Chapter 46

Seraphina POV

The music was loud, bass rattling through the walls of Sigma Phi’s house as I leaned against the bar, sipping a drink that I barely tasted. The crowd was already thick, people laughing, dancing, and mingling, but I was more alert than I’d ever been at one of these parties. I kept my eyes on the exits, scanning faces, every inch of the space. No one knew how much of this night depended on my every move—no one except my men, of course.

Tyrone, Marius, and Damon had done their usual rounds of dropping in and making their presence known at different times, but it was clear they were focused on their own strategy for the weekend. I knew they thought I was just another party girl, having fun at their sorority house while keeping my head down, but my game was far from over.

I had received a few texts from my men on surveillance, asking for updates. Everything was going smoothly—no signs of any activity. And that was how it was supposed to look. I couldn’t afford to let anything slip. I didn’t need anyone figuring out what I was planning until it was too late.

As the night wore on, I caught snippets of conversation around me, watching people, keeping tabs on everything. It was hard to ignore the fact that a strange tension lingered in the air, as though everyone could sense that something was off. But it wasn’t until I saw one of my men signal me from the back of the room that my stomach dropped.

I grabbed my phone, heart pounding. My team had sent a simple message: Off-campus. Three girls gone.

The pit in my stomach twisted even tighter. One of the girls was a cousin from Marius’s family—fuck. I clenched my fist, ignoring the jolt of anxiety that shot up my spine. I didn’t need to look at my phone again to know exactly what that meant. It wasn’t just any abduction. It was a message. One that was too close for comfort.

I could feel the heat of my blood rising in my chest. If this wasn’t a warning shot, I didn’t know what was. The last thing I needed was to be surrounded by Marius, Damon, and Tyrone, all asking questions when they knew nothing about what I was really up to.

I tried to calm my breath, pushing the wave of panic aside. I glanced at the door again, knowing that there were only so many hours left before I needed to move on to the next phase. Everything hinged on tonight—on how I reacted and what I did next. But this wasn’t just about saving my skin. This was about taking control back.

I couldn’t let my men get too close, couldn’t let them figure out what I already knew. Not until the time was right. Not until I could expose the truth of what was happening, how these girls were being taken, and why.

At that moment, I caught Marius’s eyes across the room. He wasn’t looking at me. He was too focused on something else—probably plotting in his mind. But I noticed the shadow of concern in his expression, the slight furrow of his brow. He wasn’t fooling anyone, especially not me.

I quickly turned away, pretending to laugh at a joke someone had made, hiding the anxiety creeping up my throat. It was getting harder to breathe, knowing that I couldn’t tell them anything yet. But I had to keep playing my part. I wasn’t going to let their plans be the only ones that mattered.

Marius POV

The music blared, but it felt distant, muffled, as I stared into the half-drunk glass in my hand. The party was nothing but a distraction now, a backdrop to what had been an increasingly uncomfortable reality. My thoughts had drifted, again and again, back to the girls that were about to go missing, to the disquiet I’d felt since last night. The news didn’t stop at just one disappearance. No, it was part of something much larger, and I wasn’t blind enough to miss that fact.

I took another sip of my drink, the bitter taste of whiskey burning my throat, trying to focus on the plans in motion, but something gnawed at the back of my mind. Something had changed tonight—something more than the usual undercurrent of danger that buzzed through the air.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the low buzz of my phone. A quick glance at the message sent a cold shiver through me. Three girls taken. One of them is from your family.

The words felt like a punch to the gut. I set my drink down carefully, clenching my jaw to stop the sudden surge of panic. No. This wasn’t just a coincidence. They were sending a message, and they knew exactly how to make it hit hardest.

The notification wasn’t just a simple update. It was a trigger, the first shot fired in what would soon be an all-out war. I had to think. I had to plan. The girls were gone, but I needed to know where they were taken. I needed to see the faces of the men responsible for this before I did anything else.

I turned my attention to the room, scanning the crowd for a moment. Then my eyes locked onto her—Seri. Her laughter echoed in the air, carefree and light. It was impossible to ignore how different she looked in this moment. The way she smiled, the way she moved through the crowd of sorority sisters as if everything was just another night out.

But I knew better. I knew she wasn’t here for the same reasons as the others. She was playing a game of her own, one that she had yet to reveal to any of us.

