CYPRIAN
The image of Raven being dragged away had replayed in my head so many times that I was beginning to lose my mind.
Her struggling.
Her screaming.
The way her body went limp in the arms of the man who carried her out.
And Claire.
They had taken Claire too.
I stood in the middle of my office, staring at the security footage playing on the enormous screen. My hands were clenched so tightly that my knuckles had turned white.
"Again."
Adrian looked at me.
"Cyprian…"
"I said play it again."
He pressed the control.
The footage returned to the moment Arthur's men stormed the gala.
The first gunshot.
The screaming guests.
The guards rushing toward the entrance.
And then Arthur.
He appeared briefly on the recording, standing near the staircase, watching the chaos unfold with the calmness of a man who had planned every second of it.
I remembered seeing him that night.
I remembered the satisfaction in his eyes.
He hadn't come to negotiate. He hadn't come to send a warning.
He had come to take something from me.
And he had succeeded.
"Turn it off."
The screen went black.
I dragged a hand down my face.
"How many men have we sent out?"
"Thirty-two. Another twelve are waiting for instructions."
"Then send them."
"Where?"
"Every property Arthur has ever owned. His warehouses, private residences, safe houses, abandoned buildings. I want every location searched."
Adrian nodded.
"We've already started."
"Then search again."
"We will."
I turned toward him.
"And find out where he took them."
"We're working on it."
"Working on it?" I repeated.
My voice rose.
"Arthur walked into my gala, opened fire, and walked out with my wife and her best friend. Do you understand what that means?"
Adrian's expression tightened.
"Yes."
"No, you don't."
I moved toward the desk.
"Raven is pregnant. Her pregnancy is high risk. She was unconscious when they took her. We don't know what they gave her or whether she's received medical attention."
I stopped.
My throat tightened.
I couldn't finish the thought.
Adrian looked away briefly.
"I'll find them."
I stared at him.
"Find Claire too."
"I won't leave her behind."
Something in his voice made me pause.
He looked exhausted. Angry. Frightened.
He had spent the last several hours trying to remain useful because falling apart wouldn't bring Claire back.
I understood that feeling.
I understood it too well.
"Bring them home," I said quietly.
Adrian nodded and left the office.
I turned back toward the dark screen.
Raven.
I could still hear her voice from that night.
I hate you, Cyprian.
I closed my eyes.
I had heard those words before, but never with that much pain behind them.
She had looked at me as though every promise I had ever made was a lie.
And now she was somewhere with the man who had made sure she would never have the chance to hear another promise from me.
I couldn't afford to stand there drowning in guilt. Raven was out there, and every minute I wasted brought me no closer to finding her.
Lorenzo was waiting in the conference room when I entered.
He sat at the head of the table, surrounded by men who had spent their entire lives protecting the Moretti name.
I had no interest in their opinions.
"Everyone out."
A few men exchanged glances.
Lorenzo remained seated.
"Cyprian, we have matters to discuss."
"Then discuss them with my father. I want everyone else out."
My tone left no room for argument.
The men filed out, leaving only Lorenzo and Adrian.
I placed both hands on the table.
"Tell me everything you know about Arthur."
Lorenzo's expression didn't change.
"I've already told you what you need to know."
"No. You've told me what you wanted me to know."
"Be careful."
I laughed bitterly.
"Careful? Arthur just attacked my gala and kidnapped my pregnant wife. What exactly do you expect me to be careful about?"
"Your response."
"My response?"
I straightened.
"He has Raven and Claire. He's holding them somewhere, and you're worried about my response?"
"I'm worried about what Arthur is trying to achieve."
"Then tell me."
Lorenzo was silent.
I stared at him.
"How long have you known he was alive?"
"That isn't relevant."
"How long?"
He exhaled.
"Long enough to know he wouldn't return without a reason."
I felt my anger rise again.
"And you said nothing."
"I was trying to prevent this."
"By keeping me ignorant?"
"By keeping this family protected."
I leaned forward.
"Raven is my family."
His eyes narrowed.
"You have allowed that woman to become your greatest weakness."
I went still.
"Say that again."
"Arthur knows exactly where to strike you. He knows what she means to you, and he knows what her pregnancy means to this family."
I walked around the table.
"Don't talk about my wife as though she's a weakness you can calculate."
"Then stop behaving as though your entire world depends on her."
