She was gone. The world had collapsed into a single moment. Cadence's broken phone in my hand, her shoe with its snapped heel lying on the wet pavement, and the small, dark smear of blood glistening under the streetlamp. But it was the photo on the screen that destroyed me: Cadence blindfolded, gagged, her face bruised and streaked with tears. The messagebeneath it burned into my retinas like acid.
"You were warned."
I couldn't breathe. My lungs refused to work, as if the very air around me had solidified. The smog from the city seemed to thicken, wrapping around us like a shroud, muffling the sounds of the city into a distant hum, but I knew it was just me.
"Logan." Cole's voice reached me as if through water. "Logan, we need to move. Now." I looked up at him, my vision blurring. Cole's face was pale, his mismatched eyes wide with barely controlled panic. Beside him, Ryder paced like a caged animal, his fingers digging into his scalp as he tugged at his hair.
"This is my fault," I whispered, the words scraping my throat raw. "I left her. I should have gone back. She needed me and I just..." My voice broke, the memory of Cadence standing alone on the sidewalk, blood dripping from her knuckles, flashing before my eyes. "I drove away. I fucking drove away."
“Damn fucking straight this is your fault,” Ryder growled at me.
"We don't have time for this," Cole snapped at us both. He grabbed my shoulder and shook me. "Cade needs us. She needs you both to get your shit together."
Ryder had his phone pressed to his ear, his voice low and urgent as he barked orders to someone on the other end.
"I don't fucking care what time it is. I want every security feed from Water Lane and the surrounding streets for the last hour. Now." I forced myself to stand, my legs unsteady beneath me. The broken pieces of Cadence's life, her purse, her student ID with that smile that had gotten so much rarer these last fewweeks, her keys, lay scattered at my feet like an accusation. I bent down, gathering them with trembling hands, as if collecting these fragments might somehow bring her back.
"My father," I said suddenly, the realisation hitting me like a physical blow. "This is him. It has to be." Cole frowned. "Nic? Why would he take Cade?"
"She slapped him. In front of an entire restaurant full of people." The memory of that moment, Cadence standing tall, her hand connecting with my father's face, the stunned silence that followed, flashed through my mind.
"He was acting like he approved, but we all know my father; he never forgives an insult. Never."
Ryder ended his call, turning to me with eyes burning with fury and fear.
"Your father?" I nodded, certainty hardening in my chest.
"The bastard sent me out looking for her. He must have had someone following us. Waiting for an opportunity."
"The restaurant," Cole said, already moving toward the car. "We need to go back there. Now."
I clutched Cadence's broken phone in my hand, her shoe in the other, and ran. Each step felt like I was moving through quicksand, and I couldn’t move fast enough. If anything happened to her, if she was hurt, or worse, it would be my fault. The weight of that knowledge threatened to crush me, but I pushed it down, channelling it into the desperate need to find her. We piled into the car, Ryder taking the wheel this time, his driving even more reckless than mine had been. The streets blurred past as he weaved through traffic, running red lights, ignoring the blaring horns of other drivers. None of it mattered. Nothing mattered except getting to Cadence.
"Do we call the police?" Cole asked from the backseat, his voice tight.
"No," I said immediately. "Not yet. If this is my father, involving the police will only make things worse." Cole leaned forward, his expression grim. "And if it's not your father? If it's someone else? There have been plenty of people interested in her these last few weeks. We're wasting time, Logan."
“And how many of those people are above the police?” I snapped, “Killingham? Blake? Fuck, at this point I would rather it be my father because if the Trivium has her then we have no fucking chance of-”
“Don’t you fucking dare say it,” Ryder hissed as he rounded a sharp turn. “Don’t you fucking dare finish that sentence.” I could hear the tremor in his voice. The one that said that he was thinking the same as I was. I shook my head in defeat.
"Just... let me talk to him first," I insisted. "Five minutes. That's all I'm asking." Cole hesitated, then nodded, though the tension in his jaw told me he wasn't happy about it. Ryder said nothing, his focus back on the road, but I could feel the anger radiating from him in waves. He blamed me. Of course he did. I blamed myself.
The restaurant came into view, its elegant façade glowing with warm light, and patrons were still visible through the large windows. It looked obscenely normal, as if the world hadn't just shattered around us. Ryder barely slowed as he pulled up to the pavement, the tires screeching in protest. I was out of the car before it had fully stopped, running toward the entrance, my heart hammering against my ribs. The maître d' stepped forward to greet me, his polite smile faltering as he took in my wild expression.
"Mr Bale, welcome back-" I pushed past him, scanning the dining room. My father was still at our table, now joined by twomen I recognised as his security detail. He was sipping cognac, looking completely at ease, as if he hadn't orchestrated the abduction of the woman I-
The thought cut off abruptly. The woman I what? Cared for? Desired? Loved? It didn't matter. Nothing mattered except finding her. I crossed the room in long strides, ignoring the startled looks from other diners. My father glanced up as I approached, one eyebrow raised in mild surprise.
"Logan, I was beginning to think you'd abandoned me for the evening. Where is Miss Turner? I was hoping she might-" My fist connected with his jaw before he could finish the sentence, the impact sending a jolt of pain up my arm. My father's head snapped to the side, his glass shattering on the marble floor. The restaurant fell silent, a collective gasp rippling through the room.
"What did you do to her?" I shouted, my voice breaking. "Where is she? Where's Cadence?"
My father's security detail moved toward me, but he held up a hand, stopping them. He touched his jaw, wincing slightly, his eyes never leaving mine.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, his voice dangerously calm. I thrust the broken phone at him, the screen still displaying the horrific image of Cadence, bound and bleeding.
"Don't fucking lie to me! Was this about what happened tonight? Did you do this because she slapped you?" Something shifted in my father's expression, a flicker of genuine surprise followed by... concern? He took the phone from me, studying the image, his face hardening into a mask I knew all too well.
