Author's POV
The Moretti offices were chaos.
Ethan had been back in the city for three days.
Three days of meetings.
Three days of problems.
Three days of everyone around him being incompetent.
He stood at the head of the conference table.
Hands braced on the polished wood.
Eyes burning with barely contained rage.
"You're telling me that in three weeks, you lost two territories?"
His regional manager trembled.
"Sir, the De Luca family made moves while you were—"
"While I was what?"
"While you were... away."
Ethan's jaw tightened.
Away.
In India.
Watching her sleep.
Leaving notes on her pillow.
Being human.
"And you couldn't handle it without me?"
"They were aggressive. We didn't want to start a war without—"
"You didn't want to start a war?" Ethan's voice rose. "They started the war when they took what's ours. Your job is to finish it. Not hide behind my absence like cowards."
The room was silent.
No one breathed.
No one moved.
---
Luca spoke from the corner.
Careful.
Quiet.
"Ethan, maybe we should—"
"Maybe we should what? Let them keep taking? Let them think we're weak?"
"That's not what I—"
"Then what? Because I'm listening. I'm waiting for someone in this room to give me one good reason why I shouldn't replace every single one of you."
Silence.
Good.
At least they knew enough to be afraid.
He turned back to the map.
Territories marked in red.
Theirs.
Territories marked in black.
Lost.
"We take them back. Tonight."
"Tonight, son?"
The voice came from the doorway.
Alessandro Moretti.
Calm.
Steady.
The only man Ethan had ever feared.
"Father."
"Everyone out."
The room emptied fast.
Grateful faces disappearing.
Leaving Ethan alone with the man who made him.
---
Alessandro walked to the table.
Looked at the map.
Nodded slowly.
"You've been back three days and already you want to start a war."
"They took what's ours."
"They tested the waters while you were gone. That's what enemies do. The question is how you respond."
"By taking it back."
"By taking it back smartly. Not by storming in angry and losing more than you gain."
Ethan said nothing.
His father was right.
He hated when his father was right.
"The girl."
Ethan looked up.
"What?"
"The girl. The one you went to see. The one you've been miserable without. How is she?"
Ethan's expression shifted.
Just slightly.
Just enough.
Alessandro saw.
He always saw.
"She's... healing."
"And you? Are you healing?"
"I don't need healing. I need to kill De Luca."
"No. You need to figure out what you're doing with your life. With your heart. With that girl."
---
Ethan turned away.
Walked to the window.
Looked out at the city.
The same city he had ruled for years.
The same city that felt empty now.
"I love her."
"I know."
"I don't know if she loves me."
"You'll find out."
"How?"
"You wait. You give her time. You prove yourself. And when she's ready, she'll come to you. Or she won't. Either way, you'll know."
"That's not helpful."
"It's the truth. Love isn't a battle you win with force. It's a garden you tend with patience. My father taught me that. Now I'm teaching you."
Ethan was quiet.
Thinking.
Feeling.
Hurting.
"I don't know how to be patient."
"Learn. Or lose her forever."
---
His father left after that.
Words delivered.
Lesson taught.
Ethan stood alone.
Watching the city.
Wishing she was here.
Wishing any of this mattered without her.
But work waited.
Problems needed solving.
The empire didn't stop because its king was lovesick.
He dove back into meetings.
Back into decisions.
Back into the chaos of ruling a criminal empire.
Hours passed.
The sun set.
The city lit up.
And finally, finally, he could go home.
---
He drove himself.
Needed the silence.
Needed the space.
Needed to stop being the lion and just be the man.
The house loomed ahead.
Dark.
Quiet.
Wrong.
Something felt wrong.
He parked.
Walked in.
Called her name.
"Meera?"
Silence.
"Meera, I'm home."
Nothing.
He checked the kitchen.
Empty.
The living room.
Empty.
The library.
Empty.
His bedroom.
Empty.
Her room.
Empty.
---
Fear.
Cold.
Sharp.
He ran through the house.
Every room.
Every corner.
Every space she could be.
Gone.
She was gone.
He pulled out his phone.
Tracked her.
Nothing.
Her location was off.
Deliberately off.
Someone had disabled it.
Someone had taken her.
---
His mind raced.
Enemies.
De Luca.
Vittorio's men.
Anyone who wanted to hurt him.
Anyone who knew she was his weakness.
He called Luca.
Screamed into the phone.
"She's gone! Meera is gone! Find her! Now!"
Luca's voice.
Confused.
Panicked.
"What do you mean gone?"
"Gone! Missing! Not here! Her tracker is off! Someone took her!"
"I'll mobilize everyone. We'll find her."
"Find her fast, Luca. Or I'll burn this city to the ground."
---
He hung up.
Ran to his office.
Pulled up college logs.
Security feeds.
Anything.
Her student account showed activity.
This morning.
She had gone to class.
Normal.
Fine.
Then a gap.
Then nothing.
He pulled the campus security feed.
Watched.
Fast forward.
There.
A car.
Black.
Unmarked.
Pulling up near the library.
Two figures emerged.
One male.
One female.
They approached her.
Talked.
She looked confused.
Hesitated.
Then nodded.
Got in the car with them.
Voluntarily.
Not forced.
Not grabbed.
She went willingly.
---
Ethan stared at the screen.
Zoomed in on the figures.
The woman.
Dark hair.
Familiar build.
Familiar walk.
He couldn't see her face.
Couldn't be sure.
The man beside her.
Younger.
Grinning.
Familiar too.
But the angle was wrong.
The lighting was wrong.
He couldn't identify them.
Couldn't place them.
Couldn't know.
---
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"Who is this?"
A voice.
Distorted.
Electronic.
"We have her."
Ice flooded his veins.
"Who is this?"
"That doesn't matter. What matters is we have your girl. The little Indian one. The one you left unprotected while you played businessman."
" If you touch her—"
"We won't. Not yet. Not unless you make us."
"What do you want?"
Silence.
Then laughter.
Low.
Cruel.
"We want you to suffer, Moretti. Like you made us suffer. Like you made our families suffer. We want you to know what it feels like to lose something precious."
The line went dead.
---
Ethan stood frozen.
Phone pressed to ear.
Breathing stopped.
They had her.
Enemies had her.
Because of him.
Because of what he was.
Because of what he did.
His little star was in the hands of monsters.
And it was his fault.
All his fault.
He should have protected her better.
Should have kept her closer.
Should have never let her out of his sight.
The rage built.
The fear built.
The need to kill built.
He would find her.
He would tear apart every enemy.
Every family.
Every city.
He would burn the world down if that's what it took.
Because she was his.
His little star.
His heart.
His everything.
And God help anyone who had touched her.
Because when he found them.
When he got her back.
There would be hell to pay.
And he would collect every drop of blood himself.