Chapter 16 MISERY

Chapter 16 MISERY
Killian
The polished mahogany desk in my office is no longer polished. It is a war zone of cold coffee cups, crumpled Chinese takeout containers, and maps, maps of the city, maps of every security blind spot, maps of every abandoned warehouse within a fifty-mile radius. It’s been seven days. Seven days since the rain washed away her scent, her frantic footsteps, and the trace of the bastard who took her.
I haven't slept. I haven't changed. I lean back in my chair, the leather squeaking in protest, and stare at the three monitors glowing in the dark room. All three display dead ends.
My best friend, Alex Vance, stands in the doorway, holding a fresh shirt and a granola bar. He looks exhausted, having spent the last seventy-two hours here trying to manage the Astor empire while I crumble.
"Killian, you look like something they found decomposing in a river," Alex says, stepping inside. He tosses the shirt onto the sofa. "Eat this. Sleep for two hours. Your brain is useless right now."
I don't even turn my head. "If my brain is useless, what does that make the entire FBI task force that can't find a pregnant woman in the middle of Manhattan?"
"They can't find her because the person who took her is either very good or very lucky," Alex counters, his voice laced with forced patience. "You have to be sharp when the ransom comes. You can’t negotiate looking like a corpse."
"Ransom isn't coming, Alex. Not a normal one," I growl, rubbing the week-old stubble on my jaw. "This is personal. This is someone who wants to hurt me by taking the only thing I care about. They tore her head off the photo, remember? They want to make me suffer before they silence her forever."
I slam my fist on the desk. "I need to find her! She’s going to give birth soon! What if she’s alone? What if she needs a doctor? God, Alex, I called her hysterical! Those were the last damn words I said to the woman I love!"
Alex walks over, his expression serious. "You regret it. I know. But guilt isn't a strategy. Right now, your guilt is a liability. Focus on the strategy. Have you heard from Luciano?"
"He's running his own networks," I say, picking up my phone and dropping it immediately. The weight of it feels unbearable. "He's better connected in the shadows than I am in the light. He called an hour ago. Nothing. Just blind alleys and dead informants."
Just then, the door swings open and Luciano strides in. He looks just as bad as I do, his bespoke suit rumpled, his eyes bloodshot, but he carries himself with a controlled fury that I almost envy.
"Any word from the company that installed the gates?" Luciano asks, skipping the pleasantries.
"They're denying a breach. Claim the electronic lock was manually overridden, cut, not hacked. It was a physical breach, Luciano. The security was pulled away. Someone knew my routine, my guard shifts, everything."
Luciano walks over to my desk, his gaze sweeping over the chaos. "Someone in your inner circle, Astor. Or someone who knows you better than you know yourself." He fixes me with a hard look. "Did you tell her you loved her?"
The question is a punch to the gut. I slump forward, resting my elbows on the desk. "Not enough. I was too busy being the impenetrable CEO. I was too busy telling myself I was protecting her when all I was doing was keeping her at arm's length. I waited too long."
"You did," Luciano agrees, his voice devoid of judgment, only sympathy. "But self-pity is a weakness you cannot afford. She needs you to be the ruthless bastard you are. The man who doesn’t lose."
Luciano leans in, his voice dropping. "I ran every name. Every enemy your father made, every competitor you crushed, every scorned lover. Nothing is lining up. This feels… old. Deeply rooted."
"My father's investigation," I realize, standing up. "It has to be connected to the man who killed her father. The one he was trying to expose."
"Exactly," Luciano confirms. "The one person we couldn't find in the file. The orchestrator."
God, Annabella, you must hate me. You must think I knew about the file, that I used you. I just wanted to clear the name for the baby, to give our child a clean slate. I should have told you. I should have trusted you. I love you. I need to tell you I love you before it’s too late. I swear, if I lose her and the baby because of my family’s sins, I will burn the entire Astor legacy to the ground.
"What’s the priority, Killian?" Alex interrupts, pulling me back from the edge of my despair. "The kidnapping or the history lesson?"
"The kidnapping," I choke out. "But they are the same thing. They want the file, the truth, or they want me to pay for my father’s sins with her life."
Just as I speak, a notification sounds on one of my burner laptops, the one only I check, encrypted to the highest level. It's a single, untraceable message.
I lunge for the screen, my heart hammering against my ribs. The message is short, simple, and terrifying:
MEET ME AT THE OLD ASTOR SHIPYARD, PIER 7. DUSK. COME ALONE. OR SHE DIES. BRING THE FILE. THE TRUTH IS DUE.
My breath catches. The old shipyard. My father’s first legitimate business venture, now abandoned. It's miles away, deep on the docks.
I whirl around, the desperation replaced by pure, cold adrenaline.
"They want the file," I rasp, grabbing the manila folder from the desk. "They want the truth."
Luciano is already reaching for his holster beneath his jacket. "It’s a trap, Astor. You can't go alone."
"I have to," I counter, checking the clip in my own sidearm. "They said alone. If they see backup, they'll execute her instantly. They know I won't risk it."
I look at Alex, my voice regaining its CEO steel, though tinged with panic. "Alex. Call Captain Miller at the precinct. Give him the address. Tell him to deploy a perimeter, silent and three miles wide. No closer. Tell him if he moves without my signal, the Astor legal team will bury him, his career, and his pension."
"Got it," Alex says, already dialing, his hand steady.
I turn to Luciano, our rivalry forgotten, replaced by a shared, primal need to save her.
"You’re coming with me," I state. "But we go in separate cars. We approach from opposite sides of the pier. You stay hidden, providing the only immediate cover I'll have."
"What about the baby?" Luciano asks, his eyes reflecting my own terror. "You go in there, and she goes into labor—"
"I know!" I shout, running my hands through my hair. "That is the price of their leverage! But I have to go, Luciano. I have to look that coward in the eyes and bring her home."
I grab my keys, the file tucked under my arm. I look back at Alex, who’s barking orders into the phone.
"If I don’t come out in an hour, Alex... call the cavalry. And if anything happens to her… you know what to do to the Astor legacy."
I don't wait for a reply. I race out of the study, Luciano right behind me, both of us charging into the chaos of the night, driven by the desperate hope of
bringing Annabella and our child home.