LOGIN~Teyana’s POV~Pain. A searing, unrelenting pain throbbed through the back of my head. My eyelids felt like they were weighed down by bricks, heavy and reluctant, but somehow, slowly, I forced them open.Light- too bright- stabbed my vision. My mind swam in a fog- blank and uncooperative, memories flickering like dying embers in my head. Where… where am I?I tried to move, but my arms were pinned. My legs too. A tight, unyielding rope bit into my wrists and ankles. My chest rose and fell erratically as my breath caught in my throat.And then my eyes moved—slowly, cautiously, and opened. I almost regretted opening them, because what they landed on would traumatize me forever.A dead body.I almost screamed. Was I dreaming? An unmoving body- that of a man- was on the floor beside me. Blood pooled in a dark, grotesque halo around it. My mind struggled to make sense, to connect the pieces, but the figure… I didn’t recognize him. My pulse jumped, heart pounding fast it gave a wild, deafen
~Jeremy’s POV~My pulse punched against my throat. Knox knew where Teyana was. Hope swam through me. I couldn’t have been more grateful that I once hired Knox for her. The questions rushed out of my lips- “Where are you? Where is she? I’m coming right away…”Zayne asked questions beside me but I could only listen to Knox. “The Old Ridge Junction. But listen…” he said quickly. I heard wind in the background, like he’d been running. “I was tailing your girlfriend earlier today. Just keeping a distant check—old habits, and mainly because the car that came to pick her up had no plate number. But then I got a call… from the hospital.” His voice cracked. “My mum passed this afternoon.”My chest tightened. “Knox… I’m sorry.”“It’s fine,” he said, inhaling sharply. “She’d been sick for the last two years, it wasn’t unexpected. My point in telling you this is… during that call, I lost visual of the car Miss Teyana was in. By the time I refocused on the road, they were already gone.”I clenche
~Jeremy’s POV~We pulled up at the Dales’ estate—Zayne and I. I tried to steady my heart rate as I kicked off the car engine.“You need to calm down, Jer. You might not want to hear this, but I still care about Teyana too. More than I show, actually. I’m terrified about the possibility of her current situation with Chris, but we have to stay calm if we want to get to the root of it.” Zayne said, his gaze pinned on me.I bit my bottom lip, closing my eyes for a second. I opened them back. “Okay.”“Good. Now let’s go up and get things moving.” He urged. Zayne coming with me was a great idea. Honestly, he was the only reason I was still stay sane till this moment.The Dales penthouse was all lit up with grand decorations. Britney Dales was having a celebration upstairs with her staff. I didn’t bother to listen to what it was about when Zayne told me Connor notified him about it.Zayne and I pushed past the photographers and ushers before they could ask a single question. I didn’t have ti
~Jeremy POV~By the time we reached Teyana’s building, my pulse was already thundering behind my ears. Her lobby looked exactly the same, people milling around casually, like nothing catastrophic had just happened here.My girl is missing, life isn’t supposed to move on.I strode straight to the security desk, Zayne behind me.“Good afternoon, sir,” the guard on duty said, rising halfway, unsure if he should fully stand or not.“I need access to your CCTV,” I said. My voice was tighter than I expected, conveying my frustration. “Right now.”He blinked. “Sir, CCTV… access is restricted. What exactly—”“My girl is missing. Teyana.” I cut in, leaning forward. “She lives in this building. Top floor, apartment 1A. She left earlier today with someone I know, and both of their phones are off. So either take us to whoever handles your footage, or call them.”The guard swallowed, shook his head slightly, then gestured behind him. “ I’ll get my supervisor. Please hold on.”He slipped through th
~Teyana’s POV~(Minutes Earlier)The silence inside Chris’s car felt heavier than air itself. I tried to force the unease down, but it only swelled by the minute. Jeremy still hadn’t texted back. Even though I had figured that he was probably with his father now- the tiny ache throbbing in my chest refused to go down.I didn’t like the idea of him telling Chris to come get me. He knew we weren’t exactly friends and should know that it’d be awkward being around him.Just then, Chris glanced at me from the corner of his eye.“You okay?”I pulled a forced polite smile on. “Yeah. I’m fine. Sorry Jeremy had to bother you to pick me up. You probably had your own plans for the day.”He waved one hand dismissively, “Nah. I actually intended to drive around today. You’re good.”I nodded, even though something in his tone felt… stretched. His cheerfulness didn’t match the weird stillness beneath it, but I tried not to feed my thoughts, knowing my second name is Paronoia. My anxieties stir up ea
~Jeremy’s POV~I picked up my phone with the intention of calling my father, but the moment my thumb hovered over his name, my mind veered in another direction entirely.Zayne.I’d shut him out as though the truth of his blood was somehow too loud to confront. I couldn’t pretend it was a lie any more. I had to face it. It felt long overdue already. So I dialed him.He picked on the first ring, exhaling sharply the moment he heard my voice. Did Vance tell him already? I wondered.“Thank God you finally called,” he said, “I was ready to limp and drive to your place myself.”For a long beat, I couldn’t respond. I just listened to his breathing, feeling the strange, foreign weight of the word brother folding itself into my lungs.“You there?” Zayne asked. That brought me back to reality.“I’m here,” I finally managed, my voice tighter than I intended. “I’m coming to the hospital now.”“I’m not there. I got discharged. I’m home.” A pause. “You coming?”“Right away,” I said.“Good.”When







