Chapter 36

Seraphina

The door slammed shut behind me, and I stood there, frozen for a second. The familiar echo of it resonated through the quiet apartment, sending a jolt through my chest. They were gone. The men—Marius, Damon, Tyrone—had disappeared into the darkness of the party to attend to their business, just like I knew they would.

And yet, here I was, still sitting in my room, pacing in circles as the silence pressed down on me. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand why they were leaving me out of it. They wanted to protect me. I could see that—feel it every time their eyes softened as they warned me to stay out of the investigation. They also didn’t know me. Not truly. But their absence, their silence, it was like a constant weight on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

I missed them. More than I wanted to admit. More than I should, considering everything that was happening, but I couldn’t help it. Even when I was caught up in my own thoughts, trying to piece things together, my mind would drift to them. How they made me feel, how they looked at me—each of them with such intensity, like they were watching me, guarding me, even when they weren’t physically near.

I dropped down onto the bed, staring at my phone. The message to my contact was still open on the screen, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. I had sent everything I had—the names, the descriptions, the connections, hoping he could give me something more concrete. His reply had been short, but it was enough for now: I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

The seconds felt like minutes as I stared at the screen, waiting. But nothing. It was maddening, the not-knowing, the tension of waiting for a response that might never come. I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit here. It was too much, this feeling of helplessness, of being left out in the dark while everyone else had their part to play.

I stood up again, pacing across the room. My eyes flickered to the window. The sun had set hours ago, and the campus outside was quiet, still. I hadn’t seen the men all day, not a single glance or text from any of them. They were too wrapped up in whatever business they were handling, too caught up in the endless tasks that came with the world they lived in.

My phone buzzed suddenly, and I jumped. It was a text from my contact.

"Checking into it. Noticed some odd patterns with the girls that are missing. The connections seem to point back to the Big 5 families. You were right to look into this."

I felt my stomach drop. The Big 5 families. The very same families that Tyrone, Damon, and Marius were born into. That Marius’s father was the current leader of. I had been wondering, piecing together bits of information from the bits of conversations I’d overheard, from the cryptic words spoken when the men thought I wasn’t listening. This wasn’t random. This wasn’t just a few girls vanishing into thin air.

It was personal. And strategic. The thought sent a chill down my spine. Someone was targeting the daughters of these families. Why? What did they want? I didn’t know yet, but every piece I uncovered only added to the mounting sense of dread inside me. The more I thought about it, the more the pieces started to fall into place. Whoever was behind these abductions was trying to break the Big 5. And they were doing it by attacking the women closest to them—their daughters, their sisters, their family.

But no one knew if they were dead. The authorities were still out of the loop, not knowing the connection, not knowing that this was something far bigger than a random act. My mind raced as I ran through the list of missing girls again—plus the six that had gone missing this year, so far. They were all connected, but how?

I sat back down on the bed, tracing the names in my mind. I had already gone over the details a hundred times, but something in my gut told me I was missing something. The faces of the girls, their descriptions, the way their names were woven into this complex network of mafia families—it was too much. I closed my eyes, leaning back against the headboard, trying to clear my mind. But all I could think about was them. Marius, with his cold, calculating mind. Damon, his fierce protectiveness hiding beneath that smooth exterior. Tyrone, the way he always seemed five steps ahead, yet somehow always on edge.

God, I missed them.

I felt that familiar tug in my chest as I thought about them, wondering what they were doing, what they were uncovering. I could sense the weight of everything they were dealing with, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that if I was only with them, maybe I could make a difference. Maybe I could help. But I knew they wouldn’t let me in.

It was frustrating, the constant back-and-forth inside my mind. Part of me wanted to fight for them, for this investigation. I wanted to stand beside them, to help bring the truth to light. But another part of me knew that getting too close to this would put me at risk. This wasn’t just about me anymore. This was bigger than anything I could have imagined.

I glanced at my phone again, but there was still no reply. The waiting was starting to get to me. My thoughts kept circling back to the same conclusion—whoever was behind this was doing it to break down the families, to tear them apart. But the more I thought about it, the more questions came up. Why the daughters? What was the real goal here?

I glanced over at the desk where I’d spread out my research—photos of the missing girls, notes, names. A map with pins marking locations. I’d pieced together everything I could, but the answer still eluded me.

Stay focused, I told myself, breathing deeply. Don’t lose sight of it now.

But the truth was, I was already starting to feel lost in it all. The men had said they’d be back for me Saturday, but that was yesterday, with no form of communication from them. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had gone wrong with them, that there was something I was missing.

The minutes ticked by, and eventually, I realized that it was almost midnight on Sunday. I needed to put this away for now and let sleep claim me. My mind was still spinning. Somewhere in the haze of it all, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of everything we were about to lose.

What if it’s already too late to stop what was coming?

I fell into a restless sleep, hoping that tomorrow I would see them, maybe find out what was keeping them so busy. That last question lingering in my mind as the world around me blurred into darkness.