[Half an hour ago, at the hotel lobby.]
"Matteo!" Emline frantically called out.
She rushed forward, appearing from nowhere before practically throwing herself in between Andrea and Matteo’s fist. She raised her hands and held him back, causing Matteo to reflexively jerk her away.
A look of hurt flashed across Emline’s eyes, and tears welled before she hastily wiped them away.
"Matteo, calm down!" she said.
At the sa ti, Andrea yelled out, doubling down on his point from before. "She wanted to prove you wrong! You were so insistent that she would fail that she wanted to show you that she could!"
Matteo clenched his jaw, tightening his grip on the collar of Andrea’s clothes.
"You’re a certified instructor," Matteo hissed. "You should’ve stopped her! Even if you couldn’t, you should’ve guided her down!"
"If she wanted to die, I wasn’t going to accompany her," Andrea said with a low chuckle. "It’s written in the coaching contract. As one of the clauses, if the student decides to attempt an advanced slope, the instructor has the right to refuse to join and be exempt from bla. I didn’t force her to attempt it!"
The corners of Andrea’s lips stretched as he continued to goad Matteo.
"If she is so determined to prove herself that she is willing to die for it, then by all ans―"
"Then you should’ve died making sure she didn’t!" Matteo roared. He threw a punch, causing a snap to reverberate across the hotel lobby.
Gasps quickly filled the scene and the people who had gathered to watch the show all had their breaths caught in their throats. So held their hands over their mouths, while others with younger children in their families shielded their kids’ ears and eyes from the act of violence.
Andrea landed on the smooth floor, his palms skidding across the marble with a series of squeaks. He moved his jaw left and right before spitting out a mouthful of blood, a tooth following the pool of spittle, coated in red.
"Matteo, don’t bla him!" Emline cried out, still clutching onto Matteo’s arm no matter how many tis he attempted to shake her off. "He has the right to protect his own safety! It’s not Andrea’s fault that Alia was so impulsive―"
"One more word," Matteo lowly said, finally turning his gaze to Emline. The frost in his eyes could rival the blizzard that was starting to swirl around the hotel building.
Emline shivered and imdiately dropped her grip, taking a step back in fear.
He continued, "If anything happens to Alia, I will make sure she has you two for company on her journey to the afterlife."
At his words, Emline’s heart fell in both trepidation and horror. There was a murderous glint in Matteo’s eyes, and the years she had spent interacting with him was enough for her to know that he would most definitely keep to his words.
She took a few steps back, the sound of her heels clicking echoing loudly in the otherwise silent hotel lobby as he stared at Matteo in disbelief.
It was just a small prank. This was supposed to be an opening for Emline to worm her way back into Matteo’s life once Alia was out of the picture. How could he go so far as to burn the bridge between them just for a woman he just t?
On the other hand, Matteo did not give a rat’s ass about what Emline thought.
First order of business, Matteo drafted one ssage and sent it to two people― Horace Hawthorne and Ronan.
For one thing, the Hawthorne patriarch was the only person on this trip that Matteo was sure didn’t want Alia gone from the picture. He was not present at the hotel lobby, but Matteo had no doubt that he would soon learn of the events that transpired here. Yet, Matteo had no ti to wait for him to show up.
For another, he couldn’t trust that soone else wouldn’t distract Horace from his phone and hence sent a backup to Ronan.
Even in a different country altogether, Ronan was still the only one Matteo could trust.
’Alia is missing. If I don’t return in an hour, send a rescue team to the advanced and interdiate slopes.’ It was a simple ssage, and Matteo didn’t wait for Ronan or Horace’s reply before he sped out of the hotel lobby.
Andrea, who was tossed to one side, barely even got on his feet. He glowered in the direction where Matteo ran off into the snowstorm, scowling as Emline ca to his side.
"Fucker," Andrea hissed under his breath, a lisp appearing in his words due to the knocked-out tooth. "I hope that the snowstorm claims his life!"
Emline rely glared at him. The horror from prior had slowly morphed into fury, and she clenched her fists by her side. Her manicured nails dug into the palms of her hand, and she stared, tight-lipped at where Matteo was last seen.
She hoped Matteo would co back. But at the sa ti, she prayed with all her heart that by the ti Alia was found, she would be nothing but a cold, frozen corpse.
***
A blanket of white covered everything for as far as the naked eye could see. Even so of the road signs had been covered in a thick layer of snow, and there wasn’t a single soul in sight. Even the birds and animals that road the resort’s natural trails were missing, all hidden away in their shelters.
Matteo had no choice but to abandon the buggy that he had nicked from the hotel once the roads had gotten too blocked to drive. Thankfully, the buggy had co with a survival pack, and he hurriedly latched it onto his back.
The snow crunched beneath Matteo’s foot, and the blistering winds were almost too cold to bear. His unclothed fingers were threatening to fall off. Yet, adrenaline kept his blood pumping hot as he hastened, picking up his speed.
Andrea had ntioned that Alia had been attempting the advanced slope, and that was where Matteo had turned to look first. She could be anywhere, between the steps up all the way to the actual course. The ski lifts weren’t operating due to the storm, and it would take forever for Matteo to climb all the way up via the steps.
Panic flared through Matteo’s chest the mont he reached the base. Following the markers for where the slope ended, he began to climb the course.
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