~Ruby's POV~The weekend had started early, with the three of us tackling the house like a team preparing for battle. I watched Rhett and little Ruby buzzing around the house, half laughing and half bickering, but surprisingly, they were getting things done.“Why are you both here? Are you done cleaning your room?” I asked, catching them loitering in the hallway.“Sure, Mum… we definitely are,” Little Ruby said with a wide grin that seemed too perfect.I narrowed my eyes at her suspiciously.“We honestly are… want to take a look?” Rhett chimed in, crossing his arms with confidence.The look in their eyes made me pause. Could they actually be telling the truth?“No need for that… I'll take your word for it,” I said, testing them with a smile.“Seriously, Mum?” Rhett asked, clearly surprised.“Not at all. Lead the way to your room,” I said, watching their faces fall.When we reached the door, Little Ruby swung it open with a dramatic flourish. “See? All neat and clean,” she declared pro
“So, what do you say, Ruby?” Roman asked.“Hmmm… I’ll think about it. But today, I’m staying home,” I held firm.“Alright then… if you say so, Mum,” Little Ruby said, her voice tinged with disappointment. “Just don’t regret missing out on all the fun.”I crouched down to their level, smoothing Little Ruby’s hair and giving Rhett’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Did you forget anything?”“Even if they did, we could just get a new one,” Roman chimed in, his casual confidence unshakable.I rolled my eyes but smiled. “Alright. See you three in two days.”Little Ruby and Rhett threw their arms around me in a tight hug, clinging as if they were going off to another country instead of just a day or two away.“That’s enough. Off you go now,” I said, gently pulling away.“Bye, Mum,” they chorused, their excitement bubbling back as they headed out the door.I followed them to the car, watching Roman load their bags into the trunk. He gave me a long, thoughtful glance before nodding, his lips c
~Roman's POV~The sound of laughter filled the living room as Rhett and Little Ruby sat on the floor, their eyes glued to the TV screen. Kai sat on the couch, leaning back smugly as another animated fight scene unfolded.“This is so cool,” Little Ruby said excitedly.“Kai has great taste in cartoons,” Rhett added, nodding in approval.Kai smirked. “You think this is good? Wait till you see what’s next on my list. I have masterpieces lined up.”“Don’t get carried away,” I said, leaning back in the armchair.Kai shot me a playful glare. “Finally, someone appreciates my work, and now I’m being told not to get carried away? Do you know how much effort it takes to curate perfection?”“Cartoon selection isn’t exactly a groundbreaking skill,” I teased, scoffing.Before Kai could retaliate, my phone buzzed on the side table. I glanced at the screen and saw Ruby’s name flashing. A smile tugged at my lips—this was unexpectedly expected.“Hold on,” I said, picking up the phone and stepping into
“This is bad Ruby, this is really bad.” I said, running a hand through my hair. My mind raced as I tried to figure out our next move.“Is she going to be okay?” Ruby asked, her voice trembling.“Barely,” I said, my throat tightening. “We need to move fast.” I handed her my car keys. “Go open the car doors.”I scooped Bronwyn into my arms, her weight surprisingly light, and carried her out of the house. Ruby held the door open as I gently laid Bronwyn across the back seat.As we drove off, Ruby kept glancing back at Bronwyn’s unconscious form.“This doesn’t feel real,” she whispered.“Stay calm,” I said, gripping the steering wheel tightly. “We’ll get her to the hospital, and they’ll take care of her.”“No,” Ruby said abruptly, turning to face me.I shot her a quick glance, confused. “No? What do you mean, no?”“She told me not to take her to a hospital,” Ruby said, her voice firm but laced with fear.“That doesn’t make any sense, Ruby,” I said, my frustration bubbling up. “She’s injur
