Page 98 of Shattered Crown

Right after takeoff,I'm pacing the aisles and calling Viktor for an update. I'm desperate to scream, rage, and drown my sorrows in vodka, but instead I force myself to push aside my emotions like I do before a fight, and focus on my next move. The decisions I make now are critical in the search for Kira.

“What the fuck is going on?” I growl the moment Viktor answers.

My head of security was monitoring the Black Company mission from a control center off-site. But since the early morning hours when it was discovered Kira was missing, he's been relentlessly trying to piece together what happened.

“It’s not good,” Viktor starts, his tone grim. "Just past midnight, an explosion was heard on the east side of the property. When the guards went to look into it, they discovered all the camera feeds were down. Believing it was a counter-attack by the Black Company, they secured the property and focused on eliminating the threat. Except … there was no threat. We've scoured the property, and there’s no sign of an outsidebreach. I was able to get the cameras back up and running this morning—that’s when we discovered Kira missing. No sign of forced entry or struggle. It's like she vanished into thin air."

My grip on the phone tightens as panic sets in, a cold fear twisting my gut. "She didn't vanish. Get every available man searching. I want eyes on every inch of footage before the blackout. Someone saw something."

Viktor is quick to respond, military precision in his voice. "Already on it. I've put a team together, and we’re doing everything we can.”

“Update me as soon as you have something." I end the call, the silence left behind louder than a bomb.

How the fuck could this happen? Did someone take her? Did she leave on her own? I think back to every face, every ally and enemy. The staff, the guards—could I have missed a traitor among us? Was Kira's disappearance part of a larger scheme against me, the work of the Black Company or another enemy?

Questions gnaw at me, but the one that burns the hottest, the one that feels like acid in my veins, is simple.

Is she still alive?

I don’t allow myself to consider the alternative, the grim possibilities that try to intrude. There’s only one thing I’m sure of—I'll tear through heaven and hell, leaving only ashes behind if that's what it takes to find her.

Four hours later,I slam through the mansion's entrance, all raw energy and frantic urgency. My boots echo against the marble as I make a beeline for the security office, with Roman and Pavel flanking me.

As we turn the corner, Nadya steps in front of me, throwing herself into my arms. “I’m so sorry, Maxim. I can’t believe it.” Her eyes are swimming with tears, her usual composure shattered. "She must have planned this for days.”

“Planned what?” I freeze in place as she shoves two plastic strips into my hands. "What's this?" I question, my tone rising with agitation.

“I found these in your bathroom. Two positive pregnancy tests.”

The ground seems to shift beneath me. The word “pregnant” echoes in my head, a thunderclap that drowns out all else. My thoughts race, trying to grapple with the reality of what Nadya is saying.

I clench the tests in my fist, feeling the plastic crack under my palm. “Kira’s pregnant?”

She nods. “It’s why she ran away.”

Panic takes hold. Kira is pregnant with my child and she’s left me?

Beside me, Roman’s voice is hard and unyielding. “Kira wouldn’t run. It’s not who she is.”

“Do we really know who she is?” Nadya sighs, shaking her head. “There’s no sign of forced entry or abduction. She probably cut the cameras and orchestrated the explosion.” She grabs my hand, her sad eyes meeting mine. "She's so young. She probably doesn't want a child, but she knew an honorable man like you would never let her go if she carried his heir.”

Dread floods through me, solidifying in my veins. The tests slip through my grip, onto the floor. Nadya has it wrong.

Kira didn’t run because she doesn’t want a child. She ran becauseIdon’t.

I grab the nearest thing I can find—a crystal decanter, its weight cold and solid in my grip—and launch it at the wall where it shatters, fragmenting like the fucking heart in my chest.

Hearing the commotion, Viktor bursts out of his office.

“Is this true?” I bark at him. “She wasn’t abducted? She left me? Fucking escaped from her own husband?!”

“We can’t rule out anything,” he answers cautiously. “But I recently installed drone security, to keep an eye on?—”

“That’s ridiculous,” Nadya snaps. “You don’t need to confirm what’s as clear as day. If we want to find her, we should be focusing on the train and bus station. Even the airport.”

Viktor glowers at Nadya. “I won’t rule out any possibilities. It’s possible that this is Lai King’s final ‘fuck you’ to us. He could have orchestrated everything before his death.” He shakes his head. “But the evidence isn’t adding up.”

Nadya huffs and crosses her arms in front of her. “It’s a waste of time to focus our energies in the wrong place.”

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