Chapter 47: The Child Nobody Could Find

The private jet went silent.

Not calm silent.

The kind of silence that came right before something catastrophic.

Elias still stood frozen near the monitor, Gabriel Vale’s emergency custody filing glowing against the screen while storm clouds rolled outside the aircraft windows.

CURRENT LOCATION OF CHILD UNKNOWN.

Lucian read the line once.

Then again.

Slowly.

Dangerously.

Allison felt the shift beside her immediately.

"Lucian."

He looked up.

And for the first time since she met him—

He genuinely looked shaken.

Not angry.

Not controlled.

Shaken.

Because Clara being used as leverage was one thing.

Clara being missing?

That was different.

Theo stood abruptly. "No."

Elias looked toward him.

Theo ran a hand through his hair sharply. "No, no, no. Vivienne wouldn’t lose track of the child."

Adrian’s expression darkened.

"She may not have."

Everyone looked toward him.

Adrian folded his arms.

"But if Gabriel filed emergency custody publicly, then he either genuinely lost contact..."

A pause.

"Or he’s forcing Vivienne into the open."

Allison frowned slightly.

"That sounds incredibly unhealthy."

Theo barked out a humorless laugh.

"Welcome to billionaire family warfare."

Lucian grabbed the back of the leather seat hard enough that the wood creaked.

"She’s six."

The cabin quieted again.

Because that was the part no one could escape.

Clara was six.

Not strategy.

Not leverage.

A child.

Allison stepped closer carefully.

"Hey."

Lucian looked at her.

And God—

That expression hurt to see.

"She’s not yours," Allison said softly.

"I know."

"But you still care."

His jaw tightened once.

"She asked if I was her father."

Silence.

Then Lucian looked away toward the storm outside.

"She looked scared."

The words came out quieter this time.

Honest.

Allison’s chest tightened painfully.

Because underneath the wealth, power, strategy, and terrifying calm—

Lucian Calloway had a devastating weakness.

He cared.

Deeply.

Even when he didn’t want to.

Theo noticed it too.

That was why Theo finally stopped joking.

"We’ll find her."

Lucian looked toward him.

Theo held his gaze steadily.

"We will."

And for once—

There was no rivalry between them.

Just two men who understood a child had been dragged into something monstrous.

⸻

The Laurent-Cassel Family Meeting

Chaos.

Absolute chaos.

The Laurent-Cassel penthouse looked less like an elite family headquarters now and more like a collapsing monarchy.

Voices echoed through the massive conference room.

Lawyers shouting.

Board members panicking.

Phones ringing nonstop.

And in the center of it all—

Vivienne Laurent-Cassel stood perfectly still while her world imploded around her.

Her father slammed the DNA report onto the marble table hard enough to crack the silence.

"You lied to us."

Vivienne’s expression didn’t move.

Her mother looked pale with fury.

"No," she corrected coldly. "She lied to everyone."

Gabriel stood near the windows gripping his phone so tightly his knuckles had gone white.

No answer.

Still no answer.

Clara’s emergency phone remained offline.

Every minute that passed tightened panic deeper into his chest.

Vivienne finally spoke.

"I had reasons."

Her father laughed.

Actually laughed.

The sound was ugly.

"You forged Lucian Calloway into a paternity scandal involving your own child!"

Vivienne’s composure cracked slightly.

"You don’t understand."

"Oh, I understand perfectly now," her mother snapped. "You became obsessed with a man who never chose you and dragged our family into public humiliation trying to force a fantasy."

Vivienne’s breathing sharpened.

Gabriel finally spoke.

"Where is Clara?"

Silence.

Vivienne looked toward him slowly.

"She’s safe."

Gabriel moved instantly.

The chair behind him screeched across marble as he crossed the room in three strides.

"WHERE?"

The room froze.

Because Gabriel Vale never lost control publicly.

Never.

But this?

This was his daughter.

Vivienne’s eyes widened slightly.

"Gabriel—"

"No."

His voice shook with rage now.

"You used my child in a media war."

"She’s my daughter too!"

"And now she’s missing!"

That hit.

Hard.

Vivienne actually flinched.

Her father looked between them both sharply.

"Missing?" he repeated.

Gabriel turned toward the family table.

"I lost contact with Clara’s security transport forty-two minutes ago."

The room detonated.

"What?!"

"You said she was secure!"

"Was she taken?"

"Who has her?!"

Vivienne’s face lost color instantly.

"No."

Gabriel rounded on her immediately.

"WHO THE FUCK DID YOU SEND HER WITH?"

Vivienne’s breathing turned uneven now.

The first real fear anyone had seen from her all night.

"I used private transport."

"With fucking who?!"

Silence.

Gabriel stared at her.

Then realization hit him like a punch.

"You outsourced security."

"Fucking B-."

Vivienne said nothing.

Which was answer enough.

Gabriel cursed viciously and grabbed his phone again.

No signal from Clara.

No GPS ping.

No security confirmation.

Gone.

His daughter was gone.

And suddenly none of the scandals mattered anymore.

Lucian.

The media.

The forged records.

None of it mattered.

Gabriel looked at Vivienne with something dangerously close to hatred.

"You selfish fucking woman."

Vivienne recoiled like he struck her.

"I was trying to protect her!"

"You were trying to control everyone!"

Her mother slammed both hands onto the table.

"ENOUGH."

Silence crashed down again.

The older woman looked at Vivienne with visible disgust now.

"You endangered a child because you couldn’t handle rejection."

