Chapter 192 CHAPTER 192
Taken in the Night
The morning sun rose without warmth, spilling a dull, hesitant light across Ares’ mansion. Inside, silence lay over the house like a curtain, thick, breathless, wrong. Tessa stood frozen in the center of the living room, her phone hanging uselessly in her hand as the words replayed, sharp and violent, carving themselves into her mind.
“They’re gone.”
The voice had been shaking. One of the school officials. Confused. Terrified. Struggling to understand how four healthy children and their guardian had simply vanished before dawn.
Now the phone slipped from her fingers and landed on the couch with a soft thud. Tessa’s knees buckled for a moment, but Ares caught her elbow, steadying her before she could fall. His grip was firm, grounding yet she barely felt it. Her whole body trembled as if her bones were rattling beneath her skin.
“Ayisha… the kids…” Tessa whispered, her voice thin and strangled. “They didn’t arrive… they didn’t… they’re gone…they’re gone.”
Ares’ jaw clenched so hard the muscle twitched violently. He turned away from her as if keeping himself upright required the full weight of his control. The early light cast long shadows across his face, highlighting the fury building under his skin, dark, rising, dangerous.
He looked as though he wanted to tear the entire world apart brick by brick.
Julian stormed into the room seconds later, breathless. “I got your message,” he said, eyes sweeping across their faces. One look at Tessa told him everything. “What happened?”
Tessa swallowed hard, fingers clutching the fabric of her shirt as if trying to hold herself together. “The school… they called. Ayisha never brought the kids in. They traced the last camera footage from outside the estate. A van pulled up at 4am. No one saw it enter. The guards… nobody saw anything.”
Her voice cracked. “They were taken while we were asleep.”
Ares cursed under his breath, a sound so raw and guttural Julian stiffened. Like an animal wounded but ready to strike.
“Did they say who?” Julian asked sharply.
“No.” Tessa shook her head, tears spilling over. “No message, no demand, nothing…”
Ares paced the room with long, angry strides, like a caged predator fighting the instinct to break free. His breathing was uneven, harsh, every inhale thinned by fear he would never admit. He raked a hand through his hair and turned sharply toward his security lead, who had just rushed in with two guards behind him.
Ares snapped, “Bring me every detail. Every camera angle. Every guard on duty last night. I want a full account in ten minutes.”
The man nodded urgently and disappeared.
Silence dropped again, heavy and pulsing.
Julian moved to Tessa and placed a hand on her back. “Hey… breathe. We’ll find them.”
She didn’t seem to hear him. Her eyes were wide, unfocused, drowning in terror.
“Ayisha would never… never take them away like this,” she whispered.
“This wasn’t Ayisha,” Julian said firmly. “Whoever did this planned it. Look at the timing. Look at how clean it was.”
Ares suddenly slammed his fist into the marble counter. The crack echoed through the house like a gunshot. Tessa flinched but didn’t cry out, she was too far gone into her own panic.
“They took my children,” Ares said, voice low and deadly. “They took my children.”
Julian exchanged a worried glance with Tessa. He had seen Ares furious before, but this… this was something else entirely. Ares was unraveling in real time, a man whose instincts were being torn in half, rage pulling one way, fear pulling the other.
He walked to Tessa, kneeling slightly so he could look into her face. “Tessa,” he said, his tone suddenly controlled and steady, “listen to me. Look at me.”
She lifted her eyes to his, tears dripping down her cheeks.
“We will get them back.”
Something in his voice, something iron-clad and unwavering held her upright. But then her breath came fast again, uneven, choking.
“They’re just children,” she whispered. “What if they’re cold? What if they’re scared? What if Ayisha tried to fight and…”
Ares cupped her face, forcing her to breathe.
“Stop. Don’t do that. Don’t torture yourself with images you don’t know are true.” His voice broke slightly. “Please.”
Julian watched them, exhaling through his nose. “This had to be someone with resources,” he said, pacing now. “Someone who knew Marcus is dead. Someone who knows the will. Someone who knows the kids inherited billions.”
Tessa shook her head instantly. “Money? No. No… nobody even knows yet. Only the lawyers came yesterday and left.”
“That’s enough time,” Julian replied. “One of the lawyers could have been paid off. One of the estate workers. Anyone.”
Ares looked up sharply, eyes narrowing. “Or someone with a grudge against Tessa.”
Tessa felt her stomach drop. Her hands trembled. “No. Please. Don’t imply…”
“I’m not blaming you,” Ares cut in, softer but still tight. “I’m stating the facts. Anyone who has ever had issues with you now sees the kids as a target.”
Julian paused, connecting dots. “Ethan.”
The name froze the room.
Tessa’s breath hitched violently. “He wouldn’t… he wouldn’t touch the kids. He hates me, but the kids…”
“He’s unhinged,” Julian reminded her bluntly. “And he likes revenge. This is exactly the kind of thing…”
“No,” Ares said sharply. “Ethan likes theatrics. He would have contacted us already. He would want us to know it was him.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed. “So who?”
Ares’ voice dropped to a whisper. “Someone smarter.”
Tessa wrapped her arms around herself and started pacing. The mansion felt too large, too cold, too silent without the children’s laughter bouncing off its walls. She could almost hear Kamal asking where his shoes went, or Beauty arguing with Ayisha about her hair ribbons. The quiet stabbed her.
Julian suddenly slammed his palm against the table. “Why last night? Why the same night you two made up?” His eyes shot to Ares. “This is not coincidence.”
Tessa inhaled sharply, guilt clawing through her. “We were both… distracted…”
Ares closed his eyes in pain. “Don’t do that.”
“But it’s true,” she whispered. “If I wasn’t with you… if I was home… maybe…”
“Tessa.” Ares’ voice shook as he grabbed her shoulders. “You think being in that house would have stopped armed men from taking four children? You think you could have fought them? No. Don’t blame yourself.”
But she did. Deep inside, she did.
Julian’s phone buzzed and he snatched it up. His face fell. “Nothing from the guards. Their cameras were scrambled. Somebody hacked the system.”
“They were planned for,” Ares growled. “This wasn’t impulsive.”
Tessa pressed her palms to her eyes, shaking. “My babies… Ayisha… God, where are they?”
Ares couldn’t look at her again. The agony in her voice felt like claws dragging down his spine. He went still, jaw trembling, chest rising and falling too fast.
Julian noticed. “Ares.”
“Don’t…”
“You need to breathe too.”
Ares turned away, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles went white.
He said nothing, but the truth hung in the air:
He was terrified.
Terrified because he had just gotten Tessa back.
Terrified because he had just begun to accept the children as his own.
Terrified because losing them now… losing them like this…
It would destroy him.
Julian’s voice cut through the tension. “We need to call in military contacts. Private investigators. Every roadblock. Every airport. Every port warehouse.”
Ares nodded, already grabbing his phone. “I’m calling in everyone. I’ll burn the entire city down if I have to.”
Tessa sank onto the couch, clutching a pillow as tears slid down her face. “Ares…”
He turned to her, his chest visibly breaking. “I swear on my life, we will find them.”
Julian looked at the two of them, worry etched deep into his expression.
“Whoever did this,” he said slowly, “wanted to hurt all of us.”
Ares’s eyes darkened.
“And when we find them,” he said, voice razor-sharp, “they will regret ever breathing.”