Masuk[Sarah’s POV]The heavy oak door of the office clicked shut, a sound that felt like the cocking of a hammer. Outside, the estate was a labyrinth of shadows and the hum of the valley insects, but inside this room, the air was stagnant, smelling of old leather and the expensive scotch Norman used to pour for me with such practiced, gentle hands.I stood by the window, my silhouette trembling against the glass. I didn't look at him. I couldn't. Not yet. I kept my eyes on the dark expanse of the vineyards, the very land he had helped me manage while he was systematically dismantling my life."Are you going to start explaining yourself?" I asked, my voice coming out as a jagged, low blade. "Or are you just going to sit here and engage me in a staring competition? Because I have to tell you, Norman, your silence isn't as poetic as you think it is. It’s deafening."I turned around. Norman was sitting in the armchair across from my desk—the seat he always occupied during our late-night strate
[Tyler’s POV]The darkness felt like a weight. It felt like I was pinned under a mountain of wet ash, the air thick with the taste of copper and burnt plastic. Every time I tried to draw a breath, my lungs felt like they were being shredded by shards of glass.Then came the sound. Voices. Not the screaming sirens or the roar of the fire, but a low, rhythmic hum of conversation that pulled me upward like a hook in my chest.I let out a cough… a ragged, wet sound that felt like my ribcage was collapsing and my eyes snapped open.The light was blinding. It was a sterile, aggressive white that burned into my retinas. I blinked rapidly, the world blurring until two figures sharpened into focus. On my left stood a woman in a crisp white coat, her face a mask of professional neutrality. But on my right..."Elena?" I croaked. My voice was a ruined rasp, a stranger’s voice."Tyler." She moved closer, her hand hovering over mine as if she were afraid I’d crumble if she touched me. Her face was
[Sarah’s POV] The air in the motel parking lot was thick with the smell of stagnant water and rotting wood. Peeling paint, flickering neon that buzzed like a dying insect, and a gravel lot filled with rusted sedans that looked like they hadn't moved since the nineties. "Stay here," I said, my hand on the car door. I looked at Dex. "Keep the engine running. If you see a squad car or anything suspicious, you signal us." Dex gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white. "Ma'am, this is a setup. Look at this place, it doesn't look like a place Lucy Rider would come to." "That’s exactly why she’s here," Norman muttered from the back seat, wiping sweat from his upper lip. "It’s a place where people go to disappear, not to be found. Dex, do what she says. Just... watch the perimeter." I stepped out, the heels of my boots crunching into the gravel. I didn't care about the heat. Big Elijah moved up beside me, a wall of muscle that made building look even smaller. Norman trailed behind u
[Sarah’s POV] Three days. Lucy was out there somewhere, and the only man who knew her heartbeat was sitting in a holding cell behind me. The lobby of the precinct was a chaotic mess of ringing phones and shouting officers, a far cry from the quiet, controlled lie I’d been living in the valley. I stood near the exit, my hands shoved deep into the pockets of the wool coat. I could still feel the phantom vibration of my phone, but when I pulled it out, the screen remained dark. "Ms Hale? We're ready." I looked up. Dex was walking toward me, his face a mask of disapproval. "You're really doing this," Dex said, his voice low so the passing officers wouldn't hear. "You’re bailing out the man who gutted your security and helped steal your kid. Tell me I’m dreaming, ma'am. Tell me you have a better plan than trust the traitor." "I don't have a plan, Dex," I snapped, the jagged edge of my voice surprising even me. "I have a missing son and ex husband who might never wake up. Norma
[Sarah’s POV] The fluorescent lights of the hospital waiting room hummed with a sterile, relentless buzz that felt like it was drilling directly into my skull. Outside, the New York skyline had long since shifted from the bruised orange of twilight to a cold, obsidian black. I sat in a hard plastic chair, my back stiff and my joints aching. I was still wearing the clothings from this morning, though someone—Dex or maybe a kind nurse—had thrown a heavy wool coat over my shoulders. I looked down at my hands, I couldn't bring myself to wash it off. It felt like the only physical connection I had left to the moment Tyler disappeared into the house. "Ms Hale. Please." I looked up. Dex was standing over me, a crumpled paper bag from the hospital canteen in his hand. His face was etched with a weary kind of pity that made me want to scream. "You haven't had a drop of water since we left the estate. You haven't eaten in nearly twenty hours," he said, his voice soft but firm. "Elijah is
[Sarah’s POV]The sound of the explosion settled into the marrow of my bones, a low, vibrating hum that made the world feel like it was made of glass. Thick smoke choked the narrow street, turning the afternoon sun into a bruised, sickly orange orb.I was on my knees on the sidewalk across the road. The grit dug into my skin, but I couldn't feel it. I could only feel the dinosaur pajamas crushed against my chest."Tyler..." The name had become a ghost in my throat.Around me, the neighborhood was waking up to the nightmare. Windows that hadn't been shattered by the blast were being shoved open. I heard the frantic, rhythmic slamming of car doors and the distant, high-pitched scream of a woman three houses down. Neighbors huddled on their stoops, draped in blankets or clutching their children, their voices a rising tide of jagged whispers that drifted through the haze."Did you see him? I heard he went back in...""Was it gas? No, that was a bomb, I’m telling you...""Look at her. Is t
[Sarah’s POV]Norman drove the Maybach like a madman. The tires screamed as we tore up the gravel driveway of the Hale Estate. My heart was in my throat, pounding against my ribs with pure terror.As the car came to a halt in front of the main house, I didn't wait for Norman to open the door. I jum
[Sarah’s POV]The restaurant was a quiet, high-end far removed from the alleyway where I’d found Mandy. I watched her now, sitting across from me, her fingers trembling as she shoved pasta into her mouth. She ate with a desperate hunger that made my chest tighten."Slow down, Mandy," I said softly,
[Tyler’s POV] My father had fled the event like a wounded animal, refusing to meet my eyes. The "Great Byron Rider" had been reduced to a shaking old man by a woman he’d called a "nobody." Every accusation she’d hurled—the embezzlement, the mistress, the letters to Maggie—was ringing in my ears li
[Tyler’s POV]"She doesn’t look like a Rider, Tyler. Not even a little bit."Chloe’s voice cut through the sterile quiet of the recovery room. She was standing at the foot of Lucy’s bed, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She didn't even look at the pink bundle in the cot with affection. She







