MasukMadeline's POV 'Madeline Sullivan, do you, of your own free will, accept Dominic Blackwood as your lawful husband?' The question echoed inside my head. 'Of your own free will.' What a cruel joke. But this time, there was no choice. This time, there was no escape. No motorcycle waiting around the corner with a stranger in a leather jacket ready to take me away. No Marcus to save me. No one but me. This time, there was only one answer I could give. But before that… before that, I needed to know. I needed to be sure. "My daughter," I said, my voice coming out steadier than I expected. "I want to see my daughter first." Dominic frowned, his expression shifting from expectation to irritation. "We're in the middle of a ceremony, darling," he said, warning threaded through his tone. "My daughter first," I repeated, harder now. I looked straight into his eyes and didn't back down. "I need to know she's alive. That she's okay. Or this doesn't happen." I saw anger flash acros
Madeline's POV "You're disgusting." The words came out before I could stop myself. But I didn't regret them. I stared straight at Dominic, at that smug smile on his face, and felt my stomach turn. "That's the only way you ever get what you want, isn't it?" I went on, my voice growing stronger despite the fear. "Through kidnapping. Through death. Through coercion. That's how you operate. Because on your own, you wouldn't be capable of jack shit." I expected anger. Expected him to snap, to hit me, to explode into violence. But Dominic just laughed, like I'd told him something genuinely funny. "And you think I care?" he asked, tilting his head, still smiling. "Honestly, Madeline. Do you really think your opinion of my methods affects me in any way?" He took a step closer, and I had to force myself not to back away. "In the end," he continued, his voice smooth but edged with that familiar danger, "all that matters is that I get what I want. And I always do. Eventually." I
Christian's POV I hung up the phone and set it down on the table harder than I meant to. I dragged a hand over my face, feeling the exhaustion of the past few hours sitting heavy in every muscle. We were in our apartment in Belmonte. We'd come as soon as we heard about Aurora's birth, wanting to be close to Marcus and Madeline. Now, staring out at the city lights through the window, I regretted not insisting we stay at the hospital with them. Zoey was at my side immediately, her presence grounding even in the middle of all this chaos. "So?" she asked, her voice low but tight with anticipation. "Did you get anything?" I looked at her—my wife, the mother of my son, the person who always kept me anchored when everything threatened to fall apart. "The Valentian police are on it," I said, forcing my voice to stay steady and professional, even with the knot of worry twisting in my gut. "Interpol too. Aurora is an Valentian citizen, so the consulate is pushing hard. And best of al
Madeline's POV Vivian shoved me into a car then slid into the driver's seat. She started the engine and sped off, the tires screeching against the asphalt. I sat in the passenger seat, completely numb. I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I just stared out the window as the scenery slipped by, growing darker, more remote. She drove for about fifteen minutes, taking us farther and farther from the city, turning onto dirt roads, passing through areas that were utterly deserted. And then it hit me. The address Vivian had sent me was never the final destination. It had been a trap. A test. If I showed up with someone else, they would get rid of the extra person first. Exactly like they did. Marcus. God, Marcus. The pain threatened to swallow me whole again, but I forced it down. I couldn't think about him now. I couldn't fall apart. Not yet. Aurora needed me. She needed me strong. The car finally stopped in front of an old house. It wasn't large, but it was isolated, surrounded
Madeline's POV "NO!" The scream tore out of me before I could even fully understand what had just happened. I saw Marcus stumble. Saw the shock and pain flash across his face. Saw him instinctively clutch at his body. "No, no, no!" I ran to him, my knees slamming into the concrete floor at the exact moment he collapsed. I caught him before his head hit the ground, pulling him into my arms, cradling him against me. "Marcus, no, please, no," I sobbed, my voice completely breaking. "Stay with me, love. Please. Stay with me." His blue eyes found mine. Those same blue eyes Aurora had inherited from him. But they were dull now, clouded with pain, and the sight of it shattered me. He tried to speak, his mouth opening, but only a strangled sound came out. He tried again, forcing the words out with visible effort. "Save…" he whispered, so softly I almost didn't hear it. "Save… our daughter…" "No!" I screamed, clutching him tighter. "Don't leave me! Marcus, don't leave me! I ne
Madeline's POV Marcus pulled the car to a stop a few yards from the warehouse, turned off the engine, and let the silence close in around us. We stayed there for a moment, just staring at the structure ahead. We were far from the city. The address led to a less developed area, almost rural, where old houses blended into abandoned lots and wild vegetation grew unchecked. The kind of place where no one heard screams. Where no one asked questions. The warehouse itself wasn't very big. It looked more like a storage building from some abandoned property—rusted metal framework, corrugated sheet walls, a few windows broken or boarded up. My stomach twisted. My daughter was in there. Or at least information about where she was. She had to be. "Wait," Marcus said when I started to open the door. He was fiddling with something on the dashboard, pressing a few buttons until a red light began to blink. "What are you doing?" I asked, my voice sharper than I meant it to be. "Car trac







