THE PAWN AND THE KING

15

Alex's POV

It was well past midnight when my phone buzzed on the nightstand. The glow of the screen cut through the darkness of my apartment, illuminating my hand as I reached for it. Nathan's name blinked up at me. I answered on the second ring.

"He's lost it, Alex. The boss just bolted, heading for the border," Nathan's voice came through, tight with concern.

I sat up immediately, the weight of his words sinking in. It had been six days since Ms. Valenti disappeared, and now Raeland was running on fumes, acting on pure desperation. Nathan's call wasn't a surprise, but the situation was spiraling faster than even I had anticipated.

"Where is he now?" I asked, my voice calm, though a storm brewed inside me.

"En route. He heard someone saw a woman resembling her near the border," Nathan replied, his voice heavy. "But... Alex, he's not thinking straight. If he keeps this up, people are going to find out."

I let out a slow breath, my mind already turning over the implications. Raeland had kept this entire situation contained, sending out a quiet command through his network. He mobilized allies, informants, and spies across multiple borders, scouring every corner of the globe. The search had been relentless but controlled. No one knew what—or rather, who—he was looking for. Raeland had kept it personal, quiet, not wanting to show any weakness. But now, if he kept acting on every half-baked lead, someone was bound to put the pieces together.

And then, the sharks would circle.

"Has he taken the jet?" I asked.

"On standby, as usual," Nathan said. "The boss is ready to fly at a moment's notice. He'll be halfway around the world if this turns out to be nothing."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down. Raeland had always been meticulous, methodical, never one to act recklessly. But Ms. Valenti's disappearance had shattered his control. I'd never seen him like this—obsessed, desperate, and now dangerously exposed. If our enemies caught wind of this, they wouldn't hesitate to exploit his vulnerability.

"I'm heading in," I said.

Nathan sighed on the other end of the line, his relief palpable. "Yeah, I'll be here."

I hung up the phone, letting Nathan's words sink in as I stood in the middle of my apartment, staring at the city lights that blurred through the rain-soaked windows. The familiar hum of the city felt distant tonight, muted by the chaos that had engulfed our world.

I leaned against the counter, trying to process the situation. The apartment around me felt cold, sterile. The low hum of the refrigerator, the quiet ticking of the clock—it all seemed insignificant in the face of what was happening. I grabbed my coat and headed out into the rain. The streets were wet, reflecting the neon lights of the city, and my shoes splashed in puddles as I walked towards my car. The rain was steady, tapping against the roof of my car as I climbed inside, trying to clear my head.

As I drove, my mind drifted back to the night that had started it all. The night we found the list.

We finally had it.

The list of names that connected to Raeland's parents' deaths. I remembered watching his face as we scrolled through the names, the glow of the monitor casting shadows across his features. He was usually composed, cold even, but that night... his expression had hardened in a way I hadn't seen before.

Marcus Valenti.

That name had stopped him cold. He didn't say anything at first, just stared at the screen. Then, almost imperceptibly, his jaw tightened, his hand gripping the edge of the desk until his knuckles turned white. He cursed under his breath, a string of words that were more venom than sound. I saw it in his eyes—the moment when everything around him shifted.