“That fucker was one step ahead again,” Adrian snarls.
Over the radio, I hear Matvei’s voice. “We’re pulling out. There’s no reason to keep this up then!”
“Yes, agreed. Get the teams out of there,” Simon confirms.
It’s late at night, and the penthouse is quiet. I’m standing at the window overlooking the city, wishing I could see further, that I could see everything, and that I could find my children from up here.
Everyone is drained and running out of ideas. Adrian is asleep in the guest room; Simon is still at the computer.
We’ve come at this from every angle, and nothing has worked. The only shred of evidence we managed to dig up was a rumor from a pilot who heard that the Mykros private jet took off about an hour after the penthouse was raided and our twins were taken.
But we have no idea where they went.
That’s it. That’s theoneshred ofanythingwe could find, and it tells us nothing.
“Hi princess,” Simon whispers as he steps behind me and slips his arms around my waist. I lean into him, savoring the warmth and comfort he gives me. My heart is so heavy, my mind is flooded with worry. I can’t stop thinking about my children, wondering if they are warm, if they are scared, if they are safe. I can’t help imagining them crying for me, wondering why I haven’t come to get them. I have failed them so terribly, and all I want is to make it right.
“It’s so quiet,” Simon sighs softly.
“It is,” I mutter, pulling his arms tighter around me.
We stand for a while, watching the city glittering below us, completely oblivious to the torment we both feel. After a while, I whisper, “I have an idea. I need you to hear me out before you say no right of way.”
He groans, stepping away from me and turning me to face him. “When you start the conversation like that, I already want to say no before I’ve even heard what you want to say,” he sighs.
Guilt rushes through me because I have a plan. And I have abackupplan. And what I am about to do does not make me proud.
I tuck my hand into the pocket of my cardigan and brush my finger over the side of my phone.
It makes no sound when it starts recording.
Simon doesn’t notice. His eyes are locked onto mine. “Tell me this idea…” he huffs with a frown on his face.
“I am going to sneak into my father’s house and…”
“No.”
“Simon! I told you to let me tell you the whole idea first!” I snap, genuinely annoyed.
“You’re not doing it!” he huffs.
“Let me finish! I know his properly like the back of my hand. I know every corner, every camera blind spot. I know how to move through the place without being seen, and besides… the chances are that my father isn’t even there. They took a flight somewhere, they took the children out of the city, remember, I could just go in there to look for clues, information… anything… we don’t have anything…” I say desperately.
“You want to put yourself right into the enemy’s hands. You’ve lost your mind!”
“Maybe I have lost my mind!” I shout at him. “Maybe I am willing to do literally anything to get them back, and maybe it’s becoming clearer that you aren’t willing to do the same thing!”
His face darkens. Pain flickers across it, quickly masked by anger.
“How dare you even suggest that, Selene. I love them just as much as you do. You might have kept them from me for five years; I might not have had the luxury of watching them grow up as you did—but that doesn’t mean I love them any fucking less than you do!” His voice is breaking with fury.
“Your actions suggest otherwise! Your unwillingness to do whatever it takes to get them back isn’t proving anything good to me! I am their mother! I am their protector! I will not let a Volkov stand in the way of me getting my children back!”
My heart hammers against my ribs, tears threaten to burn from my eyes. I keep my face stern and my fists clenched. I hate this. I hate what I’m saying to him.
“A Volkov?” he murmurs darkly. “So now we are enemies, Selene? Is that what you are trying to say by bringing my name into this?”
“I’m saying that my father at least proved he would do anything for his family.”