“Mum!” Little Ruby’s voice rang out, shattering the quiet.I stirred, groaning softly as I blinked my eyes open, disoriented. Little Ruby stood in front of me, her wide grin splitting her face. Behind her, Rhett peeked over her shoulder, his expression equally eager.“Hey… what’s going on?” I mumbled, trying to sit up. My body felt heavy, and my head was still foggy from sleep.“I knew you’d change your mind,” Rhett said excitedly.“What do you mean change my mind?” I asked, confused.“So this was your plan all along, huh, Mum?” Little Ruby said, narrowing one eye suspiciously as she tilted her head.I blinked at her. “Plan? What plan?”“You waited for us to fall asleep, didn’t you?” Little Ruby continued, her voice dripping with mock accusation. “Then you and Roman had your fun—movies, games, maybe even… couples’ stuff!”I froze, my half-asleep brain struggling to process her words. “What are you talking about?”“And you both look so cute together!” Rhett added, cupping his face dram
~Little Ruby's POV~We got home, and our bags were so heavy I thought my arms would fall off. But Kai was waiting for us, and he came to help.“Back so soon?” Kai said, smiling as he grabbed a couple of bags.“Do you want us to spend the whole day there?” Roman asked, shaking his head.“Nope, not at all. Was just saying,” Kai teased. Then he peeked at the bags. “What did you get for me?”“Nothing in particular, but we got a lot of things!” I said proudly.“You can pick anything you want!” Rhett added.Kai chuckled as he looked at the pile of shopping bags. “A lot, I see. Thanks, you two.”Roman stretched, looking like he was already done with the day. “I’ll just head to my room and get a shower.”“Alright,” Mum said, nodding at him.“See you little ones later,” Roman said, heading upstairs.“Alright,” Mum said, turning to us. “And you two, off to your rooms. Make sure to take a shower before coming back.“Okay, Mum!” Rhett and I said together as we climbed the stairs.Rhett got to his
~Ruby's POV~I was lying on my bed, soaking in the quiet, when the door creaked open; Rhett and Little Ruby popped their heads inside. Their mischievous smiles were enough to set off alarms in my head.“Hey, Mum. What are you doing?” Rhett asked casually. “Umm… nothing, exactly. Just trying to relax,” I said cautiously, narrowing my eyes at them.“Oh, that’s nice. What a coincidence,” Little Ruby said, her voice too sweet to be trusted.“Coincidence?” I asked, sitting up. “What are you two planning?”"Well... we were thinking the same thing too. So... you can relax outside—with us,” she added, her grin broadening.“No. Not a chance.” I shook my head firmly, but they didn’t even flinch.“Come on, Mum! You can even swim with us,” Rhett chimed in.“Oh… so that’s why you’re both dressed like that?” I asked, eyeing their swimsuits.“Exactly! Trust us, it’ll be fun,” Little Ruby said, bouncing on her toes.“Remember, I can’t swim, guys,” I said, raising an eyebrow.“Oh… that's true. But th
~Little Ruby's POV~“Rhett?” I stopped laughing as I went under the water. I came up a little while later, feeling scared and weak. “Mum! Help! I think Rhett is drowning!” I screamed, my voice shaky with fear.Mum jumped out of her chair so fast it looked like she flew. She ran to the pool and, without thinking twice, dove right in—even though I knew she didn’t know how to swim. My heart pounded so hard I thought it would jump out of my chest.I swam toward Rhett as fast as I could. Mum splashed wildly beside me, and together, we grabbed him and pulled him to the shallow end of the pool. I could barely breathe by the time we got him out.Rhett coughed and blinked, sitting up. “Whoa… that was close,” Mum said, gasping for air.“It sure was!” I said, relieved but still shaking. “You scared us, Rhett!”“Sorry…” Rhett muttered, rubbing his head. Then he looked at Mum. “Wait, Mum… you’re swimming!”I turned to her, and suddenly, her face changed. Her eyes widened, and she looked at the w
~Ruby's POV~I didn’t even realise I was crying until I felt the sting of salt against the cuts on my cheek. My arms were full—one child cradled on each side—and my legs barely kept pace as I pushed forward, praying we’d make it out before something else went wrong.Rhett’s limp grew heavier with each hurried step, but he clung to me with everything he had. Little Ruby had her face buried in my neck, her tiny breaths trembling against my skin. Blood had dried beneath her nose, crusted against her upper lip. I kept brushing her curls from her face, murmuring like a chant—words meant more for me than for them.“Almost there, babies. I’ve got you. I’ve got you. Just a little more.”The hallway ahead was a blur of dim light and flickering shadows, but I caught the movement before the face. Kai. He was hobbling toward us, his lip split, bruises painting one side of his face, but gods—he was smiling.“Hey!” he called out, breathless, in a hoarse but warm voice.The twins stirred in my arm
