The city had grown restless. Two weeks had passed since Talia vanished, and Wolfe Tower was no longer a fortress of power but a cage of unanswered questions. Adrian's world had turned grey — his eyes hollow, his jaw perpetually tight.
Every morning, her mother stormed the tower, demanding answers. That day, her voice cracked in his office as she sobbed:
"You promised! You swore you'd protect her, Adrian. She's my only child… and you let her disappear under your nose!"
Her words sliced through him like glass. Adrian clenched his fists, and then finally gave the order:
"Get me the best. I don't care the cost. I want a team that finds the lost… even if it means tearing down this city brick by brick."
Within hours, a specialized security unit began their sweep. Trained hunters. Ruthless, meticulous. Adrian didn't sleep, didn't eat. He lived by the hour, waiting for news.
Across town, Cassandra's hands trembled as she dialed Alex. The hideout felt like it was closing in on her.
"They've brought in a private unit. Do you understand what that means, Alex? They'll find us. Once they do, it's over — everything we've built, everything we planned—"Alex (stern, shaken):"Stop panicking. We'll figure it out. We can still vanish before they close in."
Her eyes darkened.
"No. If I can't have Adrian, she won't either. I'll end it myself."
"No! That wasn't the deal. This isn't about killing her. Count me out if that's where you're headed." Alex snapped.
Cassandra's lips curved in a bitter smile.
"Relax, Alex. You know me… I was only venting."
She ended the call, slipped open her drawer, and ran her fingers over the cold metal of a pistol. She whispered to herself:
"If I can't have him, no one will."
Inside the dim hideout, Talia sat on the floor, pale and weary, wrists raw from binding. Cassandra paced in front of her like a predator circling prey.
She finally stopped, eyes glinting with venom.
"You ruined everything. He was mine until you walked in. Tell me, what does he see in you?"
Talia tried to speak, but her throat was dry. Cassandra didn't wait. She raised the gun, pointing it directly at her.
"If I can't have him, you won't either!"
The shot rang out.
But before the bullet found her, Alex lunged forward. The gun roared, and he fell, clutching his right hand, blood soaking through his shirt.
"No! Alex!"
Cassandra gasped — not out of pity, but out of disbelief. Her eyes darted to the weapon. Empty. No bullets left.
Cassandra stumbled back, shock plastered across her face. She yanked the trigger again. Click. Empty. Her lips quivered with madness as she realized it was over.
"You… you've lost your mind." Alex gritting his teeth in pain.
In seconds, red laser dots covered her chest. The security team descended, wrenching the gun away. Cassandra shrieked like a banshee, kicking and clawing as they cuffed her.
"She poisoned you! You can't see it! She'll ruin you!" she screamed
Adrian stormed in just as her words echoed through the room. His gaze locked on Talia first — fragile, trembling, but alive. His heart clenched violently. Then his eyes snapped to Cassandra. Fury roared in his chest like fire. He couldn't believe his eyes.
"Take her away. I don't want her name spoken in this house again." He said in a cruel and lethal manner.
The guards dragged Cassandra out, her screams dissolving into the night.
Meanwhile, Alex groaned on the floor, his face pale, blood pooling fast. Security pinned him down, snapping cuffs onto his uninjured wrist.
Officer:"He's under arrest. We'll keep him alive long enough to face justice."
Alex's eyes flicked to Talia, guilt etched across his face as medics rushed in.
Alex (weakly, whispering):"I never… wanted this… I'm sorry, Talia."
The medics lifted him onto a stretcher, rushing him out to an emergency unit under armed escort.
The chaos dulled into silence once Cassandra and Alex were gone. Adrian stood rooted, staring at Talia as though afraid she might vanish again.
Then he moved.
He knelt before her, his hands trembling as he touched her wrists gently where the ropes had burned her skin. His throat ached, words tangled behind his teeth.
Adrian (voice breaking):"God… Talia. I thought I'd lost you. Every night—every day—I imagined you suffering, and it killed me. It killed me."
Talia's lips quivered, tears spilling freely as he pulled her against his chest. For the first time, Adrian Wolfe — the untouchable, the ruthless titan — trembled.
"I swear to you, no one will ever hurt you again. Not while I breathe."
She clung to him, her body shaking, but in his arms, the terror began to crack. For the first time in weeks, she felt the safety of home.
Adrian pressed a fierce kiss against her forehead, his voice a vow carved into stone:
"You're mine, Talia. And I'll tear the world apart before I let anyone take you from me again."
The fluorescent lights hummed faintly in the quiet hospital ward. Talia lay on the bed, her face pale but safe at last, an IV drip running into her arm. Adrian sat rigid at her side, his large hand clasping hers as though she might slip away again if he let go.
His usually sharp, commanding presence was gone. His suit jacket lay discarded on the chair, his tie pulled loose, his hair a mess. His eyes were red-rimmed from nights of worry — and tonight's tears he hadn't tried to hide.
Then the door burst open.
"Talia! My baby!" her mum enters sobbing.
Her mother rushed across the room, tears spilling down her cheeks as she fell to her knees beside the bed, covering Talia's face with trembling kisses.
"Mum… I'm here." she gave weak smile, voice cracked
The older woman clutched her daughter, rocking her as though Talia were a little girl again. Her wails filled the sterile room, the raw cry of a mother who had almost lost her child.
"They told me she was gone. That she… Oh God! Thank you. Thank you for bringing her back to me."
Adrian's throat tightened. He rose slowly and stepped back, giving them space, though his heart screamed to hold Talia close. But when her mother turned her gaze on him, she saw not the cold CEO, but a man utterly broken by love.
"I swear to you, ma'am… I will never let anything like this happen again. I'll protect her with everything I am."
Talia's mother studied him, her tears still flowing, but there was no hatred in her eyes now — only the dawning recognition that Adrian Wolfe's feelings for her daughter were real.
She turned back to Talia, cupping her face.
"You'll never leave my sight again, do you hear me? My heart can't take losing you twice." She said softly.
Talia nodded, tears streaming, her body trembling from both relief and exhaustion.
Then Adrian moved closer, lowering himself on the other side of the bed. He reached out, his hand brushing against Talia's again, gently interlacing his fingers with hers right under her mother's watchful eyes.
Adrian (voice thick, looking at both women):"She's not alone anymore. Not with me here. Not with you here. We'll get through this together."
Talia's mother broke down again, clutching her daughter's hand over Adrian's, and for a long, aching moment, the three of them stayed like that — bound by grief, love, and the fragile relief of survival.