I stared at him.
"It does."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Lorenzo slowly rose from his chair.
"You are the heir to this family. You have responsibilities beyond your marriage."
"And you have responsibilities beyond your obsession with the Commission."
His expression darkened.
I continued.
"You knew Raven's identity after she entered this house. You knew there was something about her family that could cause this much danger, and instead of telling me, you treated her like an enemy."
"Oh spare me the bullshit son, you've been a total dick to her even more than your mom and I combined. Don't try to lecture me… besides also because she represented a threat."
"She is pregnant with my child!"
"Exactly."
The word struck me like a slap.
I stared at my father.
He didn't look away.
"Do you think Arthur doesn't understand what that child represents? Do you think he would have gone to such lengths if Raven were simply your wife?"
My jaw tightened.
"Get to the point."
"Arthur wants leverage over the Moretti family."
"Then let him come for me."
"He already has."
Lorenzo opened a drawer and removed a leather folder.
He placed it on the table.
"This is what he wants."
I looked down.
"What is it?"
"The original bloodline record."
I frowned.
"What does it contain?"
"Names, agreements and historical claims connected to the families that formed the Commission."
"And Raven?"
Lorenzo paused.
"Her family is connected to it."
I stared at him.
"How?"
"That's not something I can explain in a few sentences."
"Try."
He opened the folder and turned several pages.
I saw old signatures, official seals and names I recognized from the history of the Commission.
Then I saw the Hayes name.
My eyes narrowed.
"Why is her name connected to this?"
"Because her family was involved in matters that predate your marriage."
"Did you know this before I married her?"
"No."
"Did you know before you met her?"
"No."
I searched his face.
He looked irritated, but there was something else beneath it.
Something he wasn't saying.
"Then when did you find out?"
"When she entered this house."
I remembered that day.
The questions Lorenzo had asked.
The way his expression had changed when he heard her surname.
The coldness that followed.
He hadn't welcomed Raven into this family.
He had seen her as a problem from the beginning.
"And you never told me."
"I had reasons."
"Your reasons have put her in Arthur's hands."
Lorenzo closed the folder.
"Arthur will demand the record. If we surrender it, we may lose more than you understand."
I looked at him.
"If we don't surrender it, Raven could pay for it."
"And if we do?"
I stepped closer.
"Then we'll deal with whatever comes next."
"You cannot keep sacrificing the Moretti family for her."
I stared at my father for several seconds.
Then I spoke quietly.
"You should be grateful I'm still standing here having this conversation with you."
His eyes hardened.
"Are you threatening me?"
"No. I'm reminding you that I'm no longer interested in choosing between this family and my wife."
I picked up the folder.
"From now on, anything involving Raven comes to me. Every document, every agreement, every secret you have kept. I want everything."
Lorenzo's expression darkened.
"You're making a mistake."
"Then I'll make it myself."
Adrian was waiting outside the conference room.
"Any progress?"
He handed me a tablet.
"We've checked three of Arthur's known properties. Two were empty. The third had been cleared out recently."
"Recently?"
"Within the last forty-eight hours."
I studied the photographs on the screen.
The property was an old estate outside the city. The furniture had been removed, and several rooms had been stripped bare.
"Why would he clear it out?"
"Possibly to make it look abandoned."
I looked up.
"Search the surrounding properties."
"We're already doing that."
"Check the roads. Security cameras, private gates, traffic recordings. I want to know every vehicle that entered or left that area."
Adrian nodded.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"We found a medical supply request made under a false name. It included medication and equipment commonly used for pregnancy monitoring."
My attention sharpened.
"When?"
"Early this morning."
"Where?"
"An address connected to one of Arthur's men."
I grabbed my jacket.
"Get the cars ready."
Adrian hesitated.
"We don't know if Raven is there."
"Then we'll find out."
"Cyprian, it could be a trap."
I turned toward him.
"Arthur has already made his intentions clear. He wants to hurt me by using Raven. I'm not going to sit here waiting for him to decide what happens next."
Adrian nodded.
"Understood."
"And find out where Claire is. I want separate teams searching for both of them."
"I'll handle it."
He started toward the exit.
"Adrian."
He stopped.
"Bring Claire back alive."
His expression tightened.
"I will."
The medical supply address led us to an abandoned clinic.
Two vehicles were parked outside.
My men surrounded the building before I stepped out.
