Chapter 90 Gone
The house had finally gone still.
Inside, the quiet hummed with contentment—muffled laughter lingering in the air, the faint scent of vanilla muffins and grilled pineapple clinging to the walls like echoes of the day's joy. Emilia had changed into one of Henry's old college T-shirts, her belly stretching the faded cotton to its limit. She was curled on the couch now, feet propped up on a pillow, a hand absently stroking her stomach as Henry flipped through movie options.
Outside, the wind picked up—soft at first, then stronger, rustling the hedges along the side fence.
Then it stopped.
A shadow moved past the kitchen window.
A click echoed faintly from the garage door.
The alarm system showed green. Untouched. Unbothered.
Henry settled on "How to Lose a guy in Ten Days. "This okay?"
Emilia nodded sleepily. "Mmhm. Just... gonna close my eyes for a minute."
In the garage, the fuse box snapped open.
A hand, gloved and practiced, flipped two switches. The lights flickered once in the kitchen—just a blip—and came back. But the cameras? They cut out completely.
Ethan pressed his ear to the garage door that led into the laundry room. "You've got four minutes," he muttered into the earpiece. "Don't screw it up."
Zoey's voice hissed back: "Just get the car ready."
Inside, Henry adjusted the blanket over Emilia's legs. He didn't hear the sound of the back door opening—soft, muffled by a spray of WD-40 earlier that afternoon. This book is available exclusively and for free on Wattpad. If you find it anywhere else, it has been stolen. Please report any unauthorized copies. He didn't hear the creak of footsteps across the tile.
But the baby did.
Emilia's belly shifted—hard, sudden, like something inside her knew.
She winced. "Henry... I think she just kicked my rib."
He turned toward her, half-smiling, half-concerned. "You okay?"
And that's when the glass shattered.
The front door exploded inward, sending shards spraying like a glittering storm. Two figures in black stormed in—faces covered, bodies fast.
Henry lunged forward, but Ethan was faster.
A Taser cracked. Henry jerked, muscles seizing as he collapsed to the floor, convulsing.
"Henry!" Emilia screamed.
She tried to stand, but pain ripped across her stomach—contraction or panic, she couldn't tell. Her legs buckled as Zoey closed the distance.
"No, no—please—the baby—"
"Shhh," Zoey whispered, crouching with that same manic calm. "You'll thank me for this later."
Then she jabbed the syringe into Emilia's neck.
The world tilted.
Emilia's mouth opened, but nothing came out. Her vision swam with stars. Zoey's face blurred, dissolved. The last thing she saw was Henry's body on the floor, twitching slightly. The last thing she felt was the fierce kick of her baby—angry, alive, resisting.
Then everything went black.
Outside, the SUV's trunk popped open.
Ethan carried Emilia like a broken doll, strapping her in with terrifying efficiency. Zoey slid into the back beside her, eyes fixed on the house as the engine revved.
She glanced at Emilia's slumped figure, then said coldly, "Think he'll still love you after this?"
"Drive."
And just like that, they vanished into the night.
Inside, Henry gasped air returning in painful, ragged breaths. His hands clawed at the floor. Eyes wide. Dizzy.
Then the realization hit him.
She was gone.
"Emilia!" he choked out, dragging himself toward the shattered door, blood pounding in his ears. Shards sliced into his palms, knees—he didn't care.
He saw her in flashes—laughing earlier as he dropped blueberries into her glass of water, kissing her belly in bed that morning and whispering, "We're almost there."
He made it to the porch, chest heaving, just in time to see taillights disappear around the corner.
No plates. No make. No direction. Just gone.
Too fast. Too clean. Like they'd never been there at all.
His roar tore through the night.
Lights flipped on across the neighborhood. A dog barked. A child screamed in the distance.
But the street?
The street was still too quiet.
And then—
The silence returned.
Heavier this time.
Unnatural. Dead.
And Emilia Kingsley—his heart, his world, his family—was gone.