Chapter 84 Let's go hunting

Chapter 84 Let's go hunting
In the center of his desk, sat a tiny hand-knitted pair of yellow baby socks.

"Ruan," Aysel called again from the hallway. Her feet padded quietly on the floor as she approached him. "What’s taking so long? Did you find your phone?"

Ruan snapped out of his shock, his hands moved quickly, grabbing the socks from the desk and shoving them into his pocket before turning to block her view.

"I found it, my love," Ruan lied, forcing a tight, fake smile onto his face. He moved toward her, gently guiding her out of the office. "Let’s go back to the living room, you’re tired from the charity party."

But Aysel didn’t budge, she stood firm, her eyes locked onto his, seeing the panic hiding behind his smile.

"Don’t lie to me, Ruan," Aysel said softly, crossing her arms over her dress and shaking her head. "You’re breathing fast, your hands are shaking. Show me what you just put in your pocket."

"It’s nothing, Aysel, just some trash," Ruan said, swallowing hard. His jaw clenched as he tried to shield her from it. "Please, let it go. Let’s go to bed."

"We promised no more secrets between us," Aysel reminded him firmly, extending her palm toward him. "Show me what you’re hiding, Ruan. I’m not fragile, I can handle it."

Ruan closed his eyes tightly and exhaled a sigh, knowing he couldn’t win an argument with his wife. He slowly reached into his pocket, pulling out the socks and placing them gently in her palm.

Aysel stared at the socks, her breath catching in her throat. She felt the soft yarn against her skin and remembered the yellow nursery Julian had built. She recalled Seraphina laughing in the dark, and a sharp pain pierced her chest.

"Where did these come from?" Aysel whispered, her voice trembling as her fingers traced the stitches.

"They were on my desk," Ruan said, his voice low and tense. "Seraphina must have snuck in, Aysel. She knitted those while she was crying in the guest house and left them to mock us."

Aysel didn’t drop the socks or collapse in tears. Instead, she squeezed the yarn tightly in her fist, feeling anger ignite in her stomach.

"She wants us scared," Aysel said quietly, her voice shaking but serious as she looked up at Ruan. "She wants me to cry about losing my child, she wants us to believe she can walk through our doors anytime."

"I’m going to kill her," Ruan hissed, his hands balling into fists. "I’m calling Cole right now. I’ll lock down the entire island again and search every room until we find her."

"Call him," Aysel agreed, nodding quickly. "We need to find out how she got in here."

Ruan quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Cole's number, giving strict orders to his security team to wake up and start working at once.

Two minutes later, Cole rushed into the office in gray pajama pants and T-shirt, carrying his laptop. He looked exhausted and confused.

"Boss, what’s going on now?" Cole asked, rubbing his tired eyes as he set the laptop down on the desk. "The perimeter alarms didn't go off, the island is secure."

"Check the office security cameras from today," Ruan ordered coldly, pointing to the desk. "My mother left a package here. I want to see her face on that screen right now."

Cole nodded quickly and began typing fast on the keyboard. He pulled up the black-and-white video feed of Ruan's office and played the footage for the day.

Aysel and Ruan stood close behind his chair, their eyes fixed on the computer screen, watching the room in fast motion.

"There’s nobody sneaking around, boss," Cole said, frowning deeply. He slowed the video speed, watching it. "No one broke in, the door was locked."

"Keep watching, Cole," Aysel urged, her eyes narrowed in focus. "She didn’t drop them from the ceiling, someone walked in and placed them on the desk, keep looking."

Cole rewind the video to the afternoon when Aysel and Ruan were at the charity party.

Suddenly, the office door clicked open, causing everyone in the room to hold their breath.

But it wasn’t Seraphina entering the office.

It was a young woman in a black and white maid uniform, silently entering with a small plastic laundry basket full of cleaning supplies. She held a feather duster in her hand.

"A maid?" Ruan gasped, his brows furrowing in confusion as he leaned closer to the screen. "That’s Maria. What is she doing in my office?"

"Wait, look at her hand," Aysel shouted, pointing at the screen. Her heart raced. "She’s holding the yellow socks! Cole, zoom in!"

Cole quickly zoomed in on the maid's face as she approached the desk.

The maid looked completely innocent, she seemed neither sneaky nor evil. She reached into her laundry basket, pulled out the socks, and placed them carefully in the middle of Ruan's desk. She dusted the wooden shelves, emptied the trash can, and then walked out of the room, forgetting to pick the socks.

"Oh my god," Cole gasped, pushing his chair back in shock and looking up at Ruan.

"She didn't do it on purpose," Aysel said, letting out a huge breath of relief. She dropped the socks onto the desk, feeling her fear wash away.

"Maria was the one who cleaned out the nursery yesterday," Ruan groaned, rubbing his tired face with his hands. He felt stupid for panicking. "I told her to pack all the baby things into boxes and put them in the storage room."

"She must have found the socks under a chair or something," Aysel sighed, resting her head on Ruan's shoulder. "She probably put them on your desk to ask you what to do, then got distracted and forgot them."

"It was just a mistake," Cole chuckled softly, wiping sweat off his forehead and closing his laptop with a snap.

"We almost locked down the island over a silly cleaning mistake," Ruan hissed, wrapping his arms around Aysel's waist. He pulled her close to his chest, kissing the top of her head repeatedly. "We are losing our minds, Aysel. We are jumping at everything."

"I am so tired of jumping, Ruan," Aysel said quietly, her voice serious and strong as she stepped back to look up at him.

"I know, baby, I'm so sorry I scared you," Ruan whispered, gently touching her cheek. "I'll tell Maria not to leave things on my desk anymore. We can go to bed now."

"No, you don't understand me," Aysel shook her head slowly, crossing her arms. "I'm tired of living like this, Ruan. I’m tired of seeing a pair of socks and thinking a crazy monster is coming to kill me."

Ruan dropped his hand, his face becoming serious as he listened to his wife.

"As long as Seraphina is out there hiding in the city, we will never feel safe in this house," Aysel explained, her voice growing louder and more confident. "We will always check the locks twice. We will panic when the phone rings. We are letting her control our lives without even being here."

"What are you saying, Aysel?" Cole asked softly from his chair,

"I'm saying I'm done hiding," Aysel announced firmly, her eyes shining with determination. "She wants us to be terrified, she wants us to wait for her next move, but I refuse to play her game anymore."

Ruan felt an overwhelming wave of pride wash over him. He looked at his brave, beautiful queen with the spark returning to her face.

"What do you want to do, my love?" Ruan asked softly, a wicked smile forming on his lips, eager to follow her lead.

"I want to go hunting," Aysel said loudly, gripping his hands tightly. "She thinks we will wait for her, but we are going into the city, and we are going to find her first."

"You want to go after my mother?" Ruan asked, his smile widening as he loved her brave plan.

"Yes," Aysel nodded quickly, squeezing his fingers. "We will find Seraphina, drag her out of the shadows, and lock her away in prison where she can never hurt another family again."

"Then we go hunting tomorrow morning," Ruan vowed seriously, kissing her deeply.