Chapter 2

I drove like a madwoman to Lewis’s private penthouse. I bypassed the receptionist, ignoring her frantic protests, and shoved open the heavy glass doors to his suite.

Lewis stood by the floor-to-ceiling window. He wasn't alone. Chloe was pressed against his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her face buried in his expensive shirt.

"Lewis!" I screamed.

He turned, his handsome face instantly twisting into a mask of pure fury. "How the hell did you get up here? I told you I am done playing these games, Ruby."

"It’s not a game!" I lunged forward, shoving my phone directly into his face. The screen glowed with the terrifying photo of Kevin’s mud-soaked bear. "Look at it! Look at the text! They have him, Lewis. They have our son!"

Lewis barely glanced at the screen.

Before he could speak, Chloe let out a dramatic, breathless gasp.

She clutched her chest, her knees buckling slightly as she leaned her full weight against Lewis.

"Lewis," she whimpered, her voice trembling. "My heart... I can't breathe. She's screaming... it's too much stress."

"Look what you're doing to her!" Lewis roared.

He raised his hand and violently slapped my phone away. The device flew across the room, smashing against the marble floor.

"No!" I dropped to my knees, frantically trying to piece the broken glass together. The sharp edges cut into my fingertips, drawing blood, but I didn't care.

"You are completely unhinged," Lewis sneered, looking down at me with absolute disgust. "Faking a ransom text just to get my attention? You are sick, Ruby. Security!"

Two massive guards rushed into the suite.

"Get her out of my sight," Lewis ordered coldly. He wrapped his arm protectively around Chloe’s waist, pulling her closer. "I’m taking Chloe home. She needs to rest."

The guards grabbed my arms, hauling me to my feet. I kicked. I screamed. I fought with every ounce of strength in my body, but it was useless.

They dragged me into the elevator, down to the lobby, and threw me forcefully out the front doors.

I hit the wet pavement hard. The torrential rain instantly soaked through my clothes, chilling me to the bone. I scrambled to my knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

The glass doors behind me slid open. Lewis walked out, sheltering a fragile-looking Chloe under a large black umbrella. He didn't even look at me as they walked toward the curb.

Suddenly, the blinding headlights of a sleek Rolls-Royce pierced the dark, rainy street.

The luxury car screeched to a halt directly in front of us, blocking Lewis’s path.

The back door swung open. Lady Tiara stepped out into the storm.

"Mother?" Lewis asked, startled. "What are you doing—"

The sound of the slap echoed over the roaring thunder.

"You absolute, pathetic fool," Tiara hissed, her voice dripping with lethal venom. "Your son is missing, and you are playing nursemaid to this... this parasite?"

Lewis touched his reddened cheek, his eyes wide with shock. "Mother, it's a lie. Ruby is faking it to ruin my night."

"You are blind," Tiara spat. "Take your mistress and get out of my sight. Before I strip you of the Kensington name entirely."

Lewis clenched his jaw. He grabbed Chloe’s hand and dragged her toward his waiting sports car, still refusing to believe the truth.

He drove away, leaving his mother and his wife standing in the freezing rain.

"Get up, Ruby," she commanded, offering me her hand. "If my foolish son won’t save my grandson, I will."

I took her hand.

Twenty minutes later, the Rolls-Royce pulled into a dark, secluded alleyway.

Tiara led me down a flight of concrete stairs into a dimly lit, underground room.

A man was waiting for us.

"Ruby, this is Carlos Vance," Tiara said quickly. "He is a private investigator. He operates strictly in the shadows, and he owes me his life."

"I bypassed the city's surveillance network," Carlos said. "I checked the feeds around Kensington Manor at the time of the storm."

"Did you see who took him?" I asked, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"No," Carlos replied grimly. "Because the cameras weren't just turned off. They were wiped clean."

He turned to face us, his dark eyes locking onto mine.

"Someone used an elite master override code to erase the footage," Carlos explained. "It’s a localized security measure. Only family members possess that specific code."

The air vanished from the room. An inside job. Someone in the Kensington family had taken my son.

"I traced the signal from the burner phone that sent you the text," Carlos continued, grabbing a heavy black jacket. "It pinged ten minutes ago at the abandoned shipping yard on the edge of the river."

"Take me there," I demanded. "Now."

The drive to the shipping yard was a blur of rain and terrifying silence. When we arrived, the area was a desolate wasteland of towering, rusted metal containers.

The wind howled off the rushing river, a violent, deafening roar.

Carlos led the way, a heavy flashlight in one hand and a drawn weapon in the other. We wove through the maze of metal until he stopped abruptly in front of a dark red container.

The heavy iron latch was unlocked.

I pressed my ear against the freezing, wet metal.

Cough.

It was faint. It was weak. But I knew that sound anywhere.

"Kevin!" I screamed.

I didn't wait for Carlos. I grabbed the heavy metal handle and yanked the door open. Pitch black darkness stared back at me.

"Kevin, Mommy is here!" I cried out, stepping over the threshold into the freezing container.

"Ruby, wait!" Carlos yelled, lunging forward to grab my arm.

He stepped inside just as a loud, mechanical screech echoed through the night.

The heavy metal doors violently slammed shut behind us.

The lock clicked into place with a sickening, final thud.