Guardian ✓

vanish

NOAH HAD SEEN HIS MOTHER CRY TWICE.

It was when she had visited Emma with his father and him. Emma had been four then. Her left leg was black and blue and the side of her her face looked like it had been viciously clawed. William Crawford II was a good father but a horrible man. And Gabriella Canalis knew too many of his secrets for him to take custody of his daughter.

Valeria Solomon didn't cry when his biological father beat her to a pulp for speaking with the neighbor. She didn't cry when they had been thrown out of their own house when Noah was seven. Valeria had built her own fashion empire from ground up without frowning once.

But seeing a four year old Emma act as if those bruises were a normal occurrence was the limit.

"I cannot be with a man who lets an innocent get hurt because of his own sins."

Seeing her in that condition had been the last straw for his mother. William Crawford II helped her financially when she was first starting her business. The attraction had been immediate but it was when he'd met Noah and played baseball with him that his mother had agreed to take it further.

Even after their divorce, Noah stayed more with his step-father than he did with his mother. It was no secret that despite all the man's horrible deeds, William was a great father to him. Noah owed him his life. He was the reason Valeria Solomon had stayed friends with William till his last breath.

Noah had never seen his mother as happy as she was when he first brought Emma home.

And now she was taken away from him.

Gone.

It was the second time he had seen his mother cry.

"This was not what I expected after coming back," she finally spoke. Despite her red-rimmed eyes, her voice was firm.

She was angry.

No.

Livid.

"You're going to listen to me now, Noah." She motioned for him to sit in front of her and with a snap of her fingers, everyone except Matthias was gone from his office. "I do not want to be disturbed until it's something to do with my daughter," she commanded softly, looking at his head of security who nodded respectfully.

Noah stared at her blankly before he sat down, loosening his tie. Two phrases created a havoc in his brain until he felt like it was going to split open from pain.

Save Emma.

You're leaving me.

He didn't even know how much he was going to regret what he said – what he'd done to her. Would she ever going to trust him again when he got her back?

When the door closed behind them, Valeria Solomon sat up, eyes hardening as she looked at her son.

"You're telling me the same security we give to presidents of this country were out checking a noise and didn't hear my daughter's screams?" Her tone chilled him to the bone. If he hadn't been trained ruthlessly by his father, Noah would not have been able to meet his mother's eyes today. "I saw where she was living when you brought her here, did you know that? That room was smaller than the washroom we had living with your biological father. She was normally given an apple a day and two glasses of water until she came here. Every single man who Gabriella Canalis brought home had been given free reign to exploit her. Did you know after her birth-giver found out about William visiting her, she took out all her teeth? A four year old." She paused for a moment, brushing her hand over her skirt as if they were discussing the weather. But Noah knew better. "Can you imagine what they'd do to her now?"

Her words felt like someone was slashing his chest with knives. And yet her face was devoid of emotion. If it wasn't for her eyes, Noah thought he must have dreamt that his mother cried for his Emma.

"Now you're going to listen carefully," she spoke again when no one said anything. "I am going to go to France and take over your office while you bring me back my daughter. You have a week before I get involved, Noah. And if it comes to that, I promise you will never get to see her again. I looked the other way when William did not do anything about the matter years ago and I am equally to blame but this time I won't stay quiet."

Noah shook his head slowly before standing up.

"You are not allowed to do that. You have no right to stop me from seeing my Emma–"

Valeria stood as well, making Matthias take a step forward. She cocked her head to one side before a flash of smile appeared on the woman's face. It held no humor.

"Do not make me get involved, Mr Crawford."

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"Kneel, Lynn."

He spoke like he was trying to be gentle and yet to Emma his tone was menacing. It was evil.

Old habits die hard, though.

So before Emma knew it, she was kneeling, head cast downwards as her body trembled from being in contact with his tarantulas. She could feel them crawling on her but she knew if she moved he'd do something even more cruel.

"Good girl," he whispered, getting up from where he sat behind his desk and coming over to where she was kneeling. He pressed a bell before putting his hand on her head and gently lifting it up. "You are so much better than her. Or maybe it's the drugs."

She shivered slightly, head fuzzy as he continued to run his fingers through her hair, uncaring that there was blood seeping from her head onto his fingers. He didn't stop when the door opened a few seconds later and someone else got pushed in.

He yanked her up by the hair as the door shut. "Now I don't want you two to get jealous of each other, alright? Or you'll just make me upset. And we don't want that, do we?"

Everything was hazy. Emma's heart raced at the thought of Kevin torturing someone else but she couldn't move any part of her body.

"Think of her as an older sister, Lynn. Her name is Rubee. Too bad you won't remember that, isn't it? Her father is a bit like your mother. Got myself a sweet little thing, didn't I? It wasn't cheap. Now shake each other's hands!"

He pushed Emma forward, making her collide into the girl who had been standing there for a while. The girl flinched violently before her hands wrapped around Emma to steady her.

"Look at that – you two are hugging!" He clapped his hands, coming to stand in front of them in his dark office. "And here I was ready to dish out punishment."

The girl shook as Kevin cupped her cheek roughly before letting go and instead took hold of Emma.

"It's time for my main present."

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