The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 78

Harris’s brow furrowed the moment he heard the news.

From the time Petty got back to the apartment complex until Aaron realized she was missing, only Franco had shown up on the security cameras.

“It has to be Franco. He must have found some other way to get Petty out,” Aaron said, his voice firm. Without waiting for a reply, he gathered his people, ready to storm into the White Group and demand Franco hand her over.

“Hold on. Let me try calling first.” Harris pulled out his phone, scrolled to Franco’s number, and hit call.

No answer, just voicemail.

He held out his hand to Aaron. “Where’s Petty’s phone?”

“Right here. Just in case, I kept it with me. After we hung up, I set the screen to stay on.”

Harris nodded, but instead of looking for Franco in her contacts, he quickly dialed her emergency contacts. He knew Petty had set up two.

Franco was one.

Hans was the other.

***

The White Group’s main conference room was tense enough to snap. Executives sat around the table, nerves stretched thin as they tried to deliver their reports, all of them painfully aware that Franco’s mood today was even colder and more dangerous than usual.

Franco sat at the head of the table, stone-faced, his presence heavy and impossible to ignore.

Suddenly, his phone screen lit up with an incoming call from Harris.

Harris.

Franco’s mind flickered to that moment in the restaurant, the way Petty had reached over and put food on Harris’s plate. His lips pressed together, eyes shifting away, expression unreadable.

He glanced at the marketing director, who looked like he was about to choke on his own breath, and said, “Go on.”

The call ended without being answered, the phone screen going dark again.

Then it lit up once more.

The marketing director hesitated, almost pausing out of habit when Franco looked at his phone, but the memory of Franco’s icy glare was enough to keep him talking, voice trembling as he finished his report.

Just as the director wrapped up, the scrape of Franco’s chair suddenly echoed through the room. Franco stood, phone still buzzing in his hand, and strode out, nodding at Jay as he passed.

Jay gave the executives a look. “Meeting’s paused.”

In the hallway, Franco stared at the name flashing on his screen, his eyes dark and stormy. He slid his thumb across to answer.

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