By noon, The Russo familia have searched everywhere, looking for Gemma.
"Did you find her?" Gemma's mother asked her first son, almost jumping up from the chair that she was sitting in as he walked into their living room, a grave expression on his face.
"No," Bernal Gemma's elder brother replied in an icy tone.
His younger brother Mateo who followed behind, looked like he wanted to murder someone.
They were three siblings and Gemma is the youngest of them.
Their mother sighed in resignation and started crying buckets.
Bernal groaned as he walked over to a window, staring at nothing in particular. He hates seeing his mother cry.
"Where could she be?" His mother cried, asking no one in particular, tears steady streaming down her cheeks.
Elena who was sitting beside Gemma's mother tried consoling her. She wore a guilty look on her face as she couldn't stop blaming herself for Gemma's disappearance.
She already told Gemma's family how she and Gemma had snuck off to a club last night.
Gemma's father had already caught a flight last night for an important business meeting before he was informed that Gemma had gone missing, already sent out several of his men to go out in search of her.
"We will find her!" Bernal said to his mother who was snorting into a tissue.
"Please do. Don't allow....." His mother's voice broke as she started crying again.
"Come with me," Bernal instructed Elena as he stalked out of the living room.
Elena quickly got up and followed Bernal as he went to his father's study, leaving their mother in the care of their housekeeper, and his younger brother Mateo.
The feeling of nostalgia washed Elena as she followed Bernal in his father's study.
She and Gemma used to spend a lot of time here sitting behind her father's desk playing office.
Tears pooled in Elena's eyes at the thought that something bad could have happened to her friend.
"Go over what happened last night, again," Bernal instructed as he leaned his butt against one of the desks in the study, a hard expression on his face.
Elena has known Bernal since she was a child, and she has seen him angry several times but never has she seen him like this, he seemed very furious. He burned with anger, and his hands were balled into a fist.
"Don't leave out any information," Bernal said to her.
Elena swallowed hard before answering. "I'm truly sorry," Elena choked out as she tried to hold back her tears from falling.
Bernal hissed out a breath. "I really don't need to hear how sorry you are right now, Elena! My sister is missing, your best friend, she could be in danger for all we know!" Bernal paused, his eyes closed as he sucked in a breath.
When he opened his eyes Elena could see he seemed sorry for lashing out at her, but he didn't say it. She couldn't blame him for getting angry at her, if only she and Gemma hadn't disobeyed and snuck out of the house, they won't be in this position.
"Repeat what you said happened last night."
"After you all went out, Gemma and I snuck off to a club, the plan was to get back before you guys came back." Tears steadily flowed down Elena's cheeks as she explained.
"What happened at the club,?" Bernal asked impatiently.
Elena repeated everything she had earlier told him.
After using the restroom, on her way back to the bar, a guy approached her striking up a conversation with her.
At first, she thought it was cool and didn't think anything of it, especially when she noticed Gemma had company at the bar as well. But when the guy who introduced himself as John, requested that they went to the dancefloor, Elena declined as she wanted to go home before Gemma's father found out that they were gone.
"Please, don't turn me down," John had pleaded with her. "Just one dance is all I ask."
"I'm sorry, maybe some other time, I really have to go, my friend is waiting for me."
John followed Elena's line of sight, "is that your friend?" he pointed his chin in Gemma's direction, she was engrossed in a conversation with her companion.
"She is having fun, why don't you do the same? Come on, live a little."
Elena smiled, "it's funny how everyone keeps saying that to me tonight."
"Someone else also told you that?"
"Yeah," Elena turned to look in Gemma's direction and their eyes met, Gemma waved at her.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one who has said that to you. So one dance then?"
Seeing how Gemma seemed to be enjoying the company of the guy she was with, Elena decided to dance with John. One dance wouldn't hurt her after all. But it did.
As they headed to the bar, John stopped by the bar and grabbed two bottles of beer, and he handed Elena one.
Gemma was laughing so hard at what her companion said that she didn't even notice when they passed by them.
"So, after dancing with this John guy you couldn't remember what happened next?" Bernal asked Elena.
"No, I woke up this morning to find myself in one of the guest rooms at the club, but I don't remember getting there." Elena said looking down at her feet.
Bernal growled, his knuckles nearly turning white as he continued to ball his hands into a fist.
"When you woke up, did you notice anything, like you were...."
"No!" Elena quickly said, not allowing him to finish his statement.
Bernal released a breath of relief. He was glad the bastard didn't do anything to Elena. But he couldn't say the same for his sister. Where is she? The thought of anyone laying a finger on her made him want to set the whole city on fire.
"You said you don't remember sending that text to Gemma about going to have dinner with the John guy?"
"No, I didn't send her that text."
Musing over what she said, Bernal took out his liquor flask from the inside pocket of his jacket and took a sip of the gin in it as he tried to figure out who had taken his sister.
"I'm sorry Bernal, I...."
Bernal waved her off, signalling for her to leave.
"I'm truly sorry," Elena said before she scurried out of the study.
Bernal took another sip of his drink as he started pacing the study.
He had already been to the club where Elena and Gemma went to last night, they checked the club's CCTV footage for last night, it showed Gemma and Elena entering the club but they weren't seen leaving.
It was as if they entered the club but never got out. And for some silly reason, the CCTV at the bar stopped working last night so they couldn't see who Gemma had drinks with.
Bernal paused in his steps when the door of the study opened and Mateo his younger brother walked in.
"How is mother?" Bernal asked.
"Sleeping. The doctor arrived a while ago, he had to sedate her." Mateo replied with a sigh.
"I suspect a foul play, I think the club owner knows something he isn't telling us," Bernal said to Mateo.
"I think so too. How can the CCTV at the bar conveniently go bad?"
"Sounds too convenient," Bernal threw his car keys at Mateo who swiftly caught it.
"You are driving. We are going back to that club."