~Roman's POV~"Get the twins. I’ll handle this,” I said, never taking my eyes off Abel.Ruby hesitated beside me. Her eyes flickered between Abel and me, searching my face for any sign that I was bluffing. I wasn’t. Not this time. She knew it too—because she nodded once, reluctantly, and turned on her heel, disappearing with Kai down the hallway to find the kids.And then it was just us.Me and him.The air seemed to thicken as the door clicked shut behind Ruby. Abel stood a few feet away, arms casually at his sides, but the smug curl of his lips gave away how much he enjoyed this moment.I cracked my knuckles, slowly, deliberately. “No more games.”He arched a brow, amused. “Isn’t that what you always said? Life’s a game?”I took a step forward. “Not when my family’s involved.”The smile stayed on his face, but something shifted in his jaw—a brief twitch, a crack in the polished mask he wore like armor.He knew. He knew I wasn’t bluffing either. This wasn’t just another chess ma
~Ruby's POV~“Get the twins. I’ll handle this.”Roman’s voice cut through the tension. “Go.”I froze for just a heartbeat—long enough to hear the blood pounding in my ears, long enough to taste the panic rising in my throat.“Go, Ruby,” he said again, more firmly this time. I nodded, barely able to swallow the lump lodged in my throat. My hand found Kai’s arm instinctively, and the two of us bolted through the narrow side entrance, slipping past the perimeter before anyone could notice.The compound's interior was worse than I imagined. The air felt heavy and stale, filled with the smell of damp wood and something unpleasant. The flickering overhead lights suggested they hadn’t been fixed in a long time. Paint was peeling from the walls in long strips, looking like withering leaves. With each step I took down the narrow hallway, the sound echoed around me.“Which way now?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.Kai hesitated at the fork ahead, his eyes darting between two dim cor
CHAPTER : Trackers~Roman’s POV~Kai had been quiet for a few minutes, walking around the old warehouse. The sky was cloudy, and the air smelled like rust and old oil—heavy and damp. It was the kind of smell that stuck to your clothes and made your mouth taste bitter.I tightened my jaw and looked again, half expecting something to jump out from the shadows. The windows were either shattered or boarded up, and the walls were mottled with old graffiti and creeping ivy. Somewhere nearby, a pipe dripped steadily—one of those sounds that grew more annoying the longer it went on.“Roman,” Kai’s voice called.I moved instantly, my boots crunching over gravel and broken glass as I rounded the corner of the building. Ruby followed close behind. Neither of us spoke, but I felt her tension just as I felt my own.Kai stood near a rusted panel of metal, his hand tracing something on its surface.“There,” he said, stepping back so I could see it clearly.Etched deep into the metal wall was a smal
~Ruby's POV~The antiseptic smell of the hospital was starting to cling to my skin. That mix of alcohol, bleach, and something sterile that never lets you forget where you are. The steady beeping of the monitors was the only sound in the room, steady like a ticking clock, each one a reminder that this was real.Helen lay in the bed, her face pale, her leg elevated and wrapped in white bandages, bruises painting her skin in shades of angry violet and fading yellow. She looked so small under the thin sheet. Too still. Too quiet.I sat beside her, a damp cloth in hand, gently wiping the sweat from her forehead, though I wasn’t sure if it was from pain or the leftover adrenaline. She was stable. That’s what the doctors said. Stable. But it didn’t feel like enough."This is all my fault," I whispered, more to myself than anyone. "I shouldn't have left you alone, Helen."My voice cracked, and I held her hand tightly like I could anchor both of us here in this moment, away from the chaos