The entrance was unlocked.
Inside, the place smelled of disinfectant and dust. Several rooms had been emptied, but one still contained medical equipment.
I walked through it slowly.
A disposable syringe lay near the sink.
An empty bottle of saline rested on the counter.
There was also a medical chart.
I picked it up.
The name was unfamiliar, but the notes were recent.
Pregnancy.
High-risk monitoring.
Medication administered.
My grip tightened.
"Is this hers?"
Adrian examined the document.
"We can't confirm that yet."
"Find out."
One of the men called from the adjoining room.
"Boss."
I walked toward him.
He held up a small piece of fabric.
A piece of Raven's scarf.
I took it from his hand and examined it.
There was no mistaking it.
It belonged to her.
"She was here," I said.
Adrian looked around the room.
"Then we're close."
I studied the empty medical room again.
There were no signs of a struggle. No blood. No indication of what had happened after she was brought here.
But she had been here.
And someone had taken her away.
I placed the fabric inside my jacket.
"Search the building."
The men moved immediately.
Adrian came closer.
"Cyprian."
I looked at him.
"Have the medical chart analysed. Find the doctor who signed it. I want to know who treated her and where they went."
"Understood."
I looked toward the exit.
Arthur was moving Raven from one location to another.
He knew I was searching.
He wanted me to find traces of her, just enough to keep me chasing.
I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of making me desperate enough to walk blindly into his hands.
Not when Raven and our child were depending on me to think clearly.
By the time we returned to the estate, it was nearly midnight.
A message was waiting on my phone.
No greeting.
No explanation.
Just a photograph.
Raven.
She was sitting on the edge of a bed, looking exhausted. Her hair fell loosely around her face, and one hand rested against her stomach.
I enlarged the image.
Her eyes looked swollen.
Had she been crying?
I stared at her face, searching for any indication that she was hurt.
Then I noticed something.
A glass of water on the bedside table.
A folded blanket.
A medical bag near the wall.
At least someone had been checking on her.
It wasn't enough.
It would never be enough.
A message appeared beneath the photograph.
The original record. Midnight tomorrow.
I read it twice.
Then another message followed.
No police. No soldiers. No tricks.
I stared at the screen.
Arthur was giving me instructions now.
As though he hadn't already taken the woman I owned.
As though he hadn't already turned my life into a battlefield.
My phone rang.
I answered.
"Arthur."
A low laugh came through the line.
"You're learning."
"Where is Raven?"
"She's alive."
"I want to hear her voice."
"You're not in a position to make demands."
My hand tightened around the phone.
"Let me speak to my wife."
"Your wife is resting."
"Put her on the phone."
"She's carrying your child, Moretti. You should be grateful I'm making sure she receives proper care."
The mention of my child made something inside me turn cold.
"If you touch her…."
"You're repeating yourself."
Arthur's voice was calm.
"Listen carefully. I don't want to hurt Raven. I don't want to hurt the child. But you need to understand that I will not leave empty handed."
"What do you want?"
"The record."
"And if I give it to you?"
"Then we discuss what happens next."
I let out a humourless laugh.
"You expect me to believe you'll simply let them go?"
"I expect you to understand that you have very little time to make the right decision."
"You're not walking away from this, Arthur."
"Neither are you."
The call ended.
I lowered the phone.
Adrian stood across from me.
"Was it him?"
I nodded.
"What did he say?"
"He wants the original bloodline record by midnight tomorrow."
Adrian glanced at the folder on the table.
"Will Lorenzo surrender it?"
I looked toward the conference room.
"No."
"Then what do we do?"
I looked at Raven's photograph on my phone.
"We find another way."
Adrian studied me.
"And if there isn't one?"
I looked at him.
"Then I'll make one."
I walked toward the window.
Outside, the estate was quiet. The gardens were dark, and the distant lights of the city looked almost peaceful.
Somewhere out there, Raven was waiting.
Somewhere out there, Claire was waiting.
And somewhere, Arthur believed he had finally found a way to bring the Moretti family to its knees.
He was wrong about one thing.
I wasn't going to surrender my wife to save my empire.
I wasn't going to sacrifice my child to protect a family name.
And I wasn't going to let my father decide what Raven's life was worth.
I would find them.
I would bring them home.
Then Arthur and I would finish what he had started at the gala.
This time, there would be nowhere for him to run.