrible feeling in my gut that something is really wrong."
I want to tell her she's wrong. I want to reassure her that Papa has changed, that he would never betray us again, that everything is going to be fine.
But I can't.
Because I have the same feeling.