[Annis POV]
The flight to London was eight hours of static silence.
I didn't sleep. I stared out the window at the black Atlantic, watching my reflection in the cold glass. I looked different. Harder. The fear that had defined my life for nine years was gone, burned away in the guest room of the penthouse.
[Dominick POV]
Back in the city, Dominick stood staring at the charred remains of the guest room.
The fire department had extinguished the blaze quickly. The damage was contained to the one wing.
"Where is she?" Dominick asked the fire chief.
"We didn't find a body, Mr. Reyes. She must have gotten out."
Dominick felt a surge of irritation. "Of course she got out." Annis was dramatic, but she wasn't suicidal. She was probably hiding in a hotel, waiting for him to come find her and apologize.
He turned to Chastity, who was sitting in the living room wrapped in a blanket, sipping tea.
"She started it, Dom," Chastity sobbed. "She went crazy. She said if she couldn't have you, no one could."
Dominick frowned. That didn't sound like Annis. Annis was quiet. Annis was controlled. But he had seen the rage in her eyes lately. Maybe she had finally snapped.
He pulled out his phone and dialed her number.
The number you have reached is not in service.
He stared at the screen. She had cut him off.
"Petty," he muttered.
He called Liu, his assistant.
"Go to her old apartment," he ordered. "The one her father used to own. Fill it with luxuries. Flowers. Jewelry. The new Hermès bag she was looking at."
He paused, his jaw tightening.
"And get a locksmith. Change the locks. I want a key."
He hung up, feeling satisfied. He would give her a few days to cool off. Then he would go to the apartment, give her the gifts, and bring her home. She had nowhere else to go. Her family was dead or indebted to him. She was his.
Three days passed.
Dominick stood on the balcony of the penthouse, looking out at the city. The guest wing was being renovated. Chastity was complaining about the smell of smoke.
He hadn't heard from Annis.
Liu called.
"Boss," Liu said, his voice hesitant. "I went to the apartment. The gifts are there. But... nobody has touched them. Dust is already settling on the petals."
Dominick gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white.
"Is she there?"
"No, sir. The place is empty."
Dominick hung up. A cold knot formed in his stomach. Not fear-he didn't feel fear-but a loss of control.
"Where are you?" he texted her dead number.
He went back inside. Chastity was waiting for him, wearing a silver dress.
"Ready for the Don's birthday?" she asked, smiling.
Dominick looked at her. For the first time, her smile looked sharp. Predatory.
He missed Annis's quiet grace. He missed the way she knew how to tie his tie perfectly. He missed the way a tumbler of scotch would appear at his elbow without him asking.
"Let's go," he said curtly.
They arrived at the Olsen Estate. It was a fortress of wealth and power. Don Carl Olsen, the patriarch, sat at the head of the long table, looking like a king on his throne.
"Where is Annis?" the Don asked immediately. He liked Annis. She was respectful. She understood the old ways.
"She's... unwell," Dominick lied. "A flu. She sends her regards."
The Don narrowed his eyes but nodded.
Dinner was served. Dominick couldn't eat. He kept checking his phone under the table. Nothing.
Then, the doors opened.
A courier walked in. He was carrying a sleek, black box and a thick envelope.
"Delivery for Don Carl Olsen," the courier announced. "And one for Mr. Dominick Reyes."
The room went silent.
The courier placed the box in front of the Don and the envelope in front of Dominick.
Dominick stared at the handwriting on the envelope. It was elegant. Precise.
Annis.
His heart slammed against his ribs.
"Open it," the Don commanded.
Dominick tore open the envelope.
Inside, there was a single sheet of paper.
Divorce Decree. Signed. Notarized.
And a ring. The heavy, diamond-encrusted family crest ring he had forced onto her finger nine years ago.
Dominick felt the blood drain from his face.
Don Carl opened the black box.
Inside was the platinum rosary bracelet. Repaired. Polished.
And a medical file.
The Don put on his reading glasses. He read the file. The silence in the room grew heavy, suffocating.
The Don stood up. His face was dark with rage.
He picked up the medical file and threw it across the table. It hit Dominick in the chest. Papers scattered everywhere.
"You forced a transfusion?" the Don roared. "On a woman with a heart condition? To save a whore?"
Chastity gasped.
Dominick stood up. "Grandfather, I-"
The Don slapped him. The sound echoed like a gunshot in the great hall.
"You have no honor," the Don spat. "You treated a daughter of this family like cattle."
Dominick looked down at the papers on the floor. He saw the log of Annis's vitals during the procedure. Cardiac distress. Critical failure imminent.
He looked at the divorce papers in his hand.
She wasn't throwing a tantrum. She wasn't hiding in an apartment.
She was gone.
Dominick crumpled the papers in his fist. The paper cut into his palm, but he didn't feel the pain. He only felt the sudden, terrifying realization that the cage was empty, and the bird had flown.
"Find her," he whispered to Liu. "Find her now."
