Chapter Twelve: The Night They Disappeared

Damien had never moved so fast in his life.

He barely remembered leaving Richard's office.

One moment he was standing there, trying to understand how much of his past had been stolen from him.

The next, he was racing through the corridors of Ashford Tower with Marcus beside him.

"Track Elena's phone."

"I'm trying."

"Try faster."

Marcus glanced at the screen.

"Her phone is switched off."

Damien stopped.

"Then track Noah's medical bracelet."

Marcus looked at him.

"That isn't a tracking device."

"Everything has a system."

"Not that kind."

Damien clenched his jaw.

For the first time, panic threatened to overwhelm his judgment.

He forced himself to breathe.

Think.

Elena wouldn't leave the hospital willingly.

Not after Noah's surgery.

Someone had taken them.

And whoever had done it had planned carefully.

"Check the hospital cameras," Damien ordered. "Every entrance. Every exit. I want the footage from the last hour."

Marcus nodded.

"On it."

Damien's phone vibrated.

A new message appeared.

You were warned.

He stared at it.

Then another arrived.

Stop searching.

Damien's expression hardened.

He typed one response.

Bring them back.

The reply came almost immediately.

You still don't understand.

Damien looked at the screen.

This was never about Elena.

His heartbeat quickened.

Then a final message appeared.

It was always about you.

---

Elena woke to darkness.

Her head throbbed.

For a few seconds, she couldn't remember where she was.

Then she heard Noah breathing beside her.

Her heart lurched.

"Noah?"

"I'm here, Mama."

His frightened voice came from nearby.

Elena reached for him immediately.

"I'm here."

She felt his small hand find hers.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know."

She tried to sit up.

A locked door stood across the room.

There was a single window, covered by heavy curtains.

Noah moved closer.

"Are we in trouble?"

Elena swallowed her fear.

"No."

She didn't know whether that was true.

But Noah didn't need her fear.

He needed her.

"Listen to me," she whispered. "Whatever happens, stay close to me."

"Okay."

She pulled him into her arms.

Then footsteps sounded outside.

Elena froze.

The lock turned.

A man entered.

His face was partially hidden beneath a cap.

He didn't approach them.

He simply stood by the door.

"You shouldn't have made this difficult."

Elena's voice shook.

"Who are you?"

"You don't need to know."

"Where are we?"

"Somewhere no one will find you."

Elena tightened her arms around Noah.

"Why are you doing this?"

The man looked toward the child.

"Because Damien refuses to listen."

Elena's anger overcame her fear.

"Leave him out of this."

The man gave a humorless smile.

"That's impossible."

He turned to leave.

Elena suddenly noticed something.

A ring.

Black onyx surrounded by silver.

Her breath caught.

She had seen it before.

On Damien's uncle.

Richard.

But this man wasn't Richard.

Which meant the ring belonged to someone else.

Or Richard wasn't the only person involved.

The door slammed shut.

Elena stared at the place where he'd stood.

Someone else was behind this.

Someone far more powerful than she had imagined.

---

At the hospital, Damien watched the security footage.

"There."

Marcus paused the screen.

A black vehicle was parked near the emergency entrance.

Elena appeared several minutes later.

She was carrying Noah.

A man approached her.

Damien leaned closer.

"What happened?"

"The footage cuts out here."

"Why?"

Marcus checked the system.

"Someone disabled the camera."

Damien's expression darkened.

"Can you identify the vehicle?"

"The license plate is partially visible."

"Run it."

Marcus did.

A few seconds later, his face changed.

"What?"

"The vehicle belongs to Ashford Holdings."

Damien stared at him.

"That's impossible."

"It was registered to one of the company's subsidiaries."

"Who controls it?"

Marcus hesitated.

"Your father's office."

Damien went completely still.

His father.

The man he had spent years believing was simply distant.

The man Richard had just mentioned.

The man who had supposedly ordered everyone to keep Elena away.

Damien's phone rang.

He answered.

A man's voice came through.

"You should have stayed away from the past."

Damien recognized the voice immediately.

His blood ran cold.

"Father?"

Silence.

Then the call ended.

Damien stared at the phone.

His father was alive.

