The first thing Siena noticed when she opened her eyes was the silence.
It wasn't the comforting kind—the one that settles in when you feel safe and warm. This silence was too still, too hollow. The kind that echoed through your chest.
She sat up slowly in the bed and glanced at the space beside her. The sheets were cold. Alexander had left hours ago.
Again.
Siena sighed and reached for her phone. Three unread messages from Reeve. One missed call from her mother. Two news alerts about the growing panic at Blackwood Industries over the leaked information.
She ignored all of them for a moment and simply sat there. The sunlight pouring in through the windows did nothing to warm the chill creeping under her skin.
She stood, pulled on a robe, and padded into the kitchen. A cup of coffee sat on the counter, still warm, with a yellow sticky note stuck to the side of it.
"Didn't want to wake you. I'll be at the office. Call me if anything changes. – A."
She stared at the note for a long moment before folding it carefully and slipping it into her robe pocket.
He was slipping again.
Not in a cold, deliberate way, but in a way that felt like distance growing in slow, unspoken inches. Siena knew he wasn't avoiding her on purpose. He was trying to fix everything. Trying to protect what was left of his company, his name, and their future.
But the more he threw himself into the battle, the more she felt him drifting from her.
And right now, with danger circling closer every day, she couldn't afford for them to lose each other.
---
By noon, she was at Reeve's apartment.
The windows were covered in blackout curtains, and half the place looked like it belonged to a conspiracy theorist—maps, red strings, printed emails, post-it notes, USB drives. Reeve had always lived like chaos was his roommate.
"I found something," he said without even greeting her. He tossed a folder across the table.
Siena opened it, scanning the contents. "What am I looking at?"
"The customs log from Port City West. Passenger 1416F. That's the one I thought might be Dael."
Her eyes narrowed. "You traced them?"
"I cross-checked the CCTV stills with some older footage we had of Dael. It's grainy, but the height, the posture, the walk—I'm 70% sure it's her."
Siena looked up sharply. "Seventy percent isn't enough."
"I know," Reeve said. "That's why I pulled the footage from the shuttle bus that left the port that night. There was a transfer stop. That same passenger boarded a private car registered under a fake name."
Siena leaned in. "Where was the car headed?"
Reeve hesitated. "A small medical facility. Off-the-books. No public records."
Her stomach dropped. "So someone smuggled her out... but kept her alive?"
"That's what it looks like."
Siena's thoughts were spinning. "Why keep her alive?"
"Leverage," Reeve said. "Or guilt. Or both."
She stood, pacing. "We need to get in there."
Reeve raised a brow. "Siena—"
"I'm not asking for permission. I just need an address."
Reeve frowned. "You go charging in, and you risk not just yourself, but her. If it's Dael in there, they've kept her hidden this long for a reason."
She pressed her fingers against her temples. "So what do you suggest?"
"We scope it. We confirm first. Then we act smart."
Siena exhaled. She hated waiting. Hated delays. But Reeve was right.
"Fine. But I'm going with you."
He didn't argue.
---
Later that afternoon, Alexander stood in the boardroom at Blackwood Industries.
The remaining board members looked pale and rattled. Some avoided eye contact altogether. Others tried to speak over each other, offering excuses, justifications, and half-formed strategies.
Alexander let them talk for a while. Let them flail.
Then he spoke. Calm, clear, and firm.
"We are under attack. Not just from outside forces, but from within. If we don't start acting like a united front, we won't have a company left in six months."
"Are you accusing someone here of betrayal?" one of the senior board members asked sharply.
Alexander didn't blink. "Not yet. But I will if I find proof."
A heavy silence followed.
Another member cleared his throat. "There are rumors. That someone inside the company leaked information to the press."
"Good," Alexander said. "Let them believe that. Let them stay afraid."
The same board member stared at him. "You want them afraid?"
"I want them desperate," Alexander replied. "Because desperate men make mistakes."
---
That night, Siena didn't wait for Alexander to come home.
She met him at the office.
She found him alone in his executive suite, staring at a spreadsheet on the wall screen, his jaw tight, his shirt sleeves rolled up.
"You didn't call," she said, leaning on the doorway.
He looked up, surprised. "I meant to."
She stepped inside. "That's starting to be a habit."
Alexander lowered the remote and turned to face her fully. "I'm sorry. I just… things are piling up."
Siena folded her arms. "I'm not here to blame you. I just want to know where we stand. You and me."
He paused, his expression softening. "We stand together."
"Then tell me what's going on in that head of yours. Because from where I'm standing, you're carrying all this weight alone."
"I'm trying to fix what I broke," he said quietly.
"You didn't break it alone," she replied. "And you won't fix it alone."
He looked at her for a long moment before crossing the room and taking her hands.
"I'm scared," he admitted. "Not of them. Not even of the fallout. I'm scared of letting you down. Again."
She stepped closer. "You want to protect me. I get that. But I'd rather face this storm with you than be locked away from it."
He nodded slowly. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"I'll let you in more. I promise."
Siena didn't smile. But she pressed her forehead gently to his. "That's all I need."
---
The next morning, Siena and Reeve drove out to the off-the-books facility.
It was tucked into a wooded area outside the city. No signage. One gate. Two cameras.
They parked a half-mile down the road and hiked the rest of the way on foot.
From behind a ridge, they watched as a black SUV pulled up to the front entrance. A man in a lab coat stepped out and approached the vehicle. A nurse followed, carrying a tablet.
Then a third person emerged from the building.
Female.
Wearing a hoodie and walking slowly.
Siena's breath caught.
Even from that distance—she knew.
It was Dael.
Reeve swore under his breath. "Well, damn."
Siena lifted her phone and zoomed in.
The angle wasn't perfect, but she captured the moment. The face. The timestamp.
"We have proof," she whispered.
"Now what?" Reeve asked.
"We get her out," Siena said. "Soon."
---
Later that day, Siena sat across from Alexander in the penthouse living room, showing him the footage.
He watched in silence. When it ended, he turned to her, visibly shaken. "It's her. She's alive."
Siena nodded. "Barely. But yes."
Alexander leaned back, exhaling slowly. "Who the hell's been hiding her?"
"Whoever it is," she said, "they've kept her close. Protected, even. This could be leverage... or it could be someone trying to keep her from testifying."
"We need to act fast."
"I'm already working with Reeve on a plan."
Alexander hesitated. "I want in."
Siena stared at him. "Are you sure?"
He nodded. "If they've hurt her if they used her... I need to see this through."
Siena reached for his hand. "Then we do this together."