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CHAPTER 46 – THE CALL
L U C I A N
The house was quiet at dawn.
I'd woken early, as always, before the sun bled into the Arden skyline. The Dreven estate sat on the edge of the city, high enough that from my balcony, I could see all of it sprawled out below the glass towers, the sleeping streets, the slow, awakening hum of a city that would soon bow to its day.
I'd just poured my first cup of coffee when the phone rang.
At first, I thought it was routine. My parents occasionally called at odd hours, Aurora sometimes texted before she went to the stables.
But the voice that answered when I picked up made my jaw tighten.
"She's leaving."
The words were simple.
The impact was anything but.
For a moment, I didn't move.
"She what?"
"She's packed bags, woke the children. A taxi just picked them up from her apartment. They're heading for the airport."
I set the coffee down slowly, deliberately, before I crushed the cup in my hand.
"She thinks she can just run," I said softly, more to myself than to him. "After everything."
"Sir?"
"Stay on them. Do not intervene. I'll handle it."
I hung up before he could answer.
The Snap
I called for Silas.
He appeared within minutes, still in his own running gear I'd interrupted his morning workout.
"She's trying to leave," I said, already heading down the hall.
Silas froze, then swore under his breath. "Airport?"
"Yes."
He followed me quickly as I strode toward the garage, my bare feet silent against the polished floor.
"She thinks she can take my daughters and disappear," I said, my voice sharp, bitter.
Silas kept pace easily, but his expression was unreadable. "You want me to intercept?"
"No. I want you to get me there before she does."
The Drive
The gates opened as my car roared to life.
I drove.
I almost never drove that was what I had staff for, what Silas was for but this wasn't business.
This was mine.
Every second counted, every red light felt like a personal insult.
"Silas," I said finally, keeping my eyes on the road.
"Yes, sir."
"If she thought slapping me was enough…" My hands tightened on the wheel. "…she's about to learn what enough looks like."
The Intercept
We caught up near the airport turnoff, just as dawn broke across the sky.
I didn't wait for the car to stop before I was out, striding toward the taxi that had pulled over under Silas' signal.
And there she was.
Rina.
Hair a little wild, jacket thrown hastily over her nightclothes, her arms wrapped around Isla as though she could shield her from the world.
She looked at me like I was the world.
Her eyes widened, and for a fraction of a second, I saw fear flicker there not the kind that made me feel powerful. The kind that made me feel… dangerous.
"Out," I said, voice calm, measured.
She didn't move.
"No."
The single word was a blade.
My temper flared hot, sharp, electric but my voice stayed soft. Too soft.
"Rina," I said, stepping closer, my shadow falling across her. "Get. Out."
It happened fast after that.
Her refusal. Her clutch on the girls tightening until their small faces peeked out, confused and sleepy.
And me pulling them from her arms one by one, not roughly, but firmly, because I was done playing this game.
I'd been patient for weeks. I'd given her space, time, the chance to tell me the truth.
And she'd chosen this.
When I buckled them into the waiting car, they looked at me with complete trust.
That trust nearly shattered me.
But I didn't look back at her.
Because if I did, I might have stopped.
And I couldn't stop.
Not when she was seconds away from leaving my world, taking them with her.
The Ride Back
The car was quiet on the return trip.
The girls fell asleep almost immediately, heads lolling against each other.
I stared out the window, my reflection hard, my jaw tight.
"She's going to hate you for this," Silas said finally.
"She already does."
"Then why"
"Because she's not taking my children."
I turned my head, met his eyes in the dim morning light.
"Not now. Not ever."
Silas didn't argue.
But as the city swallowed us whole again, I could feel his gaze on me steady, loyal, quietly furious on my behalf.
Because Silas had been there, too five years ago.
He was the only one who knew what I'd gone through.
And tonight, I would make Rina Hale face all of it.