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“That goes for all of you,” I add, looking at each of them in turn. “I don’t need to be here, and my presence was never mandatory,” I continue, my voice hardening. “This is a Hartho event that could have been hosted and managed perfectly fine by you. You know everything there is to know about the new chain, so your insistence on me attending is fucking pointless.”

“And what would you have done, huh?” Colt asks, stepping closer. “What exactly would you be doing instead?”

“What I should be doing,” I fire back, raising my voice as I throw my hands up in frustration. “Finding Selene so I can fix this,” I say more quietly. “Trying to explain things to her, because she deserves at least an explanation.”

My words are met with silence from every direction.

Just like every day since Selene disappeared—with Ethan’s help. He refuses to tell me where she is, just like everyone else.

The looks on their faces piss me off. They’re full of sympathy, but there’s blame in them too.

And their silence only makes it worse.

None of them understand that every second that passes only takes me farther from Selene, piece by agonizing piece.

If it’s possible to lose her more than I already have.

I realized everything was over the moment she pressed Play on that video.

The same video Ryan managed to stop from appearing on Ethan’s TV. Thank God for that.

It wouldn’t have bothered me if it had only been them. Throughout our lives—especially during our teenage years—we’ve gone through all kinds of shit together. I’m not ashamed in front of them, not even for a moment, and the feeling goes both ways.

But Thalia and Sierra were there too.

And even though I’m sure Ethan and Nick would have made sure they didn’t see a single second of that clip, I’m still grateful Ryan disconnected my phone from the TV so quickly.

I am.

But I’m not going to tell him that.

Not when he knows where Selene is, and he won’t tell me. And even if he didn’t already know, it would have taken him 0.1 seconds to find out.

But they all know, and every single one of them refuses to give me the information.

Our men suddenly seem to listen only to them lately, as if they’ve forgotten I’m the boss too.

That’s why I feel like I’ve been losing my fucking mind for days.

I know nothing about Selene.

I can’t reach her.

There’s no way to contact her.

Her phone has been turned off ever since she left. She hasn’t been active on social media at all. She’s not at Nick’s apartment in Hartho, and I’m certain she’s not in New York either.

She’s simply gone.

And she took my fucking soul with her.

“Zayn.”

Thalia walks to me, hesitating for a moment before reaching out. When she sees that I don’t pull away, her fingers settle gently around my arm, and she lifts my chin until I meet her eyes.

“I would tell you where Selene is right now,” she says, tears gathering in her eyes, and the sight alone is enough to silence me. “But she begged us to let her handle everything in her own way… however she can right now.”

Sierra moves to Thalia’s side, wearing the same tearful expression, her features etched with hurt.