~Roman’s POV~ “The kids are missing.”I stood up quickly, and my chair scraped loudly against the floor, breaking the silence with a sharp sound. My heart raced in my chest.Everything stopped.The tension grew until it finally broke, similar to the moment when you turn a key in the lock just before the door swings open.“What do you mean missing?” I asked sharply—at least outwardly.Abel didn’t flinch. He never did. He was still leaning on his chair like this was any other conversation. As if what he just said wasn’t enough to rip through the fragile calm I’d been forcing down all day.“Calm down,” he said, brushing imaginary lint from his sleeve. “Could be nothing. You know the way children are.”“Could?” I repeated incredulously, pushing past that last thread of patience.He gave a lazy shrug. “Be rest assured, I sent people to look.”That was when I moved.My hand was already on his collar before my mind caught up. The force of my grip slammed him against the wall, rattling the
~Rhett’s POV~We finally reached a big door. It was huge and dark, with heavy wood that made a low creaking sound when I pushed it open.Then we froze.A man was already there, standing tall in front of us. He didn’t move. His hands were behind his back like he was waiting. Watching. A slow, creepy smile grew on his face.My stomach flipped.“Uh-oh,” “Where do you think you’re going?” the man asked in a low and scary voice.“Umm… just trying to get some air,” Little Ruby said with a nervous laugh.“More like you were escaping,” he said, cracking his knuckles loud like breaking sticks.“Something like that,” I said, trying to smile like I wasn’t scared. But I was. So much.“But you’re gonna let us go… right?” Little Ruby asked, hopeful.“Why should I do that?” he asked, raising one eyebrow.“The others that tried didn’t end well,” Ruby said quickly.He laughed. It wasn’t a nice laugh. It made my arms feel cold.“Bluffing type, I see,” he said.Ruby and I looked at each other and tried
“You know this would have been going well if you weren’t born,” he muttered, still staring at the board like it might save him from himself.I let out a dry scoff, bitter and sharp. “So me being born is a crime now?”“I guess so,” he said in a cold and even voice. “We wouldn’t even be in this mess right now.”“That’s absurd,” I countered, locking eyes with him. “You started this mess in the first place.”“You think I did?”“Yeah. Had you stayed in your lane and never gotten involved in anyone’s business, all of this could’ve been avoided.”Abel finally looked up, a slow smirk forming on his face, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “No, Roman. One way or another, I’d have come for you. Eventually.”I clenched my jaw. “And why is that, Abel? Why?”He met my stare, something unreadable flickering in his expression. “You started this, Roman,” he accused in a low voice. “You took everything from me.”My heart thudded once, heavy in my chest. “Me? How exactly?”“You took my place, little bro. A
~Roman’s POV~The door to Abel’s study was slightly open, almost like it was inviting me in. I didn’t bother knocking. As I pushed it open, the hinges made a quiet creak.Abel was sitting behind his desk, looking relaxed, almost lazy, as if he had nothing better to do than wait for me. He leaned back in his chair, one leg crossed over the other, with his hands resting on his stomach. The warm amber light in the room created a cozy atmosphere, but it couldn’t hide the underlying tension that always seemed to surround him.He smirked.The bastard had been waiting for me."Enjoying your grand return?" he asked, tilting his head like a smug cat watching a cornered mouse.His voice, smooth and without feeling, sent shivers down my spine. I could feel my jaw tightening as I walked closer, fists clenched by my sides. Anger pulsed through me, and every part of my body felt ready to explode.“Where are my kids?” I growled, not bothering with pleasantries. Abel leaned forward, resting his elb