Chapter 245

Chapter 245
Nathan's POV

I held Eleanor against my chest, her tiny body warm and comforting despite the storm raging inside me. The weight of her in my arms was the only thing keeping me from tearing the entire penthouse apart in fury.

"I'm so sorry, baby girl," I whispered, pressing my lips to her forehead. "I don't know how I let this happen."

Eleanor stirred, her tiny face scrunching up as if she could sense something was wrong. She had been fussy all morning, reaching for someone who wasn't there. Reaching for her mother.

Lily was gone.

I'd woken up to an empty bed and a note on the pillow. A fucking note. As if that could explain why she had decided to leave me and our daughter in the middle of the night. As if that could make up for the fact that she had chosen to handle whatever this was on her own instead of trusting me.

"I'll bring her back, Eleanor," I promised, my voice breaking slightly. "I swear to you."

How had I not seen this coming? The signs had been there—her strange behavior these past few days, the way she'd been looking at Eleanor and me as if memorizing our faces, the tears she thought I didn't notice. And then last night, when she'd told me about the pregnancy... I should have known something was wrong. I should have seen through her smile to whatever was hiding beneath.

Eleanor began to cry, a soft whimper that quickly escalated into a full wail. She sensed her mother's absence. She knew Lily wasn't here.

"Shhh," I whispered, bouncing her gently. "I know, baby. I know you miss her." I pressed another kiss to the top of her head. "I miss her too."

I had to find her today. I didn't care what I had to cancel or who I had to disappoint. The attack on my uncle Zane that we'd been planning for weeks—it could wait. The family could wait. All that mattered was bringing Lily home, even if it meant turning my back on everything else.

I hadn't told anyone yet. Not my father, not Michael, not even James. I couldn't bear to see the disappointment in their eyes, the unspoken accusation: You couldn't even protect your own woman.

I heard footsteps in the hallway and quickly wiped my face, erasing any trace of the tears that had threatened to fall. The door opened, and my mother walked in, her perfectly coiffed hair and immaculate outfit a stark contrast to the chaos I felt inside.

"Good morning, Nathan," she said, her gaze falling on Eleanor. "I thought I'd come help with the baby."

"No," I said, more harshly than I intended. I softened my tone but tightened my hold on Eleanor. "No. Let me hold my daughter."

My mother frowned but didn't argue. Instead, she crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, watching me with those sharp eyes that never missed anything.

"Where's Lily?" she asked.

I turned away, focusing on Eleanor to hide the flash of pain that crossed my face. "She's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean, gone?"

"She left sometime during the night," I said, the words like acid on my tongue.

My mother was quiet for a moment, and I braced myself for what would come next—the I-told-you-so's, the reminders that she had warned me Lily wasn't right for me.

"I'm sorry," she said instead, surprising me. Then, because she was still Elizabeth Sullivan, she added, "Though I can't say I'm entirely shocked."

I wanted to hate the security guard who had let Lily leave. I wanted to fire him, to punish him for his failure. But I knew Lily—knew how persuasive she could be, how easy it was to get caught in her web. She probably batted those big brown eyes at him and spun some story that he couldn't help but believe.

"She's either brilliantly smart or incredibly stupid," I muttered, more to myself than to my mother. "There's no in-between with her."

The thought made my blood run cold. Lily was pregnant. She was carrying our second child, and she had willingly put herself in danger. The anger that had been simmering beneath my grief suddenly boiled over.

"How could she be so fucking stupid?" I growled. "If she had just told me what was wrong, I would have fixed it. If she'd said my uncle's change of behavior wasn't enough, I would have made him get on his knees and apologize to her."

My mother stood up, smoothing down her skirt. "I don't want to say I told you so..." she began, and I felt my jaw clench. "But your father and I both told you she wasn't right for you—"

"If you're just here to tell me the woman who makes my son happy isn't good enough, you can take your bullshit and leave."

Michael's voice cut through the room like a knife. I hadn't heard him come in, but there he was, standing in the doorway, his face a mask of barely contained fury.

My mother's eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in anger. "How dare you speak to me that way in my son's home?"

"Your son doesn't need your negative energy today," Michael replied coolly. "So why don't you just go?"

For a moment, I thought my mother might argue, but instead, she just huffed and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

I looked at Michael, a small smile tugging at the corner of my mouth despite everything. "Thanks for that."

He shrugged, crossing the room to join me by the window. "What your mother meant to say is that Lily loves Eleanor, and she loves you. So she felt like she had to do this."

"I never asked her to do this!" I snapped, the anger rising again. "I never wanted her to sacrifice herself!"

Michael nodded, understanding in his eyes. "I know, brother. I know."

We stood in silence for a moment, both of us watching Eleanor as she finally settled into a fitful sleep against my chest.

"Alex and James are checking on Zane's location," Michael said finally. "Your brothers are helping, and your grandfather is coordinating. We'll find her, Nathan."

I nodded, grateful for his support but still boiling with rage and fear.

"Thank you," I said softly.

"We'll bring her back today—"

"Yes," I cut him off, my voice hard with determination. "I will bring her back today. I'm not worried about that."

