~~~~~~~
ADRIAN POV
The room fell into a suffocating silence.
“Sarah.”
Rose’s voice barely came out above a whisper.
The name hung heavily in the air.
Impossible.
Daniel frowned.
“The nanny?”
Rose didn’t answer.
Her face had gone pale—too pale.
Like the blood had drained from her body all at once.
“No,” she whispered again, shaking her head weakly. “No, there has to be a mistake.”
I took the tablet from Daniel.
The enhanced image stared back at me.
Half a face.
A dark cap pulled low.
A nose mask hiding most features.
But enough remained.
Familiar eyes.
The slight curve of a jawline.
A tiny beauty mark near the cheek.
Enough to know this wasn't random.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
Someone Noel knew.
Daniel cleared his throat.
“The enhancement team is ninety percent certain.”
Rose suddenly grabbed the tablet from me.
“No,” she repeated, voice trembling harder now. “Sarah loves Noel.”
Her breathing became uneven.
“She practically raised her.”
I looked at her carefully.
Too emotional.
Too shaken.
And suddenly—
This became worse.
Because betrayal from strangers hurt.
But betrayal from family?
That destroyed people.
“Rose…” I said quietly.
“She stayed with Noel when I worked double shifts,” Rose whispered, almost to herself. “She taught her nursery songs.”
Her lips trembled.
“She knows Noel’s allergies…”
My chest tightened.
God.
No wonder Noel followed willingly.
She trusted her.
~~~~~~~
ROSE POV
My head wouldn’t stop spinning.  
Sarah?
No. Impossible.  
Sarah was the one who stayed up with me at 3 AM when my anxiety wouldn’t let me breathe. The one who braided Noel’s hair and sang off-key lullabies until she giggled. She knew Noel hated thunderstorms. Knew she cried whenever the cartoon ended sad. Knew she needed a strawberry milkshake the second her lip started to wobble.
No. This didn’t make sense.  
Then—  
A sharp inhale from beside me.  
Anna.  
I turned.  
Her face had gone white. Not pale—white, like all the blood had drained out and left her hollow. Her lips parted. Closed. Parted again.  
“Oh my God…”  
The room went still. Like someone had cut the air.  
I frowned, dread crawling up my spine. “What?”  
Anna shook her head slowly, eyes locked on the screen like it might bite her. “No…”  
“Anna,” I snapped. “What?”  
She swallowed hard.  
“The wedding.”  
I froze.  
“What about it?”  
Her expression twisted—guilt and fear and confusion all fighting for space on her face. “She never came.”  
I blinked. “What?”  
“I sent her a separate invitation myself,” Anna whispered. “She promised she’d come. She said Noel would be excited to see her again…”  
My stomach dropped. Slowly. Painfully. Like it was falling through me.  
The room suddenly felt colder. Much colder.  
Anna’s hands trembled. “And two days ago…”  
My pulse spiked. “What?”  
“She called me.”  
Silence. Thick, suffocating silence.  
I stared at her, my throat tight. “What did she say?”  
Anna looked sick. Like she was watching the memory unfold behind her eyes.  
“She asked what time the ceremony would end.”  
My heart stopped.  
“She said…” Anna’s voice cracked. “She said she wanted to surprise Noel after the wedding.”  
The words hit me like a slap.  
No.  
No no.  
“Anna…” My voice cracked, raw and broken.  
Her eyes flooded instantly. “I didn’t know!” she cried. “Rose, I swear to God, I didn’t know!”  
Tears spilled down her cheeks, fast and messy. “She said Noel missed her. I thought she just wanted to reconnect!”  
Something inside me shattered.  
This wasn’t random.  
This wasn’t opportunistic.  
This was planned.  
“Oh God…” Anna whispered, hands flying to cover her mouth. “I helped her.”  
The room went silent again.  
And for the first time since this nightmare started, I comforted someone 
Anna.
~~~~~~~
ADRIAN POV
I turned to Daniel
He straightened immediately.
“I want Sarah found.”
My voice came out frighteningly calm.
“Apartment. Friends. Bank records. Phone logs. CCTV. Social media.”
I stepped closer.
“And if I have to buy this damn city to find her—”
My jaw clenched.
“I will.”
Daniel nodded quickly.
“Already working on it.”
Good.
Because whoever took Noel had just signed their own death sentence.
I looked toward Rose.
She looked destroyed.
Broken.
Standing there in her wedding dress—
Looking like someone who had lost the world.
And something shifted painfully inside me.
Noel wasn’t just her daughter anymore.
She was—
Mine too.
I shut the thought down instantly.