And he was involved.

---

Elena heard footsteps again.

This time, the door opened slowly.

An older man entered.

He wore an expensive dark suit.

His silver hair was neatly combed.

His expression was calm.

Too calm.

Elena immediately recognized him.

She had seen his photograph countless times in business magazines.

Richard's brother.

Damien's father.

Victor Ashford.

Noah moved closer to Elena.

Victor looked at the boy for several seconds.

Then his gaze shifted to Elena.

"You should never have returned to my son's life."

Elena's anger returned.

"You took him from me."

Victor's expression didn't change.

"I protected my family."

"You destroyed five years of our lives."

"I prevented a greater disaster."

Elena stared at him.

"What disaster?"

Victor stepped closer.

"Damien was prepared to abandon everything for you."

"And that was his choice."

"Not when his choice could destroy thousands of people's lives."

Elena shook her head.

"You don't get to decide who your son loves."

Victor's jaw tightened.

"You still don't understand the world he belongs to."

"I understand enough."

She looked down at Noah.

"He chose us once."

Victor's eyes hardened.

"He doesn't remember choosing you."

The words hurt.

But Elena refused to show it.

"He will."

Victor studied her.

"That is exactly what I'm afraid of."

He turned toward the door.

Elena called after him.

"Why was Damien's memory erased?"

Victor stopped.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then he looked over his shoulder.

"Because remembering you would have brought him back to the night everything went wrong."

"What happened that night?"

Victor's expression changed.

Something close to regret crossed his face.

"Ask Richard."

Then he walked out.

Elena stared after him.

Why would Victor tell her to ask Richard?

Unless Richard knew something Victor didn't want revealed.

---

Back at Ashford Tower, Damien stood before the family portrait.

His father's face stared back at him.

For years, he had believed the man was simply a difficult father.

Now he wasn't sure what to believe.

Marcus approached.

"We found the vehicle."

Damien turned.

"Where?"

"An abandoned property owned by Ashford Holdings."

"Send the location."

Marcus hesitated.

"There's something else."

Damien waited.

"The property was transferred three months ago."

"To whom?"

Marcus looked down at his tablet.

"Richard Ashford."

Damien's eyes narrowed.

Richard.

Again.

The same man connected to the laboratory.

The same man connected to the altered records.

The same man who knew about Elena.

Damien grabbed his jacket.

"I'm going there."

Marcus followed.

"You're not going alone."

"I wasn't planning to."

---

The car stopped outside the abandoned property.

Damien stepped out.

The building stood silent beneath the night sky.

No lights.

No movement.

But Damien knew they were there.

He could feel it.

He pushed open the door.

"Elena!"

His voice echoed through the building.

No answer.

Then he heard something.

A faint sound from upstairs.

A child's voice.

"Mama?"

Damien's heart stopped.

Noah.

He ran toward the stairs.

But before he reached them, the lights suddenly came on.

A figure stood at the top.

Richard.

Damien stopped.

"Where are they?"

Richard looked at him.

His expression was filled with something Damien couldn't understand.

Regret.

Fear.

And defeat.

"You shouldn't have come."

"Where is Elena?"

Richard didn't answer.

Damien took another step.

"Where is my son?"

Richard's eyes widened.

"You already know?"

Damien's voice was cold.

"I don't need a DNA test to know."

Richard lowered his head.

Then he whispered:

"You're too late."

Damien's heart dropped.

"What did you do?"

Richard looked toward the room behind him.

"The people who took Elena aren't here anymore."

Damien froze.

"Where are they?"

Richard's eyes filled with fear.

"They took them somewhere even I can't reach."

Then his phone rang.

He looked at the screen.

His face went pale.

Damien stepped closer.

"Who is it?"

Richard didn't answer.

The call ended.

A message appeared.

Richard read it.

Then slowly handed the phone to Damien.

There was only one sentence.

THEY KNOW ABOUT THE CHILD.

Damien looked up.

"What child?"

Richard's expression broke.

"The one you lost before Noah."

Damien's blood ran cold.

There had been another secret.

One no one had told him.

And suddenly, Elena and Noah were not the only pieces of his past someone had tried to erase.