At first—
I thought she was busy.
That was normal lately.
Complicated schedules.
Limited calls.
Delayed replies.
We adapted.
We always adapted.
But then—
Twenty-four hours passed.
No message.
No hidden number.
No signal.
Nothing.
And suddenly—
The silence felt wrong.
I stared at my phone again.
Still empty.
No response to the last message I sent.
"You okay?"
Delivered.
Never answered.
A cold feeling settled slowly in my chest.
Not panic yet.
Something worse.
Instinct.
I stood from my desk immediately.
The apartment felt too small suddenly.
Too quiet.
I grabbed my jacket.
Phone.
Keys.
Then stopped halfway to the door.
Think.
Panic makes mistakes.
And right now—
Mistakes could destroy everything.
I forced myself to breathe once.
Then called again.
Straight to voicemail.
Again.
Voicemail.
Again.
Nothing.
"Damn it."
I ran a hand through my hair roughly.
Because she would've answered.
Even briefly.
Even secretly.
Unless—
No.
I immediately shut the thought down.
But it stayed there anyway.
Something happened.
I called Ryan next.
He answered instantly.
"Yo?"
"I need a favor."
My voice sounded sharper than usual.
He noticed immediately.
"…What happened?"
"I can't reach her."
Silence.
Then—
"How long?"
"Since last night."
Another silence.
Longer this time.
"…That's bad."
Yeah.
I knew.
"I need information," I said immediately.
"Anything about her family. Security changes. Events. Whatever."
"You think they locked things down?"
"I think they finally stopped pretending."
Ryan exhaled quietly.
"…I'll look around."
"Fast."
The line ended.
I grabbed my keys again.
This time—
I didn't stop myself.
Rain hit the city hard outside.
Cold drops crashing against pavement and windows as I drove through traffic faster than I should've.
But my mind was somewhere else entirely.
Her.
Every worst-case scenario kept trying to force its way forward.
Phone confiscated.
House arrest.
Forced engagement.
Or worse—
What if they blamed her for the rooftop escape?
What if—
No.
Focus.
I parked two streets away from her estate.
Not close enough to be obvious.
Still risky.
Everything about this was risky now.
The mansion stood illuminated in the distance.
Beautiful.
Untouchable.
And heavily guarded tonight.
More security than before.
Definitely more.
I noticed it immediately.
New vehicles.
Additional patrols.
And suddenly—
The cold feeling inside me became certainty.
They cut her off completely.
I stayed inside the car.
Watching carefully.
Thinking.
Because charging in emotionally would accomplish nothing.
And honestly?
That scared me most.
The fact that part of me already thought strategically now.
Like I was becoming exactly what her father feared.
My phone buzzed suddenly.
Ryan.
I answered immediately.
"What did you find?"
"…There's a rumor."
I gripped the steering wheel tighter.
"What rumor?"
"Her family canceled all her outside appearances this week."
My chest tightened instantly.
"Why?"
"They're saying she's 'unwell.'"
A bitter laugh escaped me.
Controlled.
Contained.
Hidden.
That's what they meant.
"There's more," Ryan continued carefully.
I already hated those words.
"What?"
"…There's a gala this weekend."
Silence.
Then—
"Big one."
I stared toward the mansion again.
Rain sliding across the windshield slowly.
"What kind of gala?"
Ryan hesitated.
Then—
"The kind where rich families introduce future business and marriage connections."
There it was.
The next move.
Replace me.
Erase me.
Move her forward like I never existed.
Something inside me snapped quietly.
Not emotional.
Focused.
Dangerously focused.
"When?" I asked calmly.
"Saturday night."
Three days.
Only three days.
"You're thinking something reckless right now, aren't you?" Ryan asked carefully.
I looked toward the estate gates again.
Security moving beyond them.
A prison hidden behind luxury.
"…Probably."
"That's not reassuring."
"It's not supposed to be."
The line went quiet.
Then Ryan sighed.
"…Just don't do anything stupid alone."
Too late for that.
Because the moment they cut her off completely—
This stopped being patience.
And became action.
I ended the call slowly.
Then stepped out into the rain.
Cold water soaked through my clothes almost instantly.
But I barely noticed.
My eyes stayed locked on the mansion ahead.
Because somewhere inside—
She was trapped.
And for the first time since this all started—
I realized something terrifying.
I wasn't afraid of her family anymore.
I was angry.
The rain poured harder around me.
Thunder rumbling somewhere above the city.
And deep down—
I knew this next move would change everything.
Because people can only be pushed so far before they stop asking for permission.
And I was very close to that point now.