Vivienne’s eyes burned.

"You think this is only about Lucian?"

"Yes," her father snapped. "Because every disaster traces back to him!"

Vivienne shook her head sharply.

"No. This started long before Allison."

Her voice cracked unexpectedly.

"I spent years watching men treat me like an extension of our family name." Her breathing became uneven. "Lucian was the only person who ever looked at me like I existed outside of it."

Gabriel stared at her.

"Then why wasn’t I enough?"

The room went dead quiet.

Because that question wasn’t strategic.

It was personal.

Painfully personal.

Vivienne looked at Gabriel.

Really looked at him.

And guilt finally surfaced fully across her face.

"You were real," she whispered.

Gabriel’s chest tightened violently.

"And Lucian wasn’t?"

Vivienne laughed shakily.

"No. Lucian was impossible."

That answer somehow hurt worse.

⸻

Back on the Jet

Simone sat cross-legged on one of the leather couches glaring at the media coverage like she could personally fight the internet.

"I hate rich people," she muttered.

Elias looked over from his laptop.

"You’re literally sitting on a private jet."

"That’s different."

"How?"

"Because Allison’s rich. Morally it cancels out."

Allison snorted softly from beside Lucian.

Elias smiled faintly despite the tension.

Simone noticed immediately.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Did you just smile at me?"

Elias blinked once.

"...No."

"You did."

"I physically did not."

Theo muttered from the window seat, "That was definitely smiling."

Elias looked offended.

"I hate all of you."

Simone grinned triumphantly and stole one of his fries from the catering tray.

Elias watched her do it.

Then silently slid the entire container toward her.

Allison saw that immediately.

Oh.

Oh this was entertaining.

Simone blinked at the fries.

Then slowly looked at Elias.

"...Are you flirting with me through carbohydrates?"

Elias looked back at his screen calmly.

"I’m keeping you distracted from committing homicide through social media."

"That’s the hottest thing anyone’s said to me this month."

Theo gagged dramatically.

Lucian looked mildly disturbed.

Allison leaned toward Simone and whispered—

"You move fast."

Simone whispered back—

"Says the woman who got kidnapped and married in the same week."

Fair.

Very fair.

Then Adrian’s phone rang.

He answered immediately.

"Yes."

His face changed instantly.

Susanna noticed.

"What."

Adrian’s expression darkened.

"Repeat that."

Everyone went still.

The voice on the other end spoke rapidly.

Adrian listened for several long seconds.

Then slowly lowered the phone.

Susanna stood immediately.

"What happened?"

Adrian looked toward Lucian.

Then Allison.

And suddenly Allison knew she wasn’t going to like this.

"Talk," she said sharply.

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

"The original security team transporting Clara was found."

Silence.

Lucian stood instantly.

"Alive?"

Adrian answered carefully.

"No."

The cabin froze.

Allison’s stomach dropped.

Theo swore violently.

Lucian’s face emptied completely.

Not anger now.

Not rage.

Something colder.

More lethal.

Susanna looked horrified.

"Oh my God..."

Adrian continued quietly.

"The vehicles were abandoned near the Nova Scotia coast."

Lucian’s voice lowered dangerously.

"And Clara?"

Adrian held his gaze.

"Gone."

The word slammed through the cabin.

Gone.

Not hidden.

Not relocated.

Gone.

Allison immediately looked at Lucian.

He didn’t move.

Didn’t blink.

And that terrified her more than yelling ever could.

Then suddenly Susanna turned toward Adrian.

Furious.

"THIS is what our daughter has been dragged into?!"

Adrian looked at her carefully.

"She’s safe."

"She was kidnapped!"

Her voice cracked sharply.

"She was tied up in a dark room while you handled this like another business negotiation!"

The cabin went silent.

Because Susanna Croft almost never exploded publicly.

Adrian’s expression hardened slightly.

"I handled it."

"You normalized it!"

That hit harder.

Susanna pointed toward Allison.

"She’s traumatized!"

"I’m literally sitting right here," Allison muttered.

Nobody acknowledged her.

Susanna’s eyes filled with furious tears.

"You let our daughter become a target because everyone around you treats power like war!"

Adrian stepped closer slowly.

"And if I hadn’t taught her how to survive that war?"

Silence.

Heavy.

Painful.

Susanna stopped breathing for a second.

Because he wasn’t entirely wrong.

That made it worse.

Allison stood immediately.

"Okay wow. Family therapy energy. Let’s regroup."

Theo rubbed his face tiredly.

"Why does this family argue like courtroom cross-examinations?"

"Because feelings are illegal here," Simone answered.

That almost made Allison laugh.

Almost.

Then Elias’s laptop pinged sharply.

Everyone turned instantly.

He looked down.

Then slowly went pale.

"What now?" Lucian asked quietly.

Elias swallowed.

"We just got an anonymous encrypted upload."

Adrian stepped closer immediately.

"Open it."

Elias clicked the file.

Static flickered across the screen.

Then—

Clara appeared.

This time crying.

The little girl sat curled in the corner of a dark room clutching the silver crescent charm tightly while someone behind the camera breathed heavily.

Not Vivienne.

Not Gabriel.

A man’s voice spoke quietly from behind the camera.

"If Lucian Calloway wants the girl..."

The voice distorted slightly.

"...he can come get her himself."

Then the screen cut black.

Silence swallowed the cabin whole.

Theo’s face darkened instantly.

Lucian stared at the dead screen.

Then quietly asked the one question nobody wanted answered.

"Who the hell took her?"