Micah leaned back in his chair, staring at the blank screen in front of him. It had been three days since Liana last showed up to work. No texts. No calls. Not even one of her snarky little eye-roll gifs she loved to send when she was annoyed with their boss.
She never ghosted him.
Not without a reason. He'd tried not to panic the first day. Maybe she was sick. Maybe her phone died. Maybe she just needed space.
But this wasn't like her. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through the last few messages again.
LIANA: "My dad is acting weird again. Says he's 'fixing things.' Whatever that means. 🙄"
MICAH: "You want backup? I can come by later."
LIANA: "No, I'll handle it. Same old story. If I disappear, it's because he sold me for a goat."
He stared at that last message for a long time. It was a joke. Obviously. Right?
But now? Micah grabbed his jacket and stood, ignoring the puzzled glance from a coworker across the room.
"I'm taking the rest of the day," he said over his shoulder. "Something's not right."
By the time he reached Liana's apartment, his knuckles were already white from gripping the steering wheel.
He knocked.
Waited.
Knocked again louder this time.
No answer.
Her landlord was outside watering plants and glanced up. "She's not been back since Friday," he said casually. "Didn't even return her spare key." Micah's stomach dropped.
Something was definitely wrong. He tried her phone again. Straight to voicemail. Micah's jaw tightened. He opened his contacts and tapped on the name he'd avoided for over a year.
Gerald Hayes.
The phone rang once… twice… Then it picked up.
"Hello?" Gerald's voice came through, breathless and strained.
"Where's Liana?" Micah said without greeting.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb. She's missing, Gerald. She's not at work, not answering her phone. What the hell did you do?"
Another silence — longer this time.
"Micah, it's... complicated."
Micah's voice dropped to a growl. "I swear, if you've dragged her into one of your messes again—" "I had no choice," Gerald snapped suddenly. "She'll be taken care of."
Micah froze. "What does that mean?" But the line went dead. Micah stared at the phone, pulse racing.
Something had happened.
Something big.
**
He arrived at the warehouse silence, stepping onto the dock in his black tailored coat, the wind whipping his collar as the ship's emergency lights pulsed like a warning beacon. The crew was tense. Eyes wide.
"Three masked men," were brought by to him by his guards. They went on their knees trembling out of fear.
"You shouldn't be breathing." You tried stealing from me and do youknow what happens to people who try stealing fromDominicVoss?'He said to the masked men.
They begged with fear In their voices.
Okay, I forgive you three' he said with his hands in his pocket.
Chop up their fingers piece by piece' he said with a smile on. He turned and walked out of the warehouse hearing the men shouting, begging and crying.