What I was worried about was the state I'd find her in. If my uncle had hurt her, if he had laid a single finger on her or our baby...

The door burst open again, and this time it wasn't my mother. Sean strode into the room, his face a thundercloud, followed by his three sons—Kevin, Brian, and a furious-looking Tyler.

I carefully handed Eleanor to Michael, who took her without a word, and turned to face my father-in-law and his angry entourage.

Tyler didn't give me a chance to speak. He lunged forward, his fist connecting with my jaw before I could react. "You!" he snarled. "You did this to my sister!"

I blocked his second punch, catching his wrist in a tight grip. "I understand you're angry," I said calmly, even as my jaw throbbed. "She's your twin. I get it."

Tyler struggled against my hold, his eyes wild with rage and fear. "Let me go!"

"You can hate me all you want," I said, releasing him with a small shove. "But right now, I need you to calm down. I will bring your sister back—I promise."

Sean stepped forward, placing a restraining hand on Tyler's shoulder. "He's right, Tyler. Lily is Lily, and your sister has always made rash decisions. There's no stopping her."

Tyler whirled on his father. "So what? We're just going to blame her for this?"

Kevin, usually silent, spoke up. "I don't care. I only know one thing—you're bringing my sister back today, and after that, we're taking her home where she belongs."

I felt a flare of possessiveness. "She's not your property."

"Oh, and she's yours?" Kevin shot back.

"No," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "She's not property at all. She's the mother of my children, and my future wife."

I turned to Tyler. "Your parents were also part of giving up their children, so they should accept my apology if I've done something to offend them."

Sean grabbed me by the collar, his face inches from mine. "What did you just say?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Michael quietly slip out of the room with Eleanor. Good. She didn't need to witness this.

"You heard me," I said, meeting Sean's glare with one of my own. "You abandoned your children, and now you're here blaming me for the fact that your daughter decided to go after my uncle, which means I have to cancel my plans to attack him. So spare me the righteous indignation."

"You were supposed to be watching her!" Sean shouted. "You were supposed to keep her safe!"

I laughed bitterly. "Oh, please—you haven't looked after her in years!"

Brian, always the peacemaker, stepped between us. "Guys, you're fighting about someone who isn't even here right now. What's wrong with you?" He turned to his father. "All of this arguing time could have been used to make a plan." Then he added in a lower voice, "You said we need to find her before Mom finds out, remember?"

Sean let go of my collar, stepping back with a grimace. The reminder of his wife seemed to cool his anger somewhat.

I thought of my own father, lying in that hospital bed, getting weaker by the day. I wanted to find Lily before he found out too. I wanted him to have a peaceful passing, not one clouded by worry for his son's family.

I took a deep breath, straightening my shirt. I wouldn't apologize to Sean. I was the head of the Sullivan family, and I didn't back down, even when I was wrong. Especially when I was wrong.

"Joseph? What are you doing here?"

I turned at the sound of an unexpected voice. Joseph stood in the doorway, leaning heavily on a cane, his face pale but determined.

"After Tyler told me about Lily, I pulled out all the tubes and got here as fast as I could!" Joseph explained, his voice still weak but his eyes clear.

I turned to Tyler. "You told him?"

Tyler shrugged, unrepentant. "He had a right to know."

"You should be in the hospital," I said to Joseph.

Joseph gave me a sardonic smile. "I can see that. I think you guys would kill each other before you found Lily." He looked around the room at the tense faces. "Besides, I have a mentally unstable father who even shot me once—so maybe I know how your uncle's twisted mind works."

I reluctantly admitted to myself that he had a point. Joseph knew what it was like to deal with a dangerous, unpredictable father figure.

"Can you stand?" I asked, noticing how he was leaning on the cane.

"I'm standing now, aren't I?" Joseph replied with a weak smile. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. "I think this is for you. Someone left it at the front door."

My heart stopped as he handed me the envelope. I tore it open, scanning the contents with growing horror.

"What does it say?" Sean demanded impatiently. "Just know that I'm getting my daughter back today, with or without you."

My hands shook with rage as I looked up from the letter. "He says he'll give back Eleanor's money and the C2 warehouse in exchange for Lily's... services. Whatever the hell that means."

I didn't care about the money or the warehouse. What infuriated me was that my uncle had taken something that belonged to my daughter in the first place. Something that was Eleanor's by right.

"Lily's services?" Tyler repeated, disgust evident in his voice. "Her... what?"

I turned to Joseph. "Is there any way to resolve this peacefully?"

Joseph shook his head, his expression grim. "No, I don't see that happening. For my uncle to let Lily go, someone will have to die."

That matched my own thoughts. And I was more than willing to be the one to put a bullet in Zane's head.

I crumpled the letter in my fist. "He can shove that money up his ass." My voice was deadly calm now, the anger crystallizing into cold determination. "I'm bringing Lily and my baby back today."

There was a beat of silence as my words registered with everyone in the room. Those who already knew about the pregnancy—Michael, who had returned without Eleanor, and Tyler—didn't react. But the others...

"Wait, baby—what baby?" Sean asked, his eyes wide with shock.