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BETHANY'S POV

We sped through the quiet streets, the city lights casting fleeting shadows across Damien’s tense face as he focused on the road. After hours of searching for clues, we’d finally found an address that might lead us to Vivian. It was our only lead. She had Zara—at least, that was what we’d suspected from the beginning—and now, she was the only one who could tell us where Zara was being kept.

As we neared Vivian’s apartment building, my heart raced with a mix of hope and dread. I didn’t know what we’d find there, but I prayed that Zara was with her. I clutched my phone tightly, every instinct urging me to stay calm, to be ready for whatever lay ahead.

Damien parked the car and glanced at me, his gaze hard but tinged with concern. “Stay close. We don’t know what state she’s in or what she might do.”

I nodded, taking a steadying breath. The thought of confronting Vivian again was unsettling, but it was nothing compared to the fear gripping me over Zara’s safety. If Vivian was there, I’d plead, negotiate—do whatever it took to get my daughter back.

We entered the building and climbed the stairs to her floor in tense silence. Damien’s hand never left mine as we approached her door, which was slightly ajar, a thin line of light spilling into the hallway. My heart skipped a beat, dread sinking into the pit of my stomach.

Damien pushed the door open cautiously, stepping inside first. “Vivian?” he called, his voice low and wary. But there was no response. Only silence.

We moved further inside, scanning the living room. Papers were scattered across the coffee table, and a glass lay shattered on the floor. It looked like there had been a struggle. My eyes darted around, searching for any sign of Zara, but the apartment was eerily quiet.

As we moved into the hallway leading to the bedroom, Damien’s grip on my hand tightened. And then I saw her—Vivian, lying on the floor, motionless, her face pale and her eyes wide open, staring at nothing.

I gasped, a hand flying to my mouth as shock rippled through me. Damien stiffened, his body blocking mine protectively, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away. The reality of what I was seeing hit me like a wave, each detail sinking in one by one.

Vivian was dead.

I took a shaky step back, barely able to comprehend the sight in front of me. This woman, who had caused so much pain, who had taken my daughter—now she was just… gone. But with her death came an even more terrifying realization. If she wasn’t here to tell us where Zara was, then how were we going to find her?

“Oh my god,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “Damien, what… what do we do now?”

He looked at me, his face grim, a mix of anger and shock flashing in his eyes. “Whoever did this… might be the same person who has Zara. If Vivian was working with someone, they could’ve turned on her.”

The idea sent a chill down my spine. “You think she had a partner?”

Damien nodded slowly, his gaze scanning the room. “Vivian wasn’t capable of pulling off something like this alone. She had to have had help. Someone she trusted enough to let in. But if they killed her, then we’re dealing with someone even more dangerous.”

I tried to steady my breathing, forcing myself to focus. “We need to search her apartment, see if there’s any clue about who she was working with or where Zara might be.”

Damien nodded, his expression determined. “Let’s check her phone, her emails—anything that might give us a lead.”

We split up, each of us combing through different parts of the apartment. I sifted through the papers on the coffee table, scanning for anything that might hint at her plans. My fingers shook as I rifled through the mess, my mind spinning with worry.

Suddenly, I spotted a crumpled piece of paper with notes scrawled hastily across it. The handwriting was hurried, almost desperate. It listed names, locations—some scratched out and rewritten several times. My heart skipped a beat as I recognized a few of the addresses. They were isolated locations just outside the city. Could one of these be where Zara was being held?

“Damien,” I called, holding up the paper. “Look at this. Do you think any of these places could be where Zara is?”

He took the paper, his eyes scanning it quickly, a glimmer of hope flashing in his gaze. “It’s possible. Vivian would have needed somewhere private, somewhere she thought we’d never find.”

I felt a surge of determination. “Then we need to check every one of these addresses. We don’t have any other choice.”

He nodded, his jaw set. “Agreed. But first, we need to make sure nothing else here can lead us in the right direction.”

I resumed my search, moving to Vivian’s bedroom while Damien continued in the living room. My stomach churned as I went through her drawers and opened her closet. The woman who had taken my daughter had just been lying dead in the next room, and every inch of her space felt tainted by the horrors she’d caused.

In her nightstand, I found a small notebook. Flipping through it, I saw it was filled with fragmented thoughts, names, and even sketches of what looked like plans. But there was one entry that caught my attention:

“Joel doesn’t know everything. He thinks he’s in control, but he’s just another pawn. I’ll finish this on my terms.”

I froze, my mind racing. Joel. He’d been involved in this? It made sense—Joel had been just as bitter, just as vengeful. But if she’d turned on him, as the entry suggested, it could mean he’d been the one to kill her.

Damien joined me in the bedroom, glancing at the notebook in my hands. “Find anything?”

I showed him the entry, his face darkening as he read it. “So, Joel was part of this too,” he muttered. “And now he’s trying to tie up loose ends.”

A chill ran through me as I realized what that meant. If Joel had killed Vivian, he was unpredictable and desperate—exactly the kind of person who would use Zara as leverage for his own gain.

“We have to find him,” I said, my voice shaking with urgency. “If he has Zara… Damien, he could do anything.”

He nodded, slipping the notebook into his pocket. “Then we’ll start with the addresses on that list. We’ll hit each location until we find her.”

As we turned to leave the apartment, my gaze fell on Vivian’s body one last time. She’d brought so much pain, so much fear into our lives, and now, even in death, her actions were still haunting us. But I refused to let her legacy of cruelty and manipulation end with my daughter lost in the hands of someone just as twisted.

We left the apartment, determination hardening in both our hearts. I held onto the list of addresses like a lifeline, clinging to the hope that one of them would lead us to Zara. She was out there, somewhere, waiting for us to bring her home.

As we got back into the car, Damien’s hand found mine, squeezing tightly. “We’ll get her back, Bethany,” he said, his voice fierce with conviction. “Whatever it takes.”

I nodded, feeling a surge of resolve rise within me. “Yes. We will.”

With the address list in hand, we drove off into the night, ready to confront whatever lay ahead. For Zara’s sake, we would face any danger, any threat, until she was safely back where she belonged. And whoever had taken her—whether it was Joel or anyone else—would pay for what they’d done.

This nightmare was far from over, but as long as we had each other and a sliver of hope, I knew we’d find a way through. The only thing that mattered now was bringing our daughter home.

The car sped down the dark streets, every turn bringing us closer to the unknown, but I clung tightly to Damien’s hand, grounding myself in his strength. The list of addresses lay in my lap, each location a fragile thread that might lead us to Zara. The fear in my heart was relentless, but so was the determination growing between us. We would search every inch, follow every lead, and confront anyone who stood in our way.

As we approached the first address, I whispered a silent promise: Hold on, Zara. We’re coming. And we won’t stop until you’re home.