Chapter 115

Gerald's POV

The next morning. I paced back and forth in the main hall of Blackwood Manor, each step filled with barely contained fury. Just moments ago, I had received a report from the personnel monitoring Elena, saying she had disappeared. I immediately dispatched Brad to investigate.

The ticking of the clock echoed through the empty hall, intensifying my irritation. I had been waiting for a full hour. Brad should have returned by now with the latest report from the hospital.

Finally, the door opened. Brad walked in, and the expression on his face told me everything.

"Speak," I commanded.

"Elena has disappeared," Brad reported directly. "The hospital security cameras only captured a blur. No signs of struggle, no evidence of forced entry. It's as if... she slipped away on her own."

Pure anger coursed through my body like an electric current. With one sweep of my hand, I knocked everything off the nearby table. The sound of crystal and porcelain shattering against the marble floor echoed throughout the hall.

"Elena!" I raged. "You dare disappoint me like this?"

I couldn't believe she had the audacity to play me like this. Escaping?

Brad turned to the pack members behind him, and I was satisfied to see them cringe under my anger. "Find her! Now! And if you come back empty-handed, don't bother coming back at all!"

After they left, Brad turned to me. "She can't have gone far. Trust that they will find her soon."

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. Losing control of my emotions wasn't becoming of an Alpha. Cold anger was more dangerous and effective than rage. I felt my mind becoming clearer.

"I clearly underestimated her," I said slowly, each word as cold as ice. "Playing disappearing acts right under my nose."

"She's always been cunning," Brad agreed, adding fuel to the fire. "Remember how she fooled everyone six years ago?"

Yes, I remembered. Six years ago, this woman faked her death and fled from my son and the pack. She dared to break apart the marriage I had carefully arranged. And now, she was trying to escape again.

My decision was swift and final. "Find her and bring her directly to the territory. Don't harm her, but make sure she can't escape again."

I narrowed my eyes, thinking about another key issue. Richard. His attitude toward Elena was worryingly complex. Though he appeared to despise her on the surface, his instincts wouldn't lie. He had fallen in love with her.

"Brad, make sure Richard doesn't know about this operation," I ordered. "The last thing we need is father and son at odds with each other."

Brad nodded, not questioning my judgment. That's why he was my most trusted Beta. He understood that family interests came before everything else.

Richard's POV

When I woke up in the morning, I heard Lily's crying. I rushed over immediately.

"Mommy! I want my mommy!" Lily's wails echoed through the house.

I found her in the living room, wearing only thin pajamas, barefoot, clutching her stuffed toy. Her face was streaked with tears, nose running, completely inconsolable. Anna stood helplessly nearby.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" I said gently, reaching for a small cardigan draped over the sofa. "Put this on. You'll catch cold."

"No!" she screamed. "I want Mommy! Where's my mommy?"

Kathy and Max appeared in the doorway, drawn by the commotion. Max moved toward his sister, but she only cried harder.

"Lily," I said more firmly, my patience wearing thin.

This was the wrong approach. Her wails intensified, and she pushed past Max, running barefoot across the marble floor toward the stairs.

I caught up with her easily, crouching down to her level and grasping her tiny shoulders. Her body was shaking with sobs.

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice softening. "Daddy shouldn't have raised his voice. That was wrong."

Her big eyes looked up at me through tears. "I want Mommy," she hiccupped.

"What happened, sweetheart? Did you have a nightmare?"

She nodded, clutching her toy tighter. "Bad men were chasing Mommy. Lots of bad men." Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.

A chill ran down my spine. I felt uncomfortable about Lily's nightmare. Elena was still in the hospital, it was just a dream, I told myself.

"I'll bring your mommy home today," I promised. "Can you be brave until then?"

After Lily finally calmed down, I instructed Kathy and Max to keep her company while I went upstairs to make some calls.

Just as I reached the top of the stairs, my phone rang. I answered without checking the caller ID.

"Alpha," came Ethan's panicked voice. "Something's happened at the hospital!"

I froze, wondering if Lily's nightmare had come true.

"What happened?" I forced myself to stay calm.

"Elena is gone..."

The rest of Ethan's words faded into white noise as my mind flashed to Lily's nightmare: "Bad men were chasing Mommy." A chill ran down my spine.

"What did you just say?" I demanded, my voice dropping to a dangerous growl.

"Elena is gone, Alpha!" Ethan's voice was tight with panic. "We've searched every inch of Sunrise Medical Center, checked all surveillance footage. She's vanished like she never existed!"

My grip tightened on the phone until I heard the plastic crack.

"That's impossible," I growled, already moving toward the stairs. "A living, breathing person doesn't just disappear into thin air. Deploy everyone to search all of Moonhaven. You must find her."

"We're already on it," Ethan assured me. "But there's something else..."

I stopped at the top of the stairs, my instincts suddenly on high alert. "What?"

"The security footage showed Gerald at the hospital last night."

The world around me turned red. I ended the call without another word.

Kathy appeared at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at me curiously. "Dad, where are you going?"

I forced my features to soften, though I could feel my anger making me lose control. "I need to see Grandfather Gerald. I'll be back soon."

"Is something wrong with Mom?" Her little face scrunched with concern.

"No," I lied smoothly. "Everything's fine."

Max emerged from the living room, silently watching me with those all-seeing eyes. He held Lily close to his side.

I didn't have time to explain. If my father had anything to do with Elena's disappearance, I needed to know now.