Chapter 333

Once inside the study, she searched every nook and cranny for the document she’d seen on the plane, and finally found it in a drawer. Her room and Richard’s were on the third floor. She peeked out the window and saw guards everywhere—not just guards, but dogs too. ‘Great,’ Stephanie thought, rolling her eyes.

She hesitated for a moment, then called Sebastian. After two rings, his cool voice answered, “Hello.”

“Sebastian, it’s me,” Stephanie whispered, keeping her voice low. Richard’s men were all highly trained and on high alert. The slightest sound could draw their attention.

There was a brief pause. Then Sebastian’s voice came through, tinged with worry. “Stefi? Where are you?”

Suddenly, Stephanie’s eyes lit up with an idea. “Paginara. I’m sending you my location right now, but don’t come to the villa. I’m on my way out.”

“Can you get out? Is anyone there watching you?” Sebastian’s voice was tense.

“There are people, but I’ll be fine,” she said, her voice steady. She was grateful for the survival skills Sofia had taught her when they’d left.

“Don’t take any risks. Send me the address, and I’ll come get you,” Sebastian said firmly.

“You’re in Paginara?” Stephanie was impressed. Even though Richard had cut off all communications, Sebastian had still tracked them down.

Sebastian just hummed in response. He was already at Valdusso airport. Despite Richard’s efforts to shut down all tracking, Sebastian had figured out the general area Richard might be in.

Stephanie ended the call, quickly using the maid’s phone to add Sebastian on WhatsApp and send him her location. After she put her phone away, she started to move. She glanced out the window at the people outside—there were a lot of them.

She wondered if Sebastian had brought enough men with him and if this was Richard’s old base. She’d thought the Casalini family had been wiped out by Sebastian and that Richard was gone for good.

Over at Richard’s place, Theodore was still going on about how hard Sebastian was to deal with, repeating that he was sick of living on the run. Long story short, he told Richard to stay away from Sebastian.

Just as he was really getting into it, there was sudden loud barking from the backyard. Richard and Theodore exchanged a glance.

“Why are these dogs barking for no reason in the middle of the night?” Theodore muttered. His eyes suddenly darkened. He stood up and left the room, with Theodore right behind him. The room on the other side of the backyard faced the study. Richard and Theodore went into the study and approached the window. Below, a few big guard dogs were barking non-stop, even drawing some bodyguards to check things out.

“Why are those dogs going nuts?” Theodore frowned. “Didn’t they get fed tonight?”

Richard glanced toward the noise. “You think they’re barking because they didn’t get enough to eat?”

“Yeah, they’re usually pretty mellow. If they’re barking like this, maybe they’re just hungry,” Theodore said with a shrug.

Richard’s eyes widened as he suddenly realized something, and he took off down the hall without a word.

“Where are you going?” Theodore called after him.

Ignoring him, Richard burst into Stephanie’s room and kicked the door open. It slammed against the wall with a loud bang. Theodore followed, confused. “What’s the big deal with the door?”

Richard flipped on the light and scanned the room. His gaze landed on the bed. The sheets were a mess, and Stephanie was nowhere to be seen. The maid lay unconscious on the floor.

“Stephanie,” Richard growled, his eyes cold and furious. He didn’t expect her to have the guts to run away.

Theodore was stunned. “I mean, seriously, you can’t expect someone who hangs with wolves to act like a lamb. Mr. Giovanni isn’t someone to mess with, and neither is Stephanie.”

‘She’s slipped away right under Richard’s nose? Seriously, how did she manage it with all those bodyguards around?” Theodore wondered, confused.

Richard looked like he was about to freeze the room over. After leaving Stephanie’s room, they saw the head of the bodyguards step forward. “Mr. Casalini, Stephanie’s escaped,” he reported.

“Chase her,” Richard said, his voice flat and icy. “In Paginara, does she really think she can get out of my reach?” he sneered inwardly.

But Richard had underestimated Stephanie’s cleverness. He’d planned to drive after her, but when he checked the GPS, he saw she’d taken narrow paths that cars couldn’t navigate. In the dark, Richard and his group could only see a flashlight bobbing ahead of them. No matter how hard they pushed, they couldn’t close the gap.

After an hour, Richard and his team were gasping for breath, but Stephanie kept running. Richard was used to chasing, but he was injured now.

Theodore was panting. “What did Sebastian feed Stephanie when she was growing up? Isn’t she human? She’s still a girl.” Theodore’s legs felt like they were about to collapse, but the flashlight ahead kept moving at the same relentless pace. ‘Is she never tired? Doesn’t she need to breathe?’ he thought to himself.