LOGINLiam’s POVNot long after we agreed on how we were going to split, everything started moving fast—too fast for my heart to keep up with properly.Gentle and I headed toward the police station in my car, while Jack and Bobby took one of the Belfort cars straight to Madame Celeste Duval’s house. All hands had to be on deck. No pride, no grudges and no delays. It was just movement.I gripped the steering wheel tighter than I realized.The city lights blurred past us, but my mind wasn’t on the road. It kept drifting against my will back to Yvonne.The last time I’d seen her, she was smiling, looking all relaxed, teasing me about how seriously I took dessert menus. Nothing dramatic and there was nothing that looked like a goodbye. Just normal, quiet happiness.That was what scared me the most.Because nothing about this felt normal.I couldn't help but think about the moment my phone buzzed late in the afternoon and I glanced at the screen when I had seen it. It was her last message to me
Gentle's POVIn no time, Liam just walked in straight through the door to where we were because, actually the door wasn't locked.He looked like a man who'd been running as I could feel that from his quick breath which was like he almost forgot to breathe properly, then his jacket half-on, and his eyes looking like it didn't know where to land first. For a second, the house felt too small for all the worry packed into him, coupled with the one that was ongoing in here before he got here.“Where is she?” That was the question which Liam asked us, and honestly that took me particularly unaware. Because of course, she wasn't referring to Tricia. Why would he in the first place? And so, if he was actually referring to Yvonne, I think he should be in a better position to know where exactly Yvonne is.Bobby shot a look at me like he expected me to know something I didn't. My mouth went dry and I could tell that all the leads I'd been chasing—little threads that never quite tied up just sudd
Gentle’s POVBobby, who seemed to also find it difficult to understand what was actually happening, went on to ask rhetorically, his voice low and strained, “Who did this to you?”Obviously referring to Doctor Josh as he has his eyes fixed on Doctor Josh just as Jack did too.But then—if only they knew better.The room felt tight, like the walls were listening. Doctor Josh wasn't even looking at anyone. His hands were shaking in that subtle way that only someone who knew fear too well would notice. I watched him, silently wondering how a grown man could look so small all of a sudden.“I know that I deserve much worse than this, for what I have done. Please forgive me.”His voice broke a little as he kept his gaze glued to the floor. In turn, it got Jack and Bobby even more confused, exactly like I expected.Jack’s eyebrows shot up. Bobby blinked at least four times like he was trying to reset his brain.“Forgive you? For what exactly?” They both asked in sync, their voices blending pe
Gentle’s POVI stayed dumbfounded because my head felt like it was carrying the weight of a whole town. I’d been sitting in the living room for what felt like hours, having my elbows on my knees and fingers pressed against my jaw, trying to hold my thoughts in place so they wouldn’t scatter everywhere.You know, it’s exhausting — trying to understand how people can be so wicked and still sleep at night like nothing is wrong. Human beings will look you in the eye, smile at you, and still stab someone else in the back for reasons that don’t even make sense. Like, how oke come up with such evil plots in the first place. I couldn’t stop replaying everything I’d discovered. And so, my mind was restless as it kept fighting itself.I was still there, wrestling with my thoughts, when I heard the door open. Then Jack’s voice filled the silence.“Why weren’t you at school today, bro?”I didn’t look up right away. I already knew the usual irritated and accusing tone which was ever ready for trou
Madame Celeste’s POVThe driver who picks up Yvonne from school, burst through the front door like someone who had sprinted the wrong kind of marathon. And instantly I noticed he was almost out of breath, wide-eyed and his hands shaking around the steering wheel of an invisible car.“Mon Dieu — ma’am, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he panted, dropping his bag and gripping my arm as if I were a support to him. “Miss Yvonne… she’s been… I think she’s been kidnapped.”For a second the words simply landed and did not make any sound. Then the room filled with something that I couldn't just wrap my head around it and my heart went too loud for my ears instantly.“Calme-toi,” I said, but my voice didn’t feel calm at all. “Start at the beginning. Tell me everything, slowly.”He forced out a breath, still having his chest heaving. “She was late, like she explained to me that she had something to finish up. I was ten minutes away when she called and said I should come now. I turned on the gas and…ma
Yvonne’s POVI woke up from what felt like a few minutes of sleep, but honestly, I couldn’t tell if it had been minutes or hours. My head felt heavy, like I’d been dragged through something thick and strange, and the inside of my mouth was dry. For a second, I didn’t even remember where I was or why my body felt so stiff. But then—like someone snapped open a blinding light in the middle of my mind as everything just rushed back.Which includes; The moment Adrian grabbed me outside the school gate a few minutes after my driver had texted me that he was already close by.The sudden jerk of the car door flying open.The way I kicked, scratched, begged—how nothing worked.The chaos of the chase behind us. The way the car kept swerving sharply like the driver was trying to lose someone. My driver.Everything had happened so fast it still didn’t feel real.I blinked hard, trying to lift my head, but something tugged sharply at my wrists. That was when reality slapped me fully awake.My hand







