INICIAR SESIÓNCIARA'S POV I found Cain in the kitchen later that night. The apartment was quiet. Seraphine had gone home hours ago. The only light came from the small lamp over the counter. He stood there with a glass of water in his hand, staring at nothing. His shoulders looked tight. Like he was carrying the whole day on them. I stopped in the doorway. My hands twisted the hem of his shirt I was still wearing. The fabric smelled like him. Like us. I didn’t know how to start. So I just said it. “I’m pregnant.” Cain went completely still. The glass paused halfway to his mouth. He didn’t look at me right away. Just stared at the counter. The silence stretched so long I started to feel sick again. I wrapped my arms around myself. “I took the test a few days ago. Here. Alone. I didn’t know how to tell you. With everything that’s happening… Alice… the videos… I thought it would make it worse.” He set the glass down slowly. Turned toward me. His eyes were wide. Dark. Unreadable. “How long have you
CIARA'S POV The car ride to the airfield property felt like a held breath that never released. Cain drove. His hands stayed tight on the wheel. Seraphine sat in the back, laptop balanced on her knees, typing fast. I stared out the window at the passing trees, trying not to count every mile that took us closer to something I wasn’t ready to face. “You sure you want to do this?” Cain asked. His voice was low. He glanced at me once, then back at the road. I nodded. My fingers twisted in my lap. “I need to see it. If Alice was there… I need to know.” Seraphine leaned forward between the seats. “The records show the property was sold six months ago. Shell company to shell company. But the access logs still ping to numbers connected to Simon’s old security team. Someone inside his network is still using it.” Cain’s jaw flexed. “Convenient.” “Too convenient,” Seraphine said. “It could be a setup. Someone wants us looking at Simon. Or someone wants Simon looking guilty.” I swallowed. My
Ciara's POV I don’t sleep.Not after the photo.Not after the message.Not after realizing someone was watching me close enough to know exactly where I was.Morning arrives anyway. Cold. Gray. Ugly. I wake up on Cain’s couch with a blanket draped over me. I don’t remember falling asleep. But I know exactly who covered me. The fabric still carries his scent. Leather and something darker that makes my chest tighten.Voices drift from the kitchen. Low. Tense. Cain and Seraphine.I stay still under the blanket. Listening.“We need to move her,” Seraphine says. Her chair scrapes the floor. “Somewhere they can’t find her so easily.”Cain’s voice comes next. Rough. Tired. “No.”“What do you mean no?” Seraphine sounds frustrated. I can picture her crossing her arms. “They found her once. They’ll find her again. The photo proves it.”Cain doesn’t answer right away. I hear him set a mug down. Hard. “If we move her, it tells them we’re scared. That we’re running. I won’t give them that.”Seraph
Ciara's POV The drive back felt endless. Cain’s hands stayed tight on the wheel. Seraphine sat in the back, tapping on her laptop. Nobody spoke much. The city lights blurred past the window, people walking, cars moving, life going on like my sister hadn’t vanished again. I stared out at it all and tried not to picture Alice alone. Tried not to remember the first time. The fear never really left. It just waited for moments like this to crawl back up my throat. Cain glanced at me once. His jaw flexed. He didn’t say anything. I was grateful for that. When we pulled up to the building, Seraphine was already waiting inside. Laptop open on the table. Papers everywhere. Three phones lined up like soldiers. Coffee gone cold in a mug. She didn’t waste time. “I was right.” My stomach dropped. I dropped my bag on the couch. “About what?” “The airport.” She turned the screen toward us. Maps. Flight logs. Security records. “Alice’s passport was scanned. But not at the main terminal. At
Ciara's pov I woke up on Cain’s couch with a blanket pulled tight around me. The fabric smelled like him. Leather and soap and something darker that made my stomach twist in ways I didn’t want to name. Morning light pushed through the blinds, gray and cold. I didn’t remember falling asleep. I only remembered the photo. The message. The feeling of eyes on me everywhere I went.My phone sat on the coffee table. Dozens of missed calls. I didn’t touch it.Voices came from the kitchen. Low. Tense. Cain and Seraphine.I stayed still. Listened.“We need to move her,” Seraphine said. Her chair scraped the floor. “Somewhere they can’t find her so easily.”Cain’s voice came next. Rough. Tired. “No.”“What do you mean no?” Seraphine sounded frustrated. I could picture her crossing her arms. “They found her once. They’ll find her again. The photo proves it.”Cain didn’t answer right away. I heard him set a mug down. Hard. “If we move her, it tells them we’re scared. That we’re running. I won’t g
Ciara's POV I didn’t sleep. Not really. Every time I closed my eyes, Alice’s face stared back at me from that photo. The timestamp. Today. The way she looked too still, too small in whatever room Simon had her in. My phone stayed clutched in my hand like a lifeline I couldn’t trust. The screen glowed in the dark every few minutes with new notifications I refused to open. Simon. Press. Unknown numbers. All of it noise I couldn’t deal with while my sister might be paying for my choices.Cain still wasn’t back when the sun started creeping through the windows. Seraphine had crashed on the couch sometime after midnight, one arm hanging off the side. I sat on the edge of Cain’s bed in nothing but his oversized t-shirt, thighs sticky from the night before, breasts heavy and aching against the soft fabric. Every small movement made my nipples drag against it, sending unwanted sparks straight down to my core. The nausea was worse this morning. A constant low twist in my stomach that made me
Ciara's POV The photos hit the family group chat at 8:14 that morning. By noon, three board members had canceled meetings with Simon. By evening, everyone in the family had seen them. Me getting into Cain’s car, us at the gala... His hand on my waist outside the restaurant three nights ago.
Ciara's POV The dining room smelled like roasted lamb and expensive wine, but all I could taste was ash. The long table stretched out under the chandelier, every seat filled with family and a few board members who pretended they belonged. Simon sat at the head tonight, playing the gracious host,
Ciara's POV When morning came, Aunt Linda stopped by the house to get more supplies for mom who was still at the hospital. She came just when the chef was serving us breakfast and with little pressure from Simon she stayed back for breakfast. She sat at the head, looking more tired than last we
Cain's POV Days later, I stood in the hallway again watching her move through the house. Ciara’s steps were too quiet, and her shoulders curved in. She didn’t know I was there. She never does until I decide she should. I straightened and moved further down the hallway. The study door was crack







