Gray POV

My mind flooded with a thousand conflicting thoughts, each one sharper than the last. Giovanni’s mother—why would she lie? Where could she have gone? And why hide it from me? I couldn’t make sense of it, and the uncertainty twisted my stomach into knots.

Mrs. President approached, her expression calm, but her eyes sharp with concern.

“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice steady. “Giovanni’s mother just said she didn’t come to visit her?”

I ran a hand through ...