Mr. Raphael Cortez sat propped up against white pillows with his arm in a sling and his face bruised, and across from him, his son Darius fidgeted on another bed,“Dad” Darius said finally with a small voice, “what if the police start digging too deep? That fight… it was everywhere online. People recorded it.”Cortez didn’t even look at him but was busy scrolling through his phone, “Let them record” he muttered, “every clip will have the same story by tomorrow morning that a violent man attacked my son and me at the hospital. People believe what I want them to believe.”“But Adrian Kane…”Mr. Cortez’s head snapped up “Don’t say his name like he matters” he said sharply, “He’s in a cell now… and he won’t be getting out anytime soon.”Darius hesitated, “Are you sure?”Cortez smirked faintly, “I didn’t just pay, I paid for him to be done.”He leaned forward with his voice low and deliberate “Adrian Kane will be officially charged for unlawful possession of arms, attempted murder, and ass

Seraphina’s voice trembled through the phone “What do you mean he’s gone?”Gaius’s tone was steady but grim “The officer at the front desk confirmed it that they moved Adrian early this morning”“What?” Her heart dropped, “Moved where?”“They couldn’t say because every document erased. It’s like he was never brought in.”She stood frozen in her hospital gown with one hand gripping the edge of the bed “That’s impossible. You’re his lawyer. They can’t just…”“They already did.”There was silence and then she whispered “Gaius, please tell me you’re joking.”“I wish I was.”She pressed her hand against her chest feeling the tremor beneath her ribs “Where are you right now?”“At the station. Central precinct. You shouldn’t…”“I’m coming there” she cut in.“Seraphina…”“I said I’m coming there!”She ended the call and threw on a coat over her nightgown, ignoring the nurse’s protests as she stormed out of the ward.Gaius waited beside his car outside the Central Police Station with his arms

Seraphina paced the corridor with her nerves stretched thin while every nurse who passed gave her the same uncertain glance because they all knew who she was but none dared to speak.She slammed her palm against the wall “Damn it!”Gaius flinched since he had been standing by the door for an hour, watching her like someone guarding a ticking bomb “Seraphina, calm down. We don’t know the full story yet…”“The full story?” she snapped turning sharply, “He’s missing, Gaius. Adrian is missing, and no one knows where he is! What story are you waiting to unfold?”Her voice cracked with rage and fear while her eyes were red and her hair disheveled but her presence still radiated that dangerous mix of control and chaos she was known for.Gaius sighed “We will find him. You have to trust the process…”“Trust?” she cut in, “You really think I trust them? You think I trust that woman… Elena? She’s the reason all of this started!”Gaius frowned “Don’t start that again... You’re letting your emoti

The hospital corridor was silent except for the echo of Seraphina’s heels because she had been pacing outside Adrian’s room for nearly ten minutes holding her breath each time someone passed by since her heart hadn’t stopped pounding since she saw him alive and calm again and then she pushed the door open.Adrian was by the window with his hands in his pockets“Adrian.”He didn’t move but just gave a quiet exhale “Seraphina... You should be resting.”Her chest tightened “Don’t do that.”“Do what?”“Talk to me like I’m some patient who needs rest” She closed the door behind her, “I’m not leaving this room until you tell me the truth.”He finally turned “The truth about what?”“Don’t play dumb” Her voice trembled “You vanished, Adrian. One minute you were in police custody … the next, gone. They said there was no record of your transfer, no paperwork, nothing. You could’ve been dead.”“I wasn’t”“That’s not an answer” She stepped closer, “Where were you?”“I told you” he said evenly, “i

The night was unusually quiet.Seraphina sat on the couch pretending to read while her eyes kept focusing to Adrian across the room where he’d been restless since morning checking his phone too often pacing the floor like someone waiting for bad news.When it finally came it was through a call and a low and sharp voice and then Adrian’s quiet “I’ll handle it.”She watched him slip into the next room and shut the door behind him.Her heart sank again.He thought she wouldn’t notice the change in his tone but she heard it and the way his voice dropped when he thought she wasn’t listening and the way his shoulders tensed when the name “Elena” came up on the news earlier.He’d been hiding something and she could feel it in the air between them.She waited five minutes and then curiosity burned through her patience and finally she stood moving silently toward the door.His voice came through faintly calm but clipped “Yes, I heard. She’s safe now?”There was a pause before the feedback retu