เข้าสู่ระบบ~Jeremy’s POV~Zayne said nothing, but his expression turned to stone. I glanced at the gun in my hand, then at Teyana. Guilt wedged through me. She looked so tired, so weak, like she could collapse anytime soon. I couldn’t wait to get her out here, yet, I couldn’t risk any stupid action.Chris wasn’t stupid. His gun was still pointed at her, even though he was talking to Zayne. “You know,” he said slowly, pacing the space between us with the gun still trained on Teyana, “you both always did this. Made me the third wheel. I was always there—but never really there. You never paid attention to me.”“That’s not true,” Zayne said firmly. “Chris, you know that isn’t true.”“Shut your damn mouth!” Chris roared, swinging the gun toward him. “Just shut up!”The room vibrated with his rage. The air felt charged, brittle- like anything could shatter it.“Don’t shoot him, Chris. Please.” I begged.“This ends here,” Chris continued, breathing hard. “Right now. Jeremy—if you don’t kill him…” He t
(Minutes Earlier)~Jeremy’s POV~I didn’t hear Zayne at first. My pulse was a roar in my ears, an engine running wild.“You will kill us both at this point if you do not slow down,” he warned sharply.Only then did my foot ease off the accelerator. I hadn’t realized how reckless I’d been driving. I didn’t care. We were close—so close to Glemont, close to wherever Chris had taken her. I knew it was Glemont. Had to be. Every minute wasted felt like another inch Chris dragged Teyana toward death.“We’re almost there,” I muttered, jaw locked tight.From the back seat Knox leaned forward. “Either of you have a gun?”“Fuck.” I slapped the steering wheel. “I’m not with one.”Zayne shook his head. “Wasn’t expecting today to turn out like this. I don’t have it with me either.”“Here.” Knox shoved something cold and metallic into my hand. A compact handgun. “Sir Jeremy should have it. He’s going in first.”Zayne tensed beside me. “I actually don’t think that’s a good idea. His head’s all over t
~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







