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Serena studies the distance on the screen for a moment, then starts clapping excitedly.

“Yay. I hope he brings me chocolate.”

We all chuckle, but I still can’t shake the crushing feeling that something is terribly wrong.

The front door suddenly opens, and all the radios clipped to the guards’ uniforms start beeping.

“Hey,” we hear Nick say.

Serena jumps up and runs toward him, but Sierra remains rooted in front of the couch.

When Nick bends down to pick up his daughter, the door opens again.

Ethan walks in, instantly searching the room. The second he sees Thalia, his eyes sweep over her from head to toe, then he exhales deeply and strides to her.

He doesn’t even reach us before the door opens again, and Noah walks in, fear written all over his face.

But it disappears the moment he sees us.

The same thing happens every few minutes until all the guys make it home.

All except Zayn.

“Zayn?” I ask as everyone hugs, checks on, and reassures one another.

Ralph keeps staring at the same tablet.

The room falls silent.

All eyes turn to me, then shift to Ralph.

One of the bodyguards quickly picks Serena up and takes her upstairs, probably to keep her away from whatever is about to happen.

“His car’s location shows him at Hartho,” Ralph says. “But he’s not in the building.” He checks something else, then lifts his head and looks at each of the guys. “He left about an hour ago.”

“Check his GPS,” Ethan orders, walking over to him.

“I can’t locate him,” Ralph says, frustration creeping into his voice. “I’ve been trying since we got here.”

“What do you mean?” Colt mutters.

“Why didn’t you say earlier?” Ryan snaps, pulling out his phone and typing frantically.

My breath catches so violently that, for a moment, I can’t even gather myself enough to stand up and search for my own phone.

“Hey. Everything’s okay,” Thalia whispers when she notices I’m struggling to breathe.

“Sel, I’m sure he’s fine,” Liam says, though I can see the panic in his eyes.

“His GPS signal is gone,” Ryan says sharply. “I can’t track him through any satellite.”

“He left Hartho at 1:52 p.m.,” Tommy, another bodyguard, announces. “In Ethan’s Porsche. It’s missing from the garage. Security just confirmed they saw him leaving.”

“Fuck.”

“What? Why?”

“Why didn’t he say anything?”