I shove through the heavy oak doors of the Alverez estate's private wing, my breath ragged from running. The hallway stretches out, dark and silent, no guards, no maids, no Sienna. My stomach twists. She was supposed to be here, safe after that nightmare at the cathedral. I clutch my phone, her last text burned into my mind: I'm at the estate. Father's furious. That was an hour ago, and now she's not answering.
"Sienna?" I call, my voice echoing off the marble. Nothing. The air feels wrong, too still, like the calm before a storm. I hurry down the hall, my heels clicking, checking every door, library, study, guest rooms. All empty. My chest tightens. I sent her here, told her to face Ricardo. If something's happened, it's on me.
I pull out my phone and dial her again. Straight to voicemail. "Come on, Sienna," I mutter, pocketing it. I need to find her, now. The security office is my best bet, it's got cameras covering every inch of this place. I head for the west wing, my mind racing. Ricardo's rage at the hotel, Valentina's betrayal, that mysterious note from "D.M.", it's all connected, and Sienna's caught in the middle.
The security office is tucked behind a plain door, marked only by a keypad. I've been here before, helping Sienna with estate protocols. The code's still in my notes app, thank God for paranoia. I punch in the numbers, and the door clicks open. Inside, monitors line the walls, but the guard's chair is empty. No one's here. My skin prickles. This place is never unmanned.
I slide into the chair, my fingers flying over the keyboard. The system's locked, but I've cracked tougher. I plug in a USB drive with a bypass program, a shady trick from my early law days, and the screens flicker to life. I scan the feeds: gardens, garage, main hall. No Sienna. My heart pounds as I pull up the private wing's cameras. The hallway feed loads, and there she is, Sienna, in a plain dress, her hair loose, backing away from someone just off-screen. Her face is pale, eyes wide with panic.
"Sienna!" I gasp, leaning closer. I zoom in, but the angle's bad, I can't see who's with her. She stumbles, her hands raised like she's warding them off. My fingers shake as I try to switch cameras, but the feed cuts to static. The monitors go black.
"No, no, no!" I slam the keyboard, rebooting the system. Nothing. The cameras are down, and Sienna's alone with whoever that was. Guilt claws at me, I pushed her to come here, thinking Ricardo would protect her. I was wrong.
I grab my phone and call Javier, my paralegal. He's still digging into the Alverez shareholder records. He picks up on the first ring. "Clara? You okay?"
"No," I say, my voice tight. "Sienna's in trouble at the estate. I need you to pull the security logs from Alverez Corp's servers. Anything from tonight, camera outages, access codes, whatever you can find."
"On it," he says, keys clacking in the background. "But Clara, those servers are a fortress. It'll take time."
"I don't have time," I snap. "Just do it. And check if Marcus Vellani's name pops up." I hang up, my hands trembling. Marcus, the corporate shark Lena mentioned, could be behind this. Or Ricardo. Or someone worse. I need to move.
I leave the security office, heading back to the private wing. My phone buzzes, a text from Lena Blake: Found more on Vellani. He's meeting someone at the estate tonight. Be careful. My blood runs cold. If Marcus is here, Sienna's in more danger than I thought. I text back: Who's he meeting? No reply. I curse and break into a run, my bag bouncing against my hip.
I'm halfway to Ricardo's study when I hear footsteps behind me. I spin, my hand on the pepper spray in my pocket. It's Elena, the archivist, her gray hair pulled tight, her face pale. "Clara, what are you doing here?" she asks, her voice sharp.
"Looking for Sienna," I say, not slowing. "She's missing. You seen her?"
Elena hesitates, her eyes darting to the hall. "Not since the wedding. But… Ricardo was in his study earlier, with someone. I didn't see who."
My stomach drops. "Show me," I say, grabbing her arm. She nods, leading me to the study's double doors. They're ajar, and I push through, expecting Ricardo's cigar smoke and cold stare. The room's empty, desk clear, lights off. But a glass of whiskey sits on the table, half-drunk, and a file folder's open beside it. I flip it open, photos of Sienna, bank records, and a note in Ricardo's handwriting: Neutralize her influence.
"What the hell is this?" I whisper, my hands shaking. Elena peers over my shoulder, her breath catching.
"He's been planning something," she says, her voice low. "I told you, Clara. That vault holds his secrets."
I shove the folder into my bag. "I need to get in there. Now." Elena shakes her head, but I cut her off. "Sienna's in danger, Elena. Help me, or get out of my way."
She sighs, pulling a key from her pocket. "This opens the service corridor to the vault. But the final lock's biometric, Ricardo's print only."
"I'll figure it out," I say, taking the key. "Go find a guard. Tell them Sienna's missing." She nods and hurries off, and I head for the corridor, my pulse racing. If Ricardo's targeting Sienna, I've got to find her before he does.
The service corridor is narrow, lined with pipes and flickering lights. The vault door's at the end, a slab of steel with a glowing scanner. I try the key, but the scanner beeps, demanding a fingerprint. I curse, my mind scrambling. I need Ricardo, or a way to fake his print. My phone buzzes, Javier: Security logs show a manual override on the cameras, 20 minutes ago. Someone's covering their tracks. I text back: Keep digging. Find out who.
I'm searching the door for weaknesses when my phone rings, Julian Drake, Damien Marcello's guy. I answer, my voice sharp. "Julian, this better be good."
"Clara, listen," he says, his tone urgent. "Damien's got people at the estate, watching Sienna. One of them saw her in the east wing, arguing with someone. Then the cameras went down."
My heart lurches. "Who was it? Ricardo?"
"Don't know," he says. "But Damien's worried. He's… involved, Clara. More than you think."
I grip the phone tighter. "If Damien's playing games with Sienna, I'll end him. Tell him to back off." I hang up, my hands shaking. Damien Marcello, Marcus Vellani, Ricardo, everyone's circling her, and I'm failing to keep her safe.
I abandon the vault and head for the east wing, where Julian's contact saw Sienna. The halls are dark, the estate too quiet. I'm near the guest suites when I hear it, a muffled voice, Sienna's, coming from behind a door. "Stay back!" she shouts, her tone sharp with fear. Then a thud, like something hitting the floor.
I sprint to the door, my heart in my throat. "Sienna!" I yell, banging on it. No answer. I try the handle, locked. I grab my phone, ready to call for help, when the security monitor on the wall flickers back on. The screen shows the hallway I'm in, but it's empty, no Sienna, no one. Just a blank corridor, like she was never there.