CHAPTER. XLI. MISSING

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Dante woke up startled, his body sitting up abruptly from the sudden chill

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Dante woke up startled, his body sitting up abruptly from the sudden chill. He looked around, trying to orient himself, when a sinking feeling flooded his mind.

He stood up from the bed and headed towards Scarlet's room. Gently opening the door, he exhaled in relief when he saw her sleeping figure, snoring softly in her bed. Closing the door quietly, he did the same with Violet's room before heading towards the last door.

Once again, he felt relief wash over him when he saw the figure on the bed. But as he approached Juliet's bed with careful steps, something caught his attention. Upon closer inspection, he realized that what he had thought was a body was actually just pillows. His heart sank, and he looked around the room, searching for Juliet, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Juliet!" Dante called out, his voice full of worry. When there was no answer, he called again, this time walking into the hallway. He screamed frantically, searching for his younger sister.

"What's going on?" Elijah asked, emerging from his room. His eyes were still sleepy from being awakened by his older brother's yelling.

"She's missing!" Dante exclaimed, his words rushing out.

"Who's missing?" Antonio asked as he walked out of his own room.

"Juliet, she's not in her bed and I can't find her!" Dante yelled in a panic.

"I'm sure she's somewhere in the house," Mateo reassured, but Dante didn't listen. He rushed around the house, calling for her name. The rest of the brothers joined in on the search, and soon the rest of the family was woken up.

"What's with all the yelling?" Violet complained, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Is everything all right?" Scarlet followed, concerned. Rafael and the rest of the family had just woken up, confused by the chaos. Thinking it was an attack, Rafael had brought his concealed gun with him.

"I can't find Juliet, I've searched everywhere!" Dante said, panic evident in his voice.

"What do you mean, Dante?" Rafael asked, his heart dropping to his stomach.

"She's gone!"

"Impossible!" Violet exclaimed in shock. Scarlet glanced around the room, trying to find signs of her sister. Panic started to rise in her chest as she realized Juliet was nowhere to be found.

As panic spread through the room, Rafael's mind raced with worry. "We need to find her. Now!" he declared, his voice urgent. The family members scattered, searching every corner of the house, calling out Juliet's name in desperation. Minutes felt like hours as they combed through each room

"Found anything?" Antonio asked, his voice tinged with concern. The rest of the family shook their heads in dismay.

"We've checked everywhere!" Nicolas exclaimed in frustration.

"Well, there's one place we haven't checked yet," Mateo said, breaking the tense silence. Everyone waited expectantly. "We haven't searched the woods."

"She why would go there," Dante argued.

"It doesn't hurt to try," Marco remarked, his tone urging them to action.

With a shared sense of urgency, the family members gathered what supplies they could and set off into the woods, calling out Juliet's name as they went. The dense trees seemed to close in around them, casting eerie shadows as they pressed forward. Each step felt heavier than the last. As they continued calling out Juliet's name, their voices echoed through the thick foliage of the forest.

"Juliet!"

"JULIET!"

"I found something," Camilo called out, his voice tinged with urgency. Rafael hurried over to where Camilo stood, eyeing a branch with a piece of cloth attached to it.

"That's from Juliet's pajamas," Rafael confirmed, his heart sinking as they all turned to face the direction the path led, the darkness seeming to swallow them whole. The thought of dangerous animals lurking in the shadows sent shivers down their spines.

As hours passed and the search continued, a voice suddenly pierced through the dense forest: "Found her!"

As Rafael rushed towards the sound, his heart pounded with a mix of dread and hope. He followed the voice until he reached a dark part of the forest, where a small hill rose before him. His eyes fell upon a tree with blood staining its trunk, sending a chill down his spine. With trepidation, he hurried down the hill, where Antonio knelt beside a figure.

Rafael's heart thundered against his chest as he approached, his breath catching in his throat. "Antonio, is she-" Rafael began, but Antonio shook his head.

"She's alive, but her heartbeat is very weak. We need to get her to the hospital now," he said urgently.

Rafael nodded and gently lifted Juliet's limp body, cradling her against his chest with tender care, mindful not to cause her any further harm. "You're going to be okay, Tesoro," Rafael whispered softly, his voice filled with reassurance and love. "Just don't leave us."

AUTHORS NOTE

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AUTHORS NOTE

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