Renato De Maria’s Vanished Into the Night is an Italian thriller that revolves around a couple Elena and Pietro, whose marriage has broken apart and they are on the verge of a divorce. However, in the midst of such troubles, a tragedy takes place. Their children, Giovanni and Bianca, are kidnapped in the middle of the night when they were having a sleepover at their father’s country house. So, the question here is: who could have done this? There are many possible suspects. One is Nico, a drug dealer Pietro used to work for before he got married and became a father. Perhaps Nico kidnapped the children to get revenge on Pietro for leaving his criminal past behind. Another suspect is Santo, who desperately wants to buy Pietro’s farmhouse. Maybe Santo kidnapped the kids to pressure Pietro into selling the property. Or could it be someone else entirely? They are determined to find out the truth. Will they find out who the kidnapper is? Will they rescue Giovanni and Bianca? Let’s dive into Vanished Into the Night‘s explainer and find out.
Spoilers Ahead
Why did Pietro and Elena get a divorce?
As the story starts, we see that before their marriage fell apart, Pietro and Elena were a happy couple who loved their kids and were content. But eventually, their marriage crumbled for many reasons. Although Pietro didn’t want to divorce his wife, he eventually agreed because it was quite clear that Elena no longer wanted to stay with him. And the woman only wanted custody of the kids. As per Pietro’s statement made to the legal counselor, Elena used to be a psychotherapist in America, before she moved to Italy with her husband. However, after moving to Bari, she fell into depression because she couldn’t find a job in the new country. Her struggle with the Italian language made it hard for her to connect with patients properly. She wanted to return to America to restart her career. Elena also revealed that she resented Pietro for taking money from her to renovate his old property into a bed and breakfast, a project that fell apart. Instead, he started gambling. This made her hate him even more. During their divorce settlement meeting, however, we see that when Pietro’s lawyers accused Elena of being a drug addict, Pietro stood up for her. He explained that she had to take high-dose medicines after an accident, which led to her addiction, but it wasn’t intentional. This showed that, despite their separation, Pietro didn’t want to blame Elena for anything. He believed that if she thought divorce was the right thing to do, he should respect her decision. But as a responsible father, he obviously wanted to take care of the kids and have them in his life.
Why did Pietro decide to work for Nico again?
Pietro and Elena shared joint custody of their kids. One day, when Elena had to leave for work, Pietro took the kids to his old property to stay with him. This was the same property he would try to turn into a bed and breakfast, but the renovation had stopped because of money issues. As they settle into their new place, we see a man named Santo show up and confront Pietro about the money he had loaned him for the project. Santo insisted that Pietro repay the loan, or else he would force him to sell the property. Pietro refused to give in and appealed to Santo to give him some time to settle his debt. After Santo left, Pietro spent the day playing with the kids. At night, Pietro tucked the kids into bed, then relaxed with a beer and a joint as the kids went to sleep. Before going to sleep, Pietro went to check on the kids, but he was horrified. The kids weren’t in their beds. He searched everywhere on the property but couldn’t find them. He started to panic and thought Santo might have taken them. He called him, demanding the return of his kids and offering the property in exchange. But the problem was that Santo did not know anything about their disappearance. Realizing he needed help, Pietro called Elena.
Pietro knew she’d probably call him irresponsible and a drunk, but none of that mattered now. The kids’ safety was the only thing that mattered. And then, shortly after, they got a call from a stranger. This person demanded 150,000 euros in cash for the kids’ return and warned them not to involve the police. Pietro and Elena were terrified; neither of them had that kind of money. The only person they could think of was Nico, a drug lord Pietro used to work for. Pietro knew that asking Nico for help would mean he would have to swallow his pride, but he was desperate. Elena forced him as well because they knew they had no other options. But, you know, Nico wasn’t about to hand over that huge sum of money for nothing. He told Pietro that he had to work for him again. Nico needed Pietro to go to Greece and smuggle ten kilos of cocaine back on his boat for him. It was a dangerous job, but Pietro had no choice. He was willing to take the risk for the sake of his children.
Did Pietro get his kids back?
Pietro knew that taking the ten kilos of cocaine was incredibly risky. He faced a gunpoint encounter and even had his boat engine falter, but somehow, luck was on his side. He successfully delivered the cocaine to Nico. At first, Nico hesitated to give him the money, but he eventually handed it over. Thank God! But the story didn’t end there. You’d think that with the money, Pietro would get his kids back, right? Wrong. When Pietro went to Elena’s apartment to tell her he had the ransom money, he saw something shocking. Both Giovanni and Bianca were sitting there and having breakfast. Pietro was stunned. He asked the kids if they remembered being with him the previous night, but they pretended not to remember anything. And you know what was even more confusing? When Pietro confronted Elena and told her how he risked his life smuggling cocaine to get the ransom money, Elena was shocked. She insisted that she knew nothing about the kidnapping and that the kids had been with her the whole time. Naturally, Pietro felt like he was losing his mind. Was this a joke? Elena drove him out of the apartment when she saw Pietro in such a horrible state. She believed he was not in his right mind and thought he might pose a danger to the kids. Pietro was left feeling lost and questioning his own sanity.
Who was the kidnapper?
I think by now you also know the answer—Elena, the kids’ mother, was the kidnapper. She just wanted to go back to America with her kids and cut all ties with Pietro. What she did was selfish and brutal, and the way she did it was even worse. When Pietro took the kids to his house, she sneaked in and injected them with oxycodone to make them unconscious. Then she took them back to her place. She orchestrated this whole plan to get a large sum of money, as she knew that Pietro would have to go to Nico to ask for it. And knowing Nico, she was sure he’d make Pietro smuggle cocaine to get the cash. Elena played dirty. When Pietro came with the ransom money and confessed how he got it by risking his life smuggling cocaine for Nico, she recorded the entire conversation on her phone. Then, she sent the recording to Pietro and demanded he sign the consent forms to let her take the children to the U.S. She threatened that if he didn’t comply, she’d send the recording to her lawyers, which would land Pietro in jail and permanently remove him from their lives. Pietro was left feeling completely betrayed and devastated. His entire world had been turned upside down by the person he thought he knew best.
But Pietro wasn’t the kind of father who would just let his kids be taken away from him. He loved them deeply and would do anything to keep them safe. He began gathering evidence against Elena, determined to ensure the safety of his kids. If she wouldn’t agree to let them go, he was prepared to take her to court and expose how she had risked their lives by drugging them. By doing so, he managed to take the kids back and tell Elena she should go back to the U.S. alone. Pietro wasn’t a bad person, and to protect the kids’ image of their mother, he promised not to tell them about what she had done. But we all know that if Elena had the chance, she would definitely turn the kids against him to drive him out of their lives. But Pietro was determined to keep the peace and protect his children’s innocence. However, do you think Elena would be okay with this? Not a chance. We all know how far she can go to get what she wants. In the end, when Pietro returned to his place with the kids after saying goodbye to Elena, he saw her standing behind them. This moment made it clear that she wasn’t just going to let him have the kids. I think she might pretend to be an understanding wife for now, but she’s likely planning her next move to get the kids back. Knowing her pattern, I’m sure she will come up with another scheme. But then, there’s another possibility. Maybe Elena wasn’t actually there at all. Perhaps Pietro was just imagining her standing behind them, driven by his paranoia and fear that she would come back and ruin their lives again. Given how far she’s gone before, how she has made him believe that he has gone crazy. This uncertainty leaves us questioning what was real which just adds another layer of suspense to the ending.
