Sweet Hatred-Chapter 478: Awake

KAEL

The address came through at 3:47 AM. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Steven’s voice crackled over the encrypted line: "We have a location. Confirmed sighting of the vehicle. Industrial district, abandoned apartment complex on Seventh and Hayes."

I was already moving before he finished the sentence.

"Mobilize everyone. Now."

Within minutes, the convoy was assembled. FBI SWAT, my private security team, local police, every resource I’d deployed over the past forty-eight hours converging on a single point.

I led from the front vehicle, Hayes driving with the kind of controlled urgency that came from years of tactical operations. Behind us, a procession of black SUVs and tactical vans rolled through empty streets, lights off, sirens silent.

We weren’t announcing our arrival.

The building came into view, a decrepit four-story structure, half the windows boarded up, graffiti covering the lower levels. The kind of place people went to disappear.

The kind of place where you’d hide a kidnapping victim.

"All units, we’re approaching the target location," I said into my radio. "Perimeter teams, fan out and secure all exits. Entry team, on my signal."

We pulled up fast, tires screeching as vehicles surrounded the building from multiple angles. I was out before we’d fully stopped, rifle in hand, tactical vest secure.

The cold air hit my face, but I barely registered it.

Every nerve was focused on one thing: finding Aria.

"Move!" I barked.

My team flooded toward the entrance, eight men moving in practiced formation. Hayes took point, clearing the doorway before signaling us forward.

Inside, the building smelled like piss and rot. Exposed wiring hung from the ceiling. Trash littered the hallway.

We moved fast but careful, checking corners, clearing rooms as we ascended.

First floor: empty.

Second floor: empty.

Third floor,

"Contact! Body on the floor!"

My heart stopped.

I pushed past two of my men and saw her.

A woman lying face-up in the hallway, a pool of blood spreading beneath her torso. Gunshot wound to the chest. Eyes staring sightlessly at the water-stained ceiling.

Not Aria.

Sarah.

Relief and dread hit simultaneously.

"She’s dead," one of my men confirmed, checking for a pulse anyway. "Looks recent. Maybe twenty to forty minutes."

Twenty to forty minutes.

We’d missed them.

"WHERE IS SHE?" I shouted, my voice echoing through the empty hallway. "FIND ARIA! SEARCH EVERY FUCKING ROOM!"

The team scattered immediately.

"CLEAR!"

"CLEAR!"

"CLEAR!"

Each confirmation was a knife twisting deeper.

I moved through the apartment myself, throwing open doors, checking closets, looking for any sign of her.

In the main room, I found the evidence: zip-ties discarded on the floor, rope with frayed ends, a broken chair leg. Signs of captivity. Signs of struggle.

But no Aria.

"Sir." Hayes appeared in the doorway, holding something small between his fingers.

My stomach dropped before I even saw what it was.

A necklace.

The necklace.

White gold with her name engraved on the pendant, the one I’d given her for her birthday just days ago. The clasp was broken, torn off violently.

I took it from him, the metal cold against my palm.

She’d been here.

Right here.

And now she was gone.

"Kael, "

"Get forensics in here. Now." My voice sounded distant, like it belonged to someone else. "I want every surface dusted. Every fiber collected. Security footage from every camera within five blocks. Traffic cams. ATMs. Everything."

"Already on it," Hayes said. "Teams are canvassing the area. We’ve got witnesses being questioned, "

"It’s not enough." I closed my fist around the necklace. "Sarah’s dead. Which means someone else took Aria. Someone who killed Sarah and left her here."

The answer was obvious.

Andrew.

My brother had been behind this from the start.

Back outside, the scene had transformed into controlled chaos. Police barriers going up. Forensics teams moving in with their cases of equipment. Neighbors being questioned by uniformed officers.

I stood beside the lead vehicle, staring at the necklace in my hand.

My phone rang. Steven.

"Talk to me," I answered.

"We’ve got partial footage from a bodega two blocks away. Van matching the description from the hotel, heading northeast approximately thirty-five minutes ago. Plates are obscured, but we’re working on enhancement."

"Northeast." I pulled up a mental map. "That’s toward the waterfront. Industrial zone."

"Already cross-referencing with known properties in that area. We’ll have a list within the hour."

"Make it thirty minutes."

I ended the call and immediately dialed my head of security.

"I want every available man on Andrew Roman. Track his movements, his communications, his financial transactions. He’s behind this."

"Sir, we’ve been trying. He’s been dark since the will reading. No phone activity, no credit cards, "

"Then find Sabrina." My mother’s name tasted like poison. "His mother will know where he is. Bring her in. I don’t care what you have to do."

"Understood."

Another call. Agent Morrison from the FBI.

"Mr. Roman, forensics has confirmed the victim is Sarah Brown. Preliminary analysis suggests she was shot at close range, execution-style. We’re processing the scene now."

"What about Aria?" I cut through his report. "Any sign of her?"

"Evidence suggests she was held in the main room. We found restraints, signs of struggle. But no blood, at least none that appears to be hers. The blood is all from the victim."

Small mercy.

"There’s something else," Morrison continued. "We found evidence of at least three other individuals in the apartment. Boot prints, different sizes. Professional grade tactical boots. This wasn’t just Sarah Brown operating alone."

"Andrew brought backup."

"That’s our assessment. We’re running prints now, but I’m guessing whoever these people are, they’re not in the system."

Because Andrew had hired professionals.

Of course he had.

Hayes approached with a tablet, security footage pulled up on the screen.

"Sir, you need to see this."

The grainy video showed a dark van pulling away from the building. Timestamp: 3:23 AM. Twenty-four minutes before we’d arrived.

So fucking close.

"We lost the vehicle three blocks from here," Hayes said. "Cameras go dark in that area, old infrastructure, half of them don’t work."

"Then find me the ones that do work." I shoved the tablet back at him. "Expand the search radius. Check every business, every intersection. Someone saw something."

My phone rang again.

This time, the screen showed: Memorial Hospital.

For a moment, I just stared at it.

The hospital where my father lay in a coma.

Why would they be calling now?

I answered. "Roman."

"Mr. Roman, this is Dr. Martinez from Memorial Hospital. I’m calling about your father, "

My blood ran cold. "Is he dead?"

"No, sir. Quite the opposite." A pause. "Your father is awake."