Sophia woke up coughing violently, her throat burning as if she had swallowed sand. Her head throbbed with a sharp, relentless pain that made her eyes water. She tried to move, but her body felt heavy and ice-cold. Her mouth was painfully dry, lips cracked, tongue thick and useless.Where… where am I?She forced her eyes open. The world was dark, damp, and freezing. She was lying on a rough concrete floor in what looked like an old basement. Dim light filtered through a small, barred window high up on the wall. Chains and old pipes lined the corners. The air smelled of mold and rust.Her wrists burned. She looked down and realized her hands were tied tightly behind her back with coarse rope. The skin was raw and bleeding where the rope had cut into her.A wave of pure terror crashed over her.Not again. Not again. Please…Her breathing quickened. Memories flooded back in fragments … the elegant banquet, Madame Duchamp’s warm smile, the pink gown, Victoria’s slap, the ride home in the

“Sir, we have finally gotten a location.” Adrian’s head snapped up. The command center in his private building was alive with screens, maps, and urgent voices. Two figures stood firmly by his side … Crown Prince Alexander and Prince Lucien of Eldoria. The moment they had heard what happened to Sophia, they had dropped everything in their kingdom and flown in without hesitation, leaving political crises and royal duties behind. They were dressed in dark tactical gear, ready for whatever came next. “Show me,” Adrian ordered, voice tight with barely contained fury. The main screen flickered to life. Catherine Harrington’s face appeared … cold, elegant, and arrogant. The team had linked her through a combination of satellite tracking on the vehicle Sophia had taken, cross-referenced with thermal imaging of known safe houses belonging to the Five Families, and a hacked communication line from one of Harrington’s own encrypted devices. The woman had been careless in her excitement, maki

Adrian stood motionless in the center of the command room, the glow of multiple screens casting harsh shadows across his face. His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. The silence in the room was suffocating.Marcus approached slowly, with a tablet in his hand, his expression grim.“Sir… we have something.”Adrian’s head snapped toward him. “Speak.”Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose, hesitating. “You need to calm down for what I’m about to tell you.”Adrian’s entire body went rigid. The air around him seemed to drop several degrees. For a single heartbeat, he froze … a rare crack in the armor of the man who controlled empires.Marcus continued, voice low and heavy. “She has been sold to one of the most discreet human trafficking dens in the region. The Black Lotus network. It operates in layers … with legitimate businesses on top acting as covers, underground auctions and holding facilities below. They move girls across borders within hours. It might

Adrian pushed open the door to the suite, his body running on nothing but pure willpower. Every step felt like walking through quicksand. His shoulders were slumped, his eyes bloodshot, clothes stained with dirt and sweat from the failed raid. He had torn through three Black Lotus safe houses tonight, leaving bodies and destruction in his wake, but Sophia wasn’t there.He was almost dead on his feet.The moment the door clicked shut, two figures moved forward from the living room … Crown Prince Alexander and Prince Lucien. They had refused to leave, staying behind to guard the suite and coordinate from the command center while Adrian hunted in the field.“Adrian!” Alexander reached him first, catching him as his knees buckled.Lucien grabbed the other side. Together, the two princes held him upright, supporting his weight between them.“You look like hell,” Lucien muttered, voice tight with worry. “Come on, you need to eat something.”Adrian tried to pull away. “No time… I have to…”“

Sophia sat with her back against the cold concrete wall, with her darkened knees drawn up to her chest. The basement holding room was dim and oppressive, the single flickering bulb overhead doing little to chase away the shadows. The air was thick with the smell of fear, sweat, and despair. Around her, dozens of girls huddled in various states of brokenness … some crying quietly, others staring blankly into nothingness.She tried not to think about how badly things had gone.Not long ago, she had been so happy. Breakfast with Adrian. The soft peck on her lips. The excitement of the Duchamp banquet. The feeling of being cherished, protected, and truly seen for the first time in years. She had forgotten how cruel life could be. How quickly joy could be ripped away.She knew being with someone as strong as Adrian no matter how he tried to hide it, would bring complications. Danger. Enemies in the shadows. But she had chosen him anyway. Willingly and with her whole heart .And she wouldn’