ANNA
Anna's POV.
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Lori’s voice was sharp enough to shred the air. “She’s manipulating you, Chamberlain—”
The door burst open, preceded by hurried footsteps.
Jeremy’s hurried footsteps pounded against the floor as he stepped into the room, his face pale, his iPad clutched in one hand like it was burning him. The tension in the room shifted instantly.
“Sir—” His voice faltered when his eyes landed on the tableau: me on my knees by Chamberlain’s bed, Lori stiff and seething, Chamberlain’s small hand in mine. Jeremy cleared his throat, his gaze darting nervously. “Alex. There’s… there’s a report you need to see.”
Alex appeared behind him almost immediately, tall and dark like a shadow pulled from the hallway. His presence filled the room, freezing every ounce of air in my lungs. His storm-colored eyes swept across us before landing on Jeremy.
“What report?” His tone was clipped, commanding.
Jeremy glanced at me, then back at Alex. “It’s about Ferdinand.”
My heart stopped. Ferdinand??
Jeremy’s jaw tightened. “The report just came in. Ferdinand has been kidnapped. Sara—your friend—” his eyes flickered to me again “—she reached out to the police. They’re moving already.”
The world collapsed around me.
“No.” The word tore from my throat in a whisper, weak and broken, but it echoed like a scream inside my head. My knees went numb against the floor. “No, no, no…”
Chamberlain’s tiny hand squeezed mine, but it wasn’t enough to stop the panic ripping through me. My brother—my only brother—gone? Snatched away while I was trapped here, drowning under accusations and venom?
I shot to my feet, my body moving before my mind could catch up. “I have to go. I have to get to him—”
But I barely made it two steps before iron fingers wrapped around my arm and yanked me back.
Alex.
He pulled me hard enough that I stumbled against his chest. His hold was unyielding, his body a wall between me and the door. My palms pressed against him, trembling. His scent—sharp, commanding—swallowed me whole.
“Let me go!” My voice broke as I pushed at him, useless against his strength. “That’s my brother, Alex. I can’t just stand here—”
“Anna.” His voice was low, dangerous—but not with anger. With control. With restraint. His grip tightened, pulling me closer until my cheek brushed against the fabric of his shirt. “You need to be patient.”
“Patient?” My tears spilled hot and fast, soaking into him as I shook my head violently. “My brother is out there, terrified, maybe hurt, maybe—” My throat caught, strangling me with fear. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing!”
His other hand rose, cupping the back of my head, holding me still even as I struggled. His touch wasn’t gentle, but it wasn’t cruel either. It was anchoring, unrelenting.
“You’ll do nothing,” he said firmly, his words cutting through my panic like steel. “Because if you go running out there without a plan, you’ll end up the same way. And I’m not losing both of you.”
I froze.
My chest heaved, broken sobs tearing through me. My fists clenched in his shirt, trembling as his words sank in. “You’ll… help me?”
His jaw ticked. His storm-colored eyes locked on mine, blazing with a vow that felt bigger than anything I’d ever asked from him. “I’ll get him back. I swear it.”
The certainty in his tone shattered me. My body gave way, my strength crumbling, and I collapsed into him fully. My sobs shook us both, muffled against his chest.
Chamberlain’s small voice broke through the silence. “Father?”
Alex didn’t look away from me, didn’t loosen his grip as though letting me go might mean I’d fall apart completely. “Stay with him,” Alex ordered Lori instead, his voice sharp like a whip. “Now.”
For once, Lori didn’t argue.
I buried my face deeper into Alex’s chest, my tears soaking his shirt, my voice trembling with desperation. “Please… don’t let them hurt him. He’s all I have left.”
Alex’s arms tightened around me, his strength the only thing keeping me from dissolving into dust. “And now he’s mine to protect too,” he murmured, so low only I could hear.
The mansion blurred around me. I hardly remembered how I ended up outside, only that Alex never let go of me. His arm stayed locked around my waist, guiding, pushing, anchoring me when my legs wanted to buckle.
Three of his men followed, silent shadows with hard eyes and clipped strides. One opened the car door before we even reached it.
Alex didn’t ask me to move he placed me inside himself. My trembling body sank against the leather seat, my lungs shallow and raw. I wanted to scream, to claw at the world until it gave my brother back, but all I could do was cling to the ghost of Alex’s vow: I’ll get him back.
He slid in beside me. The door shut with a heavy thud, sealing us inside.
The car surged forward almost instantly. I pressed my forehead against the cold glass, my breaths fogging it up, the night lights smearing into streaks. My hands shook uncontrollably in my lap.
“Breathe.”
The word came from beside me, low, rough, commanding. Alex’s hand covered mine before I realized I was clawing at my own skin. His palm was hot, steady, immovable.
“I can’t,” I whispered, my throat raw. “Ferdinand—”
“You’ll breathe,” he cut in, his voice like steel wrapped in velvet. “Because you need your head clear. For him.”
His grip anchored me when my body threatened to float away into terror. I forced in a ragged inhale, then another. They burned, sharp in my chest, but they came.
The men in the front stayed silent, their attention fixed outward. Their presence was a reminder: this wasn’t just a ride. It was a mission.
The city peeled open before us. Streetlights bled across the windows. The world looked normal out there, people walking, cars honking, laughter spilling from a bar. How could everything look the same when mine had been ripped apart?
“We’ll handle it,” Alex said suddenly. Not to the car. Not to the men. To me.
I turned my head, searching his face. He was unreadable, jaw clenched, eyes burning with that storm I’d come to fear and crave. For once, though, the fury wasn’t directed at me. It was for something else. Someone else.
“You believe me?” My voice cracked. “You believe Ferdinand… he didn’t just disappear, that someone took him?”
His eyes flicked down to mine, and the intensity there made my stomach twist. “I don’t believe. I know.”
Tears spilled hot and fast again. I turned back to the window, pressing my knuckles against my mouth to stop the sob threatening to tear out.
The drive felt endless, yet too short. My body shook as the car slowed, pulling into the bright chaos of the police station.
The place was buzzing officers moving quickly, lights harsh against pale walls. And right at the front doors, I saw her.
Sara.
Her hair was a mess, her eyes wide and bloodshot, her hands trembling as she clutched her phone like it was the only thing holding her together. The moment she saw me, she stumbled forward, her face crumpling with relief and panic all at once.
“Anna!” Her voice cracked as she ran to me.
The second I stepped out of the car, she threw her arms around me. I clung to her, sobs ripping through me anew. “Tell me—tell me everything—”
Her words tumbled out, frantic. “It was men in black. Masks. They grabbed Ferdinand near the café—we were supposed to meet there, but I was late. Oh God, Anna, if I’d been there—if I’d been—” She broke, her voice shattering.
I shook her shoulders, desperation clawing my throat. “Sara! Did you see their faces? A car? Anything?”
Her hands fisted in my sleeves. “Only black masks. They shoved him into a van—dark, tinted windows—then they were gone. I called the police right away, I swear—”
Her voice cracked again, and she sobbed into her palms.
The sound shattered me. I staggered back, air failing in my lungs. My brother—my baby brother—dragged away by faceless shadows.
My knees threatened to give, but before they could, Alex’s arm wrapped firmly around my waist again, holding me upright.
His voice cut clean through the panic. “Jeremy. Details.”
Jeremy was already at his side, handing over his iPad, his tone brisk. “Police have already checked surveillance near the café. Two cameras caught the van leaving. Plates were fake, but our system is cross-tracking models and routes. Narrowing it down.”