I watched her for a beat longer than I should have before shaking my head and slipping away. There was no time to indulge in distractions. I had to get my team on this. I needed answers—and I needed them now.

I stepped out into the cool night air and found Damon and Tyrone waiting for me near the back of the house. The tension in the air was palpable, each of us knowing that the stakes had just been raised higher than ever before.

“What’s the plan?” Tyrone’s voice was low, calculating, always thinking several steps ahead.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself before I answered. “We follow them—discreetly, but close. We don’t let them know we’re onto them, but we need to know exactly where they’re taking the girls. Our focus should be on getting them back without tipping our hand too early.”

Damon nodded. “We’ll work fast. No mistakes. We’ll have our men in place to ensure the girls aren’t moved again.”

My gaze hardened. “We don’t have time to waste, and we don’t have the luxury of hesitation. Genovese is behind this, I know it. The sooner we find out where he’s holding them, the better.”

Tyrone gave a small, almost imperceptible nod, his mind already working through every possible outcome. “We’ll follow from the outside. Let’s make sure nothing happens before we’re in position.”

I turned back to Damon. “You make sure everything’s in place at the off-campus location. Don’t let anyone slip through our fingers.”

“Understood,” Damon said, his voice steady.

There was no more time for words. We had a plan, but it wasn’t enough yet. Not until we had those girls back in our possession. And not until I made sure this bastard, Genovese, paid for every life he had taken.

I couldn’t afford to fail again.

And as much as I hated to admit it, I wasn’t doing this alone. I had to make sure that Seri was kept in the dark—at least for now. She was far too valuable, and I couldn’t let her get caught in the crossfire.

I turned away from them, heading toward the front of the house. My eyes searched the crowd again for Seri, but I didn’t find her. Not for the first time tonight, I wondered what she was really planning. I knew her well enough by now to realize she wasn’t just another girl caught up in all of this. She was in this deeper than anyone knew.

But I couldn’t afford to be distracted. There were too many lives on the line. Too many questions. Too many people who would pay the price if I didn’t get this right. As I pushed my way through the front door, I caught one last glance of Seri, still laughing with her friends. She didn’t see me, but I could see her.

For now, I would stay in the shadows. Watching. Waiting. And when the time came, I would make sure no one could escape the consequences of their actions. The air outside was cooler, a stark contrast to the heat and chaos inside the house. I took a deep breath, steadying myself. My team was in position. The plan was set into motion, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that things were about to take a turn for the worse. Too many unknowns, too many variables to account for.

Just then, the sound of a car’s engine broke through my thoughts. I glanced over to see a sleek black sedan pull up. The headlights illuminated the darkened driveway, cutting through the shadows. The car came to a stop, and I recognized the figures in the front seats before they even got out. Damon, his expression as impassive as always, sat in the driver’s seat. Tyrone, silent and calculating, sat beside him.

I moved closer, stepping into the shadows to keep out of sight as I watched them. The car door opened, and Tyrone’s long, purposeful strides met the pavement first, followed by Damon, who scanned the area before locking eyes with me briefly. No words were exchanged. They didn’t need to be. The plan was already in motion.

“Let’s go,” I said, sliding into the back seat beside them. My men were already in position, and it was time to move. We had intel on the girls’ location, but I wasn’t taking any chances. This was too important, too dangerous.

Damon’s eyes flicked toward me, his voice low. “You sure you want to go in first?”

I didn’t have time to argue. “We’ll move fast. Get in and get out. No hesitation.”

Tyrone didn’t say a word, but his eyes glinted with the usual calculation, his mind already working through every possible outcome. He started issuing commands to his men through his earpiece, all while keeping his gaze locked ahead, focused.

The sedan pulled away from the house, the tires biting into the asphalt as we sped toward the location where the girls were being held. Every second felt like an eternity. The weight of what was happening settled heavily on me. I couldn’t afford to let any mistakes happen tonight. There was too much at stake.

As we made our way down the darkened street, I thought I caught a flicker of movement in the corner of my eye. For a split second, I thought I saw Seri. But then she was gone, swallowed up by the night. I turned away from the window and back toward the men in the car, focusing on the task ahead. We were almost there. What I didn’t know was that Seri had enacted her own mission. She had been picked up by her own men, quietly and efficiently, while I and my team were still heading to the site. She was already out there and in the danger zone.