A full week passed.

Every single day, Aiden and I showed up in the DevApp skyscraper.

Jacob Lowen had enough decency not to have the security guards throw us out like stray dogs, but that was as far as his kindness went.

For the entire week, he ignored us.

Day after day, he came to the office. Day after day, he left. And every single time, he walked past us without a word.

We had become a spectacle, a daily event at the company. We just made sure that Skye and Soren never saw us, we didn’t want them to worry. Although I still think they kinda knew.

But then, on the eighth day, something unexpected happened.

We were sitting in the lobby. I was staring stubbornly at the elevator doors when, suddenly, I felt the urge to turn my head. I glanced toward the building’s glass entrance.

Aiden followed my gaze, and suddenly, he blurted out, "Lake, look—that’s Gabriel!"

Gabriel was Van’s son. Van, Aiden’s close cousin with whom he had basically grown up, was the very person responsible for bringing us together. Forty years ago, he was the one who arranged for me to move in with Aiden.

In a way, he was an architect of our marriage.

Gabriel was his son from a second marriage, a shy young man who had been passionate about martial arts and studying computer science… at least until he got into trouble with the law about six months ago.

Now, he was walking toward us with a very short omega beside him, a guy wearing strange electronic glasses. The man looked familiar. After a moment, I realized who he had to be.

"Uncle Lake? Uncle Aiden?" Gabriel called out, surprise written all over his face. "What are you doing here?"

The short omega stopped as well. He looked… peculiar.

Gabriel noticed us glancing at him and cleared his throat. "This is my boss, Mr. Blue Lowen." He swallowed, as if unsure what else to say, then mumbled, "I work as his, um… bodyguard."

I reached out for a handshake, but Gabriel quickly interjected, "Mr. Lowen doesn’t do handshakes."

Instead, Aiden opened his arms and pulled Gabriel into a firm hug.

"Gabriel, I’m so glad you got out of all that trouble, son. I know Van can finally sleep at night."

Gabriel gave a sheepish nod. "That’s thanks to… Mr. Lowen’s kindness," he murmured.

He looked good. In fact, he looked better than the last time I had seen him, at Skye’s graduation, not long before he was arrested. He seemed even more built now, at the peak of physical form. His face strongly resembled the rest of the Nolan family. His hair was a deep, dark chestnut, and his features had that same striking symmetry that was characteristic of all Aiden’s relatives.

What set him apart from the rest of the Nolans, though, was a kind of subtle, almost shy energy. It made him seem like he was always lingering in the background, overlooked, ignored by the family.

But now? That shyness seemed less pronounced.

As if his self-esteem had grown over the past few months. It made him even more handsome, gave him a certain glow. Had this job helped him come out of his shell?

He cleared his throat. "So what are you two doing here?"

"We’ve been trying to talk to Jacob Lowen," I explained. "For a week now. We want to ask him to continue the search."

Gabriel’s expression tightened. Two and a half weeks had passed since the crash. In his mind, it was obvious—there was no way anyone could have survived.

I felt a wave of frustration, but of course, Gabriel couldn’t read my thoughts. He didn’t know what I knew.

Then Aiden spoke up. "Snow and Summer say they’re alive. They’re on one of the Kuril Islands," he said firmly.

My eyes flicked to Blue Lowen’s face. He was watching us in absolute silence.

He was… an odd omega. Very short—maybe 5’2". I towered over him by at least six inches. His dark blue hair had a sapphire sheen, and his eyes were an equally intense, bright sapphire blue. His features were delicate and pale. I guessed he had to be in his forties, but he didn’t look a day over twenty-six.

He had a fine, almost fragile-looking appearance, but there was something cold about him. Something unsettling. Was it hostility? Sharpness? Or maybe it just masked caution?

It would make sense. There had been countless assassination attempts against him. He was the indirect reason the plane crash had even happened. The bomb had been meant for him.

Silence settled over us.

Gabriel was staring at me. I saw something shift in his expression. He bit his lip, then suddenly turned to Blue.

"My cousin, Snow, he’s the one who sent me that text. The one warning me not to board that cursed flight."

I decided to speak up. "Yeah. Snow warned Winter too, but it didn’t work."

Gabriel hesitated. "So… Snow believes they’re alive?"

"Yes," I said decisively. "And so do we. I know Winter is alive. He survived. He’s on one of those islands."

"But the plane fell from cruising altitude," Gabriel whispered uncertainly.

"You don’t know what Summer can do," I countered. "He and Snow… they have something. Some kind of ability that made sure Winter didn’t hit the ground at full impact. They slowed him down, landed him safely—him and that other boy, Sariel."

Only then did I see a flicker in Blue’s expression.

His eyes… changed, a twinkle of light in them.

"Snow says Sariel is alive?" he asked, his voice sharp and surprisingly strong for someone of his small stature.

"Yes. Both of them are. I have no doubt about it. Snow and Summer confirmed it."

"Do they know which island?"

"They can narrow it down. There are a few small islands in the region. That’s where they landed them, but of course, they don’t know the exact name. The only major landmark they mentioned is a volcano at the center. Its heat is keeping them alive. Sadly, that’s not much help, since most of those islands have volcanoes. They’re volcanic in origin."

Blue was silent for a moment, frowning.

Then, suddenly, he said, "Come with me."

You could tell he was used to giving orders, his voice didn’t leave room for argument.

