Captain Koker sat at his desk, the silence of his office pressing in like a vice. The lamp's dim glow cast shadows across the papers scattered in front of him, but his eyes were fixed on the dark ocean beyond the window. Mira was gone. Three weeks, and not a word. His daughter, his only child, had slipped out of his world, and he hadn't even noticed. His fingers tightened around the edge of the desk, knuckles white, as the fear he'd been fighting clawed its way up his chest.
He'd built an empire, outsmarted tycoons, crushed competitors, but this—this was different. Mira wasn't a deal to be won or a rival to outmaneuver. She was his kid, and she was out there, somewhere, beyond his reach.
The thought made his stomach churn, a feeling he wasn't used to. Failure wasn't in his vocabulary, but right now, it was all he could taste.
He pressed the intercom, his voice sharp. "Get me Sterling. Now."
