Page 54 of My Alpha Stepbrother's Dirty Secret 2

"You've done well," Another added."You'll be escorted back now.We promised you safety and we'll keep our end."

She didn't even look at me.

She just smiled one more time and walked away.

and then the men turned to me, all of them grinning.

"Get ready for us," one of them said, smiling with all his brown, broken teeth."Because all three of us are gonna take you at once."

CHAPTER 77

Killian's POV

My phone buzzed in my pocket just as we were about to step into the council building.Logan and Steve were talking beside me, their voices a low murmur, probably going over the final points of our appeal.I didn't even look at the screen before answering.

"Killian?"It was my mom's voice, panicked and shaky."Is Liana with you?She didn't come home since yesterday after she left angrily.No one has seen her.Is she with you?"

My heart dropped.I stopped dead in my tracks, as if something heavy had just slammed into my chest.Logan turned, frowning."What's going on?"

Steve raised a brow."Killian?"

I didn't answer them.I couldn't.My feet were already moving in the opposite direction.I turned back, walked fast to my car, flung the door open, and got in.My pulse was loud in my ears while I started the engine and sped off, ignoring Logan and Steve's shouts behind me.I didn't care if they were confused or angry, all I knew was that I had to find her.Now.

The drive to her dad's house was a blur.Every second behind that wheel felt like a knife twisting in my gut.How the hell had I been so fucking distracted?How could I have let this happen?

The second I parked and ran inside, Liana's father was already at the door.His eyes were bloodshot, his face pale, and before I could say a word, he grabbed me by the collar and slammed me against the wall.

"WHaT DID YOU DO WITH MY DaUGHTER?!HUH?!WHERE IS SHE, Killian?!"

I was stunned."What the—I swear—"

"SHE'S BEEN MISSING FOR a WHOLE DaMN DaY!"he screamed.

I shoved his hands off my shirt and stepped back, pulling out my phone as panic tightened every muscle in my body, my hands trembling as I called Liana.

It rang.

Once.Twice.Then again.

"Mommy's phone is ringing," a small voice said.

I turned toward the stairs.Ryan was standing there, clutching Liana's phone to his chest, tears already rolling down his cheeks.

"I don't know where Mommy is," he sobbed, walking slowly down the stairs."She didn't come back last night...I waited and waited...I'm scared, Daddy."

I took the phone from him gently and held him tight.My heart was in my throat.I was shaking.I could feel the blood boiling beneath my skin.

I failed her.I should've known something was wrong.I should've called her.

I was too busy trying to fix everything Cynthia had done.I was too consumed with making sure she paid for it all that I forgot the one person who mattered most.I hadn't returned to my hotel since the whole mess started.I stayed at Logan's lodge, worked day and night to clean up the damage Cynthia cause.after pulling the article down and blasting the Internet with proof of Cynthia's fraud, I thought I'd won.

But now...

Cynthia had vanished.and now my Liana?

No.No.This wasn't a coincidence.

This was Cynthia's doing.I knew it.