Chapter 79 Where Is My Daughter?

Chapter 79 Where Is My Daughter?
Benjamin's POV

The next morning, Marcus walked into my study with his usual composed expression, though I noticed the slight stiffness in his shoulder where Eva had stabbed him the night before. He carried himself well despite the injury, never once mentioning it or asking for any sympathy whatsoever.

"The mission was carried out successfully," he said, standing at attention in front of my desk. "Everything went exactly as planned. No survivors, no witnesses left behind to complicate matters."

I nodded, satisfaction settling deep into my chest. Two hundred of Ethan's new recruits, gone in a single explosion. A significant blow to his organization, and an even more significant message to anyone still foolish enough to think they could challenge me.

"Has Ethan made any moves yet?" I asked, leaning back in my chair.

"Our informant hasn't reported anything," Marcus said. "From what we can gather, Ethan seems genuinely shaken by the loss of his recruits. He hasn't issued any retaliatory orders yet, though our sources say his top people are meeting behind closed doors as we speak."

I felt nothing but satisfaction at that. Let him grieve. Let him sit with the weight of failure, the reality that he couldn't protect the people who trusted him most. Grief made men reckless, or it made them submissive and easy to control. Either outcome worked in my favor eventually.

I had never cared about the number of casualties in any operation, only the outcome. As long as I ended up on top, the bodies along the way meant nothing to me. They never had. This world didn't reward sentimentality of any kind. It rewarded results, and results were the only currency that ever truly mattered in the end.

What I wanted was simple. I wanted Ethan to fear me. I wanted him to understand, deeply and completely, that continuing to resist me would only bring more bloodshed to his doorstep. The only way this entire conflict would end peacefully was if he submitted, handed over his power and control to me entirely.

THE FIRM was meant to be the sole authority over this country's underworld. No competitors, no rival organizations carving out their own territory. Just one unified power, operating exactly as I designed it. I had spent decades building toward that vision, and I wasn't about to let some upstart organization stand in my way now, not after everything I had already sacrificed to get here. Not after everything I had already lost along the way, including the woman I once loved more than anything else in this world.

"Any news on Bella?" I asked, shifting the conversation, my tone sharpening slightly despite myself.

Marcus shook his head. "Our informant reports she went directly to Ethan's private quarters after leaving here last night. She hasn't stepped out since. It appears she's remaining close to him."

I frowned slightly, irritation flickering through me at her continued stubbornness. She had chosen him over her own blood, chosen loyalty to an outsider over the family that had given her everything, including the very life she now used against me at every possible turn.

And yet, despite that irritation, something softer stirred beneath it too. A genuine fondness for her that I rarely allowed myself to acknowledge openly, even to myself. She was sharp, resourceful, skilled in ways that took most assassins decades to develop, skills she had built entirely on her own after everything I had failed to protect her from. The connections she had built within the underworld over the years, the reputation she carried even before I knew who she truly was, made her an asset unlike anything else I possessed.

I wanted her on my side. Not just as my daughter, but as someone who could genuinely help me achieve what I had spent my entire life working toward. Elena would have wanted her protected, safe, powerful enough that nobody could ever hurt her the way we had both been hurt.

I sighed, pushing the thought aside for now, and reached for a folder sitting on the corner of my desk. I picked it up and held it out toward Marcus, my expression settling back into business.

"Take this to Lucas Moretti," I said. "He'll understand exactly what it means the moment he opens it. No explanation necessary."

Marcus took the folder without asking any questions, tucking it carefully under his uninjured arm.

"Should I deliver it personally, or send someone else this time?" he asked.

"Personally," I said. "This needs to come from someone he'll take seriously, and someone who won't fumble the delivery."

Marcus nodded and turned to leave, but before he could reach the door, it burst open with enough force to slam against the wall behind it, the sound echoing sharply through the study.

Winnie stormed in, her eyes red and swollen, her face streaked with dried tears, mascara smudged beneath her lashes. Her hair was disheveled, strands falling loose from what had clearly once been a neat style, and her hands were trembling visibly at her sides. She looked nothing like the composed, elegant woman I had married. This version of her was raw, unguarded, terrified.

I straightened in my chair, caught off guard by her sudden entrance. Winnie rarely came to my study uninvited, and never in a state like this. Even during our worst arguments over the years, she had maintained a certain composure. Whatever had happened to break that composure now clearly ran deeper than anything we had faced before.

Marcus paused near the door, glancing between the two of us uncertainly, clearly unsure whether to stay or make his exit before things escalated further.

"Leave us," I said to him.

He gave a quick nod and slipped out, closing the door quietly behind him, leaving me alone to face whatever storm Winnie had walked in carrying.

Winnie's chest heaved with ragged breaths as she stared at me, fury and desperation warring across her expression, her manicured nails digging into her own palms.

"Where were you last night?" she demanded, her voice cracking. "I've been trying to reach you all morning, Benjamin. You never once answered your phone."

"I was handling some political matters," I said carefully, keeping my tone even and measured. "Is something wrong? You look absolutely exhausted."

"Is something wrong?" she repeated, her voice rising sharply, echoing off the walls of the study. "Benjamin, our daughter never came home last night. I've called everyone and nobody has seen her since the party."

My jaw tightened slightly. Of course Haley hadn't come home. She was currently sitting in a holding cell at THE FIRM's headquarters, awaiting whatever punishment I decided to hand down for her role in last night's chaos, though I had no intention of explaining that to Winnie just yet.

"I'm sure she's fine," I said, choosing my words carefully. "She's probably staying somewhere to avoid the fallout from the party."

Winnie's eyes narrowed, suspicion flickering across her tear-streaked face, her voice growing quieter but sharper.

"That's not like her," she said. "She always calls me even when things go wrong, even when she's in trouble, she calls me first before anyone else."

I said nothing, my mind racing to figure out how much I could reasonably withhold from her without raising further alarm.

Haley knows too much now, so it's best she is kept in the base until her memories are readjusted.

"Benjamin," she said slowly, taking a step closer to my desk, her voice dropping into something colder, more accusatory. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," I said. "I told you, I'm sure she's fine, wherever she is."

Winnie's hands curled into fists at her sides, her entire body trembling now with a mixture of grief and rage that seemed ready to boil over completely.

"Don't lie to me," she snapped. "I know you, Benjamin. I've known you for over fifteen years…When you get that look on your face, it means you're hiding something, and right now you're wearing that exact look."

I kept my expression carefully neutral, refusing to give anything away, though her accuracy unsettled me more than I cared to admit.

"You're overreacting," I said calmly. "Haley is a grown woman… She's allowed to go a night without checking in, especially after everything that happened at that party."

"She's my daughter!" Winnie shouted, her composure finally shattering completely. Tears spilled freely down her cheeks now, her voice raw with desperation. "My only child, Benjamin! And you're sitting here acting like this is nothing!"

She took another step forward, closing the distance between us until she stood directly in front of my desk, her eyes locked onto mine with an intensity I hadn't seen from her in years.

"Benjamin," she said, her voice shaking with barely contained emotion, tears streaming freely down her face now, "where is my daughter?”