LANCE'S POV:
I hadn't slept in twenty-four hours.
Maybe longer. At this point, time was irrelevant.
Everything blurred into one long, unending headache.
Every lead? Dead end.
Every person we questioned? Wasted breath.
And Selena? Still gone.
She wasn't the type to just vanish.
That's what made this worse.
Selena didn't flake.
She didn't miss meetings.
She didn't leave people hanging, especially not her family. She was sharp. Cunning, even. Always two steps ahead of everyone in the room.
And yet here we were. Day three.
No calls. No texts. No digital trail.
As if the ground cracked open and swallowed her whole.
I stared blankly at the wall of photos we'd assembled at the NBI war room, Selena's last known location, blurry traffic cam stills, her car, a close-up of the bracelet she wore that morning, and that damn man in black who brushed past Luisjust hours before he was found dead.
Luis.
I still couldn't say it without a lump in my throat.
Gone. Just like that.
Aurora, her name burned in my chest was under fire because of him. Because he died.
Because someone wanted her to take the fall.
And now Selena, too?
"You need to rest," Nico said beside me, dropping a steaming cup of coffee onto the table.
"I'm fine," I muttered.
"You're not."
I didn't argue. Couldn't. I stood slowly, cracking my neck, running a hand down my face. "Go over the timeline again. Maybe we missed something."
Nico sighed, but he complied. "Selena left her house. She was scheduled for a voluntary NBI briefing again."
I frowned. "Left? But the NBI's straight ahead."
"Exactly. That's the red flag. She didn't even try to show up."
"She was intercepted," I said under my breath. "Or…" I trailed off.
"Or what?"
"Or she knew something."
Nico nodded. "She didn't act scared, though. House staff said she looked calm. Like it was just any other day."
I looked at the evidence board again. The SUV. The red pins, the yellow routes. It all felt like a cruel joke.
"What about her phone?"
"Last ping was somewhere near Ortigas Extension. That tower covers a wide area. We've got teams canvassing now."
"And Luis?" I asked, jaw tightening.
Nico hesitated. "Nothing new. Still no footage of the minutes before his death. Still no confirmed identity on the man in black. Whoever he is, he's a ghost."
I shut my eyes, just for a second. "Widen the search parameters. Cross-reference unsolved homicides, mercenary work, rogue agents. I don't care how deep you need to dig. No one disappears without a trail."
"Copy." Nico clapped my shoulder. "Go home. Eat something. Shower. You're no good to us running on fumes."
I didn't argue.
Not because i agreed, but because i didn't have the energy to resist.
I made it to the condo on autopilot.
The city lights bled into the windows, quiet and judgmental.
I didn't flip on the light.
Didn't need to.
Everything was exactly where i left it. Case files scattered on the kitchen counter. A half-empty water bottle sweating on the side table.
My suit jacket draped over the dining chair.
The place was silent.
But not empty.
I felt it—
The subtle shift in the air.
The soft sound of breathing.
Not mine.
I stepped further in, and that's when i saw her.
Aurora.
Curled on my couch like she'd folded herself in half. Her knees hugged to her chest, hair cascading like a curtain around her face. But her shoulders…
They were trembling.
"Aurora?"
She looked up.
And my heart, fuck.
She'd been crying. For a long time. Her eyes were swollen, red. Her cheeks blotchy.
"I—I saw it on the news," she said softly. "Selena's missing."
I gave a tight nod.
"I thought…" Her voice cracked. "After the NBI cleared me, I thought it was over."
"So did i."
She swallowed hard. "Did you… did you find her?"
I didn't answer.
I couldn't.
She asked again, more desperate this time. "Lance… did you?"
Silence.
That was her answer.
Her face crumbled.
She turned away, trying to hide it.
The shame. The grief. The guilt.
But i didn't let her.
I dropped everything, my bag, my exhaustion and knelt right in front of her.
I pulled her into my arms without hesitation.
And she didn't resist.
She clung to me like i was the last solid thing in her world.
She smelled faintly of jasmine and salt. Her cheek was hot against my neck. Her fingers gripped my shirt like she was drowning.
"It's not your fault," I murmured.
She shook her head. "It is. I dragged her into this. If i had just stayed away—"
"Stop. Don't carry that."
"But what if—"
"I'll find her." My voice was steel. "I will. No matter what it takes."
She leaned back enough to look at me. Tears streaked down her face, raw and unfiltered.
"Even if it's already over?"
"This case isn't over," I said firmly. "Not until i get to the bottom of it."
She stared at me for a long moment.
And then, i did something i didn't plan.
I kissed her forehead.
Soft. Steady.
Her lashes fluttered.
She leaned into it like it was the first real comfort she'd had in days.
The room was still.
Still heavy. But not hollow.
Then she whispered, "Why are you still doing this, Lance? Even if i'm not the one they're after anymore… why are you holding on?"
I looked straight into her.
And for once, I didn't hide.
"Because something doesn't add up. Because the lies didn't start with you. And they sure as hell won't end with Selena." I paused. "And because if i walk away now… I don't think i'll ever forgive myself."
Aurora's gaze softened.
"You really care."
"I do."
"About her?" she asked. "Or about justice?"
I didn't blink.
"I care about you."
She froze.
Didn't speak.
But before she could form words, my phone buzzed against the table. A field update. New movement on the investigation.
The world was back in motion.
But this time—
She didn't let go.
And neither did i.