Page 189 of Sage Haven
I needed to understand exactly what they did to her.
So, I could make them pay. So, I could feed the fire that was already burning me alive.
By the time the footage ended, I was gutted and empty.
But my rage—my rage was alive and breathing. It was crawling beneath my skin like a storm that wouldn’t settle.
I had failed her. Once. Twice now.
And I wasn’t going to fail again.
I shoved away from the desk, stalking through the house like a man possessed.
Every corner, every shadow, every room—nothing.
No sign of her.
Think. Think. Retrace.
I pulled out my phone, fumbling for the last thing I had left.
The only surveillance feed still active.
The master bedroom.
I rewound.
Watched.
There I was.
Kissing her goodbye.
Telling her I wouldn’t be long.
And her smile.
Fuck, that smile.
Soft and easy.
Like she trusted me.
Completely unaware of the nightmare about to swallow her whole.
I clenched my teeth so hard I tasted blood.
Then—I saw it.
The moment she tucked the music device into her pocket.
My pulse kicked.
Had she taken it out before they took her?
I zoomed in.
Frame by frame.
