Sweet Hatred-Chapter 463: Missing

KAEL

"Show me what you have."

The jeweler, an elderly man named Vincent who’d been crafting custom pieces for three generations, opened the case with reverent hands.

Three rings gleamed against black velvet.

All platinum. All featuring the center stone I’d selected weeks ago: a flawless three-carat diamond, emerald cut, clarity so perfect it seemed to hold light itself.

But each setting was different.

The first was classic, a simple solitaire with delicate pavé diamonds along the band.

The second was more ornate, the center stone surrounded by a halo of smaller diamonds, with intricate filigree work along the sides.

The third was modern, clean lines, geometric, the diamond set in a bezel with baguette-cut stones flanking it.

All stunning.

All uniquely beautiful.

But none of them felt quite right.

"These are exquisite," I said carefully. "But I’m not sure any of them are... her."

Vincent nodded, unsurprised. "I had a feeling you might say that. May I make a suggestion?"

"Please."

He pulled out his tablet, swiping through several design sketches.

"Based on our previous conversations about Ms.Thorne’s style, elegant but understated, classic but not traditional, I took the liberty of creating two additional concepts."

He turned the tablet toward me.

The first design made my breath catch.

Still platinum. Still the three-carat emerald-cut diamond.

But the setting was breathtaking in its simplicity, the stone held by four delicate prongs, with a thin band that split into two as it approached the center, creating negative space that made the diamond appear to float.

Elegant. Modern. Perfect.

"And this one," Vincent said, swiping to the second design.

Similar to the first, but with tiny diamonds set into the split band, subtle enough not to overpower the center stone, but adding just enough detail to make it extraordinary.

I stared at both designs, my mind already picturing them on Aria’s finger.

"How long to create these?" I asked.

"For you? One week for the first design. Ten days for the second."

Too long.

I wanted to propose soon. Wanted to make this official before,

My phone rang.

I pulled it out, glancing at the screen.

Head of Security.

Probably another routine update about the manor. Or maybe confirming the increased patrols.

"Excuse me," I said to Vincent, answering. "Yes?"

"Mr. Roman." The voice on the other end was tight. Controlled but barely. "We have a situation."

My entire body went cold.

"What kind of situation?"

"It’s Ms. Thorne, sir. She’s... she’s missing."

The world tilted.

"What?"

"Niko was found in the stairwell. Stabbed. Multiple wounds. He’s alive but barely conscious. EMTs are with him now. We’ve searched the suite, Ms. Thorne isn’t there. There are signs of struggle. Blood on the floor near the entrance."

I was already moving, shoving past Vincent, my phone pressed to my ear.

"Lock down the hotel. Every entrance. Every exit. Nobody leaves. Get security footage from every camera. I want to know who went in and out of that floor in the last hour."

"Already in progress, sir. Hotel management is cooperating fully."

I jabbed the elevator button repeatedly, my heart hammering so hard I could hear it in my ears.

"I’m on my way. Have your team meet me at the suite. And get Detective Raines on the phone, tell him I need every available unit."

"Yes, sir."

I ended the call as the elevator doors opened. Pressed the button for the fifth floor.

The ride up felt like it took years.

Every second stretching into eternity.

Missing.

Aria was missing.

Niko stabbed.

Blood.

My mind tried to process it, tried to make sense of it, but all I could feel was a terror so profound it threatened to crack me open from the inside.

Sarah.

It had to be Sarah.

Somehow, she’d gotten past security. Past Niko. Into our suite.

And she’d taken Aria.

The elevator doors opened.

The hallway was chaos.

Security personnel everywhere. Hotel staff being questioned. EMTs loading Niko onto a stretcher, his shirt soaked with blood, his face pale as death.

I ran toward them.

"Niko!"

His eyes found mine, barely focused, struggling to stay conscious.

"Sir..." His voice was a wet rasp. "Sarah... she... disguised..."

"I know. I know. Just hold on. You’re going to be fine."

"Aria... took her..."

"I’ll find her. I promise. Just hold on."

The EMTs wheeled him toward the elevator, and I turned toward the suite.

The door was open.

Security personnel inside, photographing everything.

And blood.

So much blood.

A trail from the doorway into the suite. Smeared on the wall. Pooled on the floor.

My vision tunneled.

The fear that hit me was nothing like that. It was a savage, suffocating terror that hollowed me out from the inside, sinking cold teeth into my ribs and dragging everything else with it.

This was the fear of losing her.

It hit like a punch to the lungs. My chest seized so hard I couldn’t pull in a full breath. My fingers went numb. My vision tunneled at the edges, the world narrowing to the dark red stain on the tile and the echo of Niko’s strained voice in my head.

I’d promised to keep her safe. I’d vowed it. I’d built entire contingencies around it. And still... still... someone had slipped past all of it and taken her out from under me.

The realization crawled up my spine like ice water, cruel and steady, and then the panic followed... the animal kind. The kind that strips a man down to instinct and helplessness.

Every possible nightmare hit me at once, slamming through my mind with enough force to leave me dizzy.

I stopped dead in the hallway, staring at the dark stain of Niko’s blood, and something inside me twisted so violently it felt like my ribs might crack from the pressure.

For a moment, just a moment, I couldn’t move.

Couldn’t think.

Couldn’t do anything but stand there and feel myself coming apart.

Then something snapped.

Rage.

Pure, incandescent rage that burned through the fear and turned it into fuel.

"Get me the head of hotel security. Now," I barked.