The big, black sports car moved fast away from the tall glass Victor Tower. Inside the car, Romeo's hands were tight on the steering wheel. He looked out at the bright city lights. Behind him, the tower looked like a giant mountain made of ice and glass. It was very quiet in the car, but back in the tower, the silence was starting to feel very heavy and very scary.
In Romeo's bedroom, high up on the fifty-fifth floor, the lights were still on. They were bright, yellow, and lonely. On the big, soft bed, a beautiful suit was lying perfectly flat. It was a very expensive suit made of the best blue cloth in the whole world. It was the suit of a prince. Next to the suit, there was a gold watch. It was shiny and bright, catching the light from the ceiling. There were also black shoes on the floor. They were so clean and polished that you could see your own face in the leather.
Everything was ready for the big party downstairs. The clothes were waiting. The watch was waiting. The shoes were waiting. But Romeo was not there. He was far away, driving through the wind. His phone was sitting on the leather seat next to him. The screen was dark. It did not make a sound. It did not light up. It was not answering anyone. All of these quiet things—the empty suit, the silent phone, the shiny shoes—told a scary story. They told a story about a boy who did not want to be a prince in a diamond cage anymore.
Victor Kane did not like silence. To Victor, silence was a bad thing. It meant that something was wrong or that someone was hiding something. He liked it when people talked to him. He liked it when people said, "Yes, sir, you are right." He liked it when his office phones rang all day long with news about making more money.
Most of all, Victor had very, very strict rules. He was like a king who made a law for every little thing. He had a rule for what time his son should wake up. He had a rule for what clothes Romeo had to wear. He even had a rule for how Romeo should eat his dinner. Victor was not a kind man. He did not forgive people who broke his rules. If you broke even a tiny rule, Victor would get very, very angry.
Downstairs in the tower, the party was still happening. The big ballroom was full of bright, sparkling light. There were giant lamps hanging from the ceiling made of crystal. They looked like frozen raindrops. The people at the party were wearing fancy dresses that cost a lot of money and expensive suits. They held thin glass cups and smiled fake smiles at each other. They were eating food that looked like little pieces of art on tiny plates. They talked about big buildings, expensive cars, and how much power they had.
Romeo had not just skipped a boring party. He had done something much bigger and much more dangerous. He had walked away from his father. In the Victor family, that was the biggest rule of all. The rule was: "You must always stay with the family. You must always do what Victor says."
The moment Victor realized his son was gone, the night changed. It was not a happy party anymore. It was not a celebration. It turned into a hunt.
At first, everything seemed fine. Victor had just finished that very angry talk with Romeo in the penthouse studio. He had told Romeo, "You will come to this party. You will smile for the news people. You will be a winner."
After the talk, Victor went down to the party. Victor was a very good actor. He could hide his anger behind a big, fake smile. He walked into the big hall and acted like he was the happiest and most successful man in the whole world.
"Hello! Welcome to my home!" Victor said to a famous businessman. He laughed loudly, and the sound of his laugh filled the room. He shook hands with many leaders of big companies. His hand was strong and firm.
Victor felt very proud of himself. He looked around the room and thought, "I am the most powerful man in this room. Everyone is looking at me. Soon, I will show them my son. They will see that my family is perfect. They will see that I have a perfect son who follows my orders."
Victor truly believed this would happen. In his mind, he saw Romeo upstairs putting on his blue suit. He thought his son was getting ready to come down and meet the world. But Victor was wrong. He didn't know his son at all.
While Victor was laughing and shaking hands, Romeo was driving through the dark, winding streets of the city. Romeo felt the cool night wind on his face. For the first time in his life, he felt free. He was far, far away from the tall tower and the heavy, cold rules of his father.
Suddenly, the peace in the party room was broken.
One of Victor's lead guards was a man named Tyler. Tyler was a strong man who always wore a black suit. He was walking very quickly through the crowd of rich guests, pushing past people. He was looking for Victor. Victor was in the middle of a story. He was telling three men about a new skyscraper he wanted to build. He was smiling and waving his hands in the air.
Tyler leaned in close to Victor's ear. He did not want the guests to hear what he had to say. He whispered softly.
"Sir," Tyler said. His voice was shaking just a little bit because he was afraid of Victor's temper. "Sir, we have a big problem."
Victor did not stop smiling at his guests, but his eyes became very cold, like ice. "What is it, Tyler? Can't you see I am busy talking to important people?"
Tyler swallowed hard. He leaned in even closer so no one could hear. "Sir, Romeo is not in his room. We looked everywhere. We checked the bathroom. We checked the closets. We even checked the balcony. He is not there, sir. His suit is still lying on the bed. His shoes are still on the floor. Romeo is gone."
The fake smile stayed on Victor's face for one more second. Then, slowly, the smile disappeared. His face became hard and gray like a piece of stone. He looked at Tyler with very, very angry eyes.
"What do you mean he is gone?" Victor whispered back. His voice was low and scary. It sounded like a snake hissing in the grass.
"He is not in the building, sir. He took his car and left," Tyler said.
Victor felt a fire of anger burning in his chest. He looked around the hall. All the people were still laughing and talking. They did not know that the "perfect" Victor family was falling apart. They did not know the prince had run away.
"Find him," Victor said. He did not yell, but his voice was as sharp as a sword.
"Yes, sir," Tyler said. He turned around and started to run toward the exits.
Victor stood very still in the middle of the party. He felt embarrassed and ashamed. He had told everyone his son would be here tonight. Now, the prince was missing. The hunt had started.
Victor looked at the big doors of the hall. He thought about Romeo out in the dark, scary city. "You cannot run from me, Romeo," Victor thought. "I built this city. My name is on the buildings. There is nowhere for you to hide."
Upstairs, the bedroom was still empty and quiet. The suit was still lying on the bed, waiting for a boy who wasn't coming back. Every second, Romeo was getting further away. Every second, Victor was getting angrier.
The party was still going on, but to Victor, the music sounded different now. It sounded like a warning. The hunt for the prince was on, and Victor would not stop until he brought his son back home to the tower.
While the guards ran to their black cars, a maid went into Romeo's room to check one last time. She saw the beautiful clothes. She saw the shiny shoes. She felt very sad for the young man. She had worked in the tower for a long time, and she knew how hard it was to live there. It was like living in a beautiful cage.
She picked up the silk tie. It was blue and very soft. "He forgot his tie," she whispered to herself.
But she knew in her heart that Romeo did not forget it. He left it on purpose. He did not want the tie. He did not want the gold watch. He did not want to be the prince in the tower anymore. He wanted to be a real person.
Down in the dark garage, many black SUVs started their engines at the same time. The sound was like a loud, angry roar. The tires screeched on the concrete floor, leaving black marks. One by one, the cars drove out into the night. They went north. They went south. They went east and west. They were looking for one silver car.
Victor stood by the giant window of the party hall. He looked out at the millions of lights in New York. The city was huge, and it was full of shadows.
"Where are you, Romeo?" he asked the wind.
The city was a big place to hide, but Victor had many men, many cell phones, and many cameras. He was a man who always got what he wanted, no matter what. He wanted his son back, and he wanted him back right now.
The hunt for the prince was the biggest secret in the building. The guests were still dancing. They were still eating their fancy food. They did not know that out in the dark, a father was chasing his son like a hunter chasing a deer. They did not know that the story of the Victor family was about to change forever.
Will Victor's men find Romeo before the night ends? Can Romeo stay hidden in the big, dark city? Or will he be forced back into his diamond cage?
To know what happens ahead, keep listening to the next episode of THIS STORY! The chase is on!