Silent love

Chapter 46

On the previous chapter...

I needed to know if she was alright.

I couldn't help myself. The fight, the sound of weapons, the thudding in my chest, all of it faded into the background.

It was like I could hear only the pounding of my heart, and it was screaming at me to go upstairs, to make sure she was safe.

I moved up the stairs fast, my hand gripping the railing, my eyes never leaving the top. The house felt unnervingly quiet now, too quiet and I could feel the tension in the air thickening.

Every muscle in my body was coiled tight, ready for anything. I reached the top of the stairs, my mind already searching, already calculating.

Yaqueline's door was half open.

I paused for a moment, then pushed it open fully, my heart in my throat.

The room was empty.

My eyes darted to the window, the balcony door was wide open, the curtains swaying gently in the breeze.

A chill ran down my spine.

She was gone.

          ʚ FEDERICO'S POV ɞ

The room blurred around me, blood roaring in my ears louder than any gunfire could. All I could focus on was that open balcony door, the curtains snapping in the wind like a cruel mockery.

Yaqueline was gone.

Before I could even fully process it, a hand grabbed the front of my shirt and slammed me back against the doorframe.

Jacques.

His face twisted with fury, eyes burning into mine as his forearm pressed against my throat, pinning me hard enough to make the wood creak.

"You let her go upstairs". He growled, low and furious.

My fist cocked back on instinct and slammed into his jaw with a brutal crunch.

Jacques stumbled back, crashing against the wall, cursing in French under his breath. Immanuel and Silvio were on me immediately, hands locking around my arms, dragging me back before I could lunge again.

"Enough!" Silvio barked, straining against me as I fought the urge to rip Jacques apart.

I wrenched myself free enough to point a finger at him, rage boiling over. "You saw it happen, Jacques! You were right fucking there! Why didn't you stop her?"

Jacques spat blood onto the floor, glaring up at me, chest heaving. He looked like he wanted to come at me again, but Seraphina stepped between us, her presence a cold, hard wall neither of us could ignore.

"Stop it". She snapped, voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "This isn't the time. Save your bloodlust for the bastards who took her".

We stood there, breathing hard, the room pulsing with raw fury and helplessness.

Chrysanthe hovered nearby, her hand twitching toward the pistol at her belt like she was half-expecting this to get worse. Divine pressed her back against the wall, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her face pale but set. Fiorenzo stood near the door, tense and silent, his fingers flexing like he was itching for a weapon.

Jacques wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, shooting me a glare that could have peeled paint off the walls.

He jerked his chin toward the door. "We grab our shit and hit them now". He said, voice rough with rage. "We don't wait. We storm in, we rip their throats out, we take her back".