Not now.
But one thing was certain.
I wasn’t losing that little girl.
Not on my watch.
I pulled out my phone.
“Call media.”
Daniel blinked.
“Sir?”
“Put out a reward.”
The officer nearby frowned.
“What kind of reward?”
I looked him dead in the eye.
The entire room froze when I spoke.
“500 million dollars.”
Rose looked up sharply.
“Adrian—”
“I don’t care what it costs.”
My voice cracked slightly.
“Find my daughter.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
My daughter.
Rose froze.
So did I.
But neither of us corrected it.
~~~~~~
ROSE POV
The hours dragged like punishment.
Morning had bled into afternoon, yet there was still no sign of Noel.
The wedding dress had long been replaced with one of Adrian’s oversized hoodies and sweatpants, but nothing could wash away the hollow ache sitting inside my chest.
I sat motionless in one of the hotel suites, fingers clenched around Noel’s tiny rabbit plushie someone had recovered from the reception hall.
Her bunny.
The one she refused to sleep without.
My throat tightened.
Was she crying right now?
Was she scared?
Had she eaten?
The thought nearly destroyed me.
The soft knock on the door startled me.
Adrian entered first, his expression unreadable.
Behind him stood Daniel.
And two police officers.
My stomach dropped instantly.
No.
No.
Please no.
I stood so fast the chair nearly toppled.
“You found her?” My voice cracked. “Please tell me you found her.”
The room went painfully silent.
One of the officers sighed.
“Not yet, ma’am.”
The tiny spark of hope inside me shattered.
“But,” he continued carefully, “we may have found something useful.”
Adrian moved closer immediately.
“What is it?”
The officer opened a file.
“We went to investigate a residence connected to a potential person of interest.”
My brows furrowed.
“A residence?”
The officer nodded.
“The apartment belonged to a woman identified as Sarah.”
The name felt like a stab.
And then—
My heart stopped.
“She… she was my daughter's nanny,” I whispered.
Adrian’s expression darkened.
“You know her?”
I swallowed.
“She used to help when I worked overnight and double shifts,” I said weakly. “Noel loved her.”
Loved.
Past tense suddenly felt dangerous.
The officer exchanged a glance with his partner before continuing.
“The apartment was locked when we arrived. No response after multiple attempts.”
My breathing slowed.
Locked?
“Due to the circumstances involving a missing child,” he continued, “we were authorized to force entry.”
The room became unbearably quiet.
“What did you find?” Adrian asked sharply.
The officer exhaled.
“Nothing suspicious at first.”
His pause made my stomach twist.
“The apartment looked… abandoned.”
“Abandoned?” I repeated faintly.
He nodded.
“Too clean. Almost staged.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning,” the second officer cut in, “someone may have prepared to leave in a hurry.”
Cold spread through me.
No.
No.
Not Sarah.
She wouldn’t.
Would she?
“But there were details,” the officer added carefully.
My pulse hammered.
“What details?”
He flipped through the report.
“In the kitchen cabinet, officers recovered several recently purchased children’s items.”
I froze.
“Children’s items?”
He nodded.
“Snacks. Juice boxes. Fever medication.”
The officer hesitated.
Then added—
“And a recently opened strawberry milkshake mix.”
My knees almost gave out.
Adrian caught me before I hit the floor.
“Noel…” I whispered shakily.
My baby.
Tears blurred my vision.
“She’s alive,” I whispered.
The words broke out of me before I could stop them.
“She has to be alive.”
Adrian’s arms tightened around me.
“She is,” he said immediately.
His voice was firm.
Certain.
Dangerously certain.
“We’re getting her back.”
But one question kept clawing at my mind.
Why?
Why would Sarah take Noel?
What could she possibly want?
The answer terrified me more than anything.
Because kidnappers always wanted something.
Money.
Revenge.
Control.
And if Sarah was involved—
Then who was pulling the strings?
Before anyone could speak again—
Daniel’s phone vibrated sharply.
The room stilled.
His face changed instantly as he looked at the screen.
“Boss…”
Adrian frowned.
“What?”
Daniel swallowed.
Then slowly turned the phone around.
“A message just came through.”
My heart nearly stopped.
Adrian grabbed the phone.
Unknown Number.
Only one sentence sat on the screen.
If you want Noel alive, stop involving the police.
And beneath it—
A picture.
Noel.
Alive.
Holding a strawberry milkshake and her flower basket. She's still in her yesterday's dress.
Oh my baby.
My scream tore through the room.
"Do something Adrian please". Tears welled up my eyes feeling helpless.