Without another word, he turned and walked toward the elevator. Stunned, we followed, and I exchanged glances with Aiden. He gave me a small, warm smile.

The elevator ride was silent. I watched Gabriel and Blue, wondering if there was any connection between them. But there was no way to tell. Either they maintained this professional front for the world, or they genuinely kept things strictly business."

The elevator stopped on one of the upper floors.

Jacob Lowen’s floor.

We stepped out, the door closing behind us, as we followed Blue.

He didn’t even knock.

Jacob’s assistant, seated in the adjacent room, sprang to his feet, startled. But when he saw Blue, he hesitated and said nothing. He obviously knew better than to mess with him.

We strode straight into Jacob’s office.

The man rose to his feet at the sight of us, his face flickering from surprise to irritation.

"What the hell is this, Blue?" he snapped. "Why are you bringing these people here?"

"Calm down, Jake. I think we should hear them out."

"Hear them out? Have you lost your mind?" Jacob’s voice was sharp, full of restrained emotion. There was a certain similarity in their mannerisms, both exuding a cold, commanding energy. "I understand their grief, I’m going through it myself! But I’m not going to delude myself into thinking my son is still alive. Let’s be real. No one could survive that crash, Blue!"

"I survived."

Jacob’s jaw clenched. "What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"My bodyguard got a text from his cousin; someone he believes has unusual abilities. That’s why I canceled my flight."

Jacob’s expression twisted. "I don’t believe in premonitions! And what does this have to do with—"

"That same cousin claims they’re alive. He knew they were on that plane. And he helped them survive. It’s not just Winter, Sariel is alive too."

Jacob’s face paled, then flushed red in rapid succession, like he was battling conflicting emotions.

"And you believe this?" he finally burst out, slamming his hands onto his desk. Despite being an omega, he looked more intimidating than most alphas I ever knew.

"The plane exploded as he predicted," Blue said evenly. "That man somehow knew it was coming. I can’t ignore that."

"Blue, in your case, it’s not exactly shocking that someone was trying to kill you again. That could have been a random attempt—"

"You’re not listening to me," Blue cut in, his voice like a razor scraping against glass. "Snow didn’t send that warning text to save me. He doesn’t care about me. He sent it to save Gabriel, his cousin. And Gabriel isn’t exactly a high-profile assassination target."

"But he works for you now. Obviously, that puts him at greater risk."

"He didn’t know Gabriel worked for me. And I fly all the time, Jacob, mostly on my private jet. So why that flight, specifically? Snow first tried to warn Winter, his own brother. Then he warned Gabriel. That was the order."

Jacob scoffed. "So what, you’re saying he’s some kind of psychic? Sure, we all have alien DNA in our blood, but are you really trying to tell me Snow has actual telekinetic abilities?"

"It’s not even about him. Snow has different powers, more prophetic, and he can subtly manipulate energy," I interjected. "But there’s a young omega staying with us right now. We’ve been taking care of him, he was in a bad situation. He’s the one with those abilities."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Even more magic? Do you realize how ridiculous this sounds, Blue? Like a damn fairytale."

"Damien, our own nephew, has strange abilities! It’s a scientific reality. And… this is your son, Jacob. Don’t you think it’s worth at least checking? If money’s the issue, I’ll pay for the whole thing." Blue tilted his head, almost challenging.

Jacob’s expression darkened. "Don’t bother. I’ll cover the costs," he said tersely. "He’s my son."

"There’s a government-owned company in Japan that operates long-range drones," I interjected, wanting to push the conversation in a more practical direction. "They mainly work with the coast guard, and they have their own rules and restrictions. Private individuals can’t just hire them like a regular service."

Blue exhaled. "I have a lot of connections in Japan. I can arrange it. And I mean that, I’m willing to split the costs. I want Sariel back too."

"We can contribute as well," Aiden said firmly. "The issue isn’t just money. These types of drones aren’t commercially available. Standard drones only have a range of a few miles. The ones we’d need, ones with a range of two thousand miles, are usually military or government-owned. You can’t just walk up and request access. The alternative is using commercial drones deployed from a mothership, but that requires renting a ship capable of operating them. That’s another massive logistical hurdle, it’s not something you can do without official clearance."

Blue cut in. "I’ll handle the clearance. I’m involved in the government’s Beta Activation Program. I’ll reach out to my contact and see if he can secure the necessary permits. But this will take some time."

"Winter and Sariel’s situation has stabilized for now," I added. "They’ve found a food source, but the situation on the island can quickly change. We need to get them out of there as soon as possible."

Jacob stared at us, his expression still skeptical, still defensive.

"I hope you’re right," he muttered. "I don’t want to get my hopes up. It’s hard enough accepting that my son died at twenty-two."

"Our son is missing too," I said, meeting his gaze head-on. "And we’re struggling just as much. But we refuse to give up, not while there’s even a sliver of hope."

Jacob held my stare for a long moment, his eyes searching mine. Then he sighed.

"I’m sorry for ignoring you," he admitted at last. "But I don’t have the luxury of grieving the way others do. I have a company, hundreds of employees who depend on me."

"Your son is waiting for your help too," Blue said suddenly, his voice sharp again. "He should be more important than your business."

Jacob shot him a hard look. Blue really wasn’t the easiest person to deal with. But to be honest, I started to like him.

"We’ll see how much truth there is to all this," Jacob growled. "Get the permits, Blue."