The van pulled out of the garage and into the empty streets. Frank sat in the back, watching Alice's chest rise and fall with each breath, and felt something inside him break completely.He'd become a kidnapper. A criminal. The kind of person he'd always despised."Where are we taking her?" Frank asked quietly."Same place I'm keeping my other assets," Victor replied. "A warehouse I own on the east side. Secure, isolated, perfect for our purposes.""And then what?" Frank pressed. "We just... hold her hostage? Demand money?""That depends on how cooperative you are with getting me the blueprints," Victor said. "Get me what I need to rob the vault, and maybe we can let the girl go unharmed. Fail me, and she becomes plan B."Frank closed his eyes, feeling tears he hadn't cried in years threatening to fall. Everything had spiraled so far out of control. Harry was missing, kidnapped by Samuel. Alice was unconscious in the back of a van, kidnapped by Victor. And Frank was responsible for al

"No," the guard replied, his fingers flying over the keyboard. "This wasn't a malfunction. Someone deliberately disabled them. Look—the timestamps show they were working fine one second, then completely offline the next. That's not how equipment failures work.""Can you see anything after they came back online?" Mona asked.The guard fast-forwarded through the black screen. After exactly five minutes, the feeds suddenly returned. The corridor outside Michael Chen's office was empty. No sign of Alice."She never came out," Alfred said, his stomach sinking."Or she came out during those five minutes when the cameras were disabled," the guard corrected. "Either way, after this point, I don't see her anywhere in the building."They watched more footage—cameras from exits, the parking garage, the lobby. Nothing. Alice had entered the building and simply vanished."This is bad," the guard said, reaching for his phone. "I need to contact the police and my supervisor—""Wait," Richard interru

Harry looked up at Samuel, and something in his expression made the older man take a step back."I said I never wanted to hurt anyone," Harry repeated, his voice stronger now. "I've spent so much time hiding what I can do, trying to be normal, trying not to scare people. But Samuel, you're not leaving me any choice.""What are you talking about?" Samuel demanded, but there was uncertainty in his voice now.Harry tested the chains one more time, feeling the metal dig into his wrists. He thought about Alice, about Alfred, about everyone who cared about him and would be devastated if he died here.He thought about his second chance at life, the gift he'd been given that he wasn't ready to waste.And he made his choice."I'm sorry," Harry said quietly. "I didn't want it to be like this.""Want what to be like what?" Samuel asked, backing up another step. "Harry, what are you—"Harry pulled.The sound of metal snapping echoed through the warehouse like a gunshot. The chains around his wris

"No," the guard replied. "This happened several hours later. Two separate security breaches."When the cameras came back online five minutes later, the hallway was empty. Alice was gone."She never came out," Alfred observed."Or she came out during the blackout," Martinez corrected. "Can you show me any other camera angles? Different floors, exits, the parking garage?"The guard pulled up feed after feed. They watched the timeline carefully, checking every exit and corridor. But Alice never appeared again."It's like she vanished into thin air," Officer Chen said."People don't vanish," Martinez replied curtly. "Someone took her during that five-minute window when the cameras were down. Which means this was planned. Professional.""Professional?" Richard's voice cracked. "What the hell does that mean for my daughter?""It means whoever took her knew the security system well enough to disable it remotely," Martinez explained. "That suggests either an inside job or someone with advance

Detective Martinez set up a temporary interview room in one of TechNova's conference rooms. The space felt sterile and cold, with fluorescent lights humming overhead and a long table that seemed designed to make people uncomfortable."Send in Professor Alfred Crane first," Martinez instructed Officer Chen. "He was the one who reported both missing persons."A few minutes later, Alfred entered, his face lined with exhaustion and worry. He sat down heavily in the chair across from Martinez."Professor Crane, thank you for speaking with us," Martinez began, her voice professional but not unkind. "I need you to walk me through everything that happened, from the beginning. When did you first realize something was wrong?"Alfred took a deep breath. "Harry—Harry Solomon—has been staying at my house for several months. He's like a son to me. He's always very reliable about communication. If he's going to be late, he texts. If plans change, he calls. Yesterday evening, he didn't come home from