The morning started with silence.
Too still. Too quiet. Talia knew something was wrong before she even opened her eyes. she threw off the covers, heart already racing, and padded barefoot into the hallway.
Nova's door was open.
Empty, bed untouched, no wolf toy, no shoes by the door, no giggles no tiny voice humming in the kitchen.
Just… silence.
The kind that meant something was missing. Her scream echoed through the house.
Kian came flying down the stairs seconds later, shirt half on, gun in his hand. "What happened?"
"She's gone," Talia gasped. "Nova" she's not in her room—she's not anywhere—"
Kian's eyes flashed cold. He moved like a predator every motion exact, lethal. "Stay here." But Talia followed him anyway as he stormed through the house, flinging doors open, checking windows, closets, even under the beds.
Nothing.
Kian turned to Elise, who stood frozen in the kitchen doorway. "Where is she?"
Elise looked stunned. "I—she was in her room at midnight. I checked on her myself."
"Midnight was six hours ago!" Kian roared.
Talia grabbed Elise's arm. "Did she say anything to you? Anyone call? Did you take her somewhere?"
"No," Elise said quickly. Too quickly. "I mean I didn't leave—"
"Where's your phone?" Kian snapped.
She hesitated and just that was enough. Talia's blood ran cold. "Why did you hesitate?"
"I didn't—I—"
Kian crossed the room in a heartbeat, grabbed Elise's purse from the counter, dumped it out. No phone then he looked at her.
"Elise," he said, softly now. Too softly. "Where. Is. My. Daughter?"
The silence cracked and Elise broke.
"She wasn't supposed to take her!" she cried.
Talia's voice sliced through the room. "Who?"
"I told her I needed money," Elise whispered, shaking. "That I could give her something valuable. I didn't know she'd take the girl!"
Kian's rage exploded. "Who took her?"
Elise collapsed to the floor, crying.
"Lena," she whispered. "Your father's fixer. She came last night. I thought it was just a threat. I didn't think….God, I didn't think she'd really take Nova!"
Talia staggered back like she'd been punched.
Lena.
A name from nightmares. Kian's father's personal shadow, the woman who made problems disappear. Quietly. Efficiently. Permanently.
Kian was already on his phone. "Trackers. Satellites. I want every fucking camera in a ten mile radius swept. Now." He hung up and grabbed Elise by the collar. "Where did she take her?"
"I don't know—" Elise sobbed. "I thought it was just blackmail—"
Kian snarled. "You sold my daughter like a piece of leverage. I should kill you where you stand." Talia's voice shook as she whispered, "We have to find her. Now."
Within thirty minutes, the search began.
Kian moved like a man possessed, he was no longer just the billionaire predator. He was something else. Something feral.
While his security team scoured the property, he hacked into local traffic cams himself. Talia sat beside him, her hands shaking, her breath shallow.
"I never should've brought her here," she whispered. "This is all my fault—"
"No," Kian said without looking away from the screen. "This is on them. All of them. My father. Lena. Elise."
He paused. "And now, me."
She looked at him.
"I should've been there," he said, jaw clenched. "I should've kept her between me and the world."
The ping came at 10:43 a.m.
A traffic cam caught a black SUV exiting the private road timestamped three hours earlier. License plate blurred. But Nova's face could be seen briefly through the back window, pressed against the glass.
Eyes wide, mouth open in a scream.
Talia choked on a sob.
Kian stood. "That's it. I'm done playing defense." He made two phone calls.
The first: to a man named Marcus, a former special forces operative now buried deep in the black-market extraction world.
The second: to his father.
"Kian," the older Donovan answered smoothly. "I wasn't expecting a call." "You sent her after my daughter," Kian said, voice sharp enough to draw blood.
Silence.
Then, "She's an insurance policy. You've gotten… sentimental. And sentiment is weakness." Kian's jaw flexed. "You think this makes you strong?"
His father chuckled. "It makes me smart. What better leash than a bloodline?" Kian's voice turned deadly. "I'm coming for her."
"You'll never find her."
"Oh, I will," Kian whispered. "And when I do, I'm coming for you next."
That night, the house was empty.
Talia sat on the porch, staring into the dark trees, every shadow a threat. Every second a scream. Kian walked out behind her, sat beside her in the snow.
He handed her Nova's wolf toy. Found discarded under the porch. She took it like a knife to the heart.
"She's scared," she whispered. "She's probably calling for me."
Kian didn't speak for a long time.
Then:
"I remember the first time I saw her picture. And all I could think was… I missed everything. First steps. First words. Now I'm missing this. Her fear. Her pain." Talia wiped her face. "We'll get her back." Kian nodded but his eyes were fire.
"No," he said. "I'll get her back. And when I do… I'll burn everything that touched her."