Chapter 32
Julian
I'd searched twelve cells so far, with nothing to show for it. The labyrinth beneath the estate was massive; a warren of passages and chambers that dated back centuries. Roman could’ve taken Violet to any one of them.
My phone buzzed. The security team had managed to recover more footage from the recycle bin.
I pulled it up as I strode down another damp corridor, my footsteps echoing off ancient stone. The video showed Roman carrying Violet through the south wing, then disappearing down a service stairwell. After that, nothing.
I'd already checked with every guard stationed along the estate perimeter. No one had seen Roman leave, and no vehicles had departed since I arrived. That meant he was still on the estate.
The tunnels were a possibility—the old passages that connected the estate to BHU—but that didn't make sense. Roman would’ve been spotted by the exterior guards when he emerged from the mansion to access the tunnel entrance.
And more importantly, carrying an unconscious woman through miles of underground tunnels would be exhausting, even for someone as physically fit as Roman.
No. He was still here. Still somewhere within the estate walls.
Which meant I needed to think like my brother. Where would he take her that would give him time to do whatever he wanted to do with her? Somewhere isolated, somewhere no one would think to look immediately, somewhere with...
That was when I’d realized he’d taken her down to the cells.
Most of the staff didn't even know they existed beyond the labyrinth down there, but Roman and I had found and explored them as children, playing hide and seek in the darkness.
I changed direction, heading toward the next cell, jaw clenched so tight it ached. Every minute that passed was another minute Violet was alone with Roman. Another minute she was frightened, possibly hurt.
Another minute I wasn't there to protect her.
The rage that had been simmering since I found her room empty was threatening to boil over.
Roman had crossed a fucking line. Not just by taking Violet, but by making me doubt him.
By forcing me to choose between my brother and the woman who'd somehow become everything to me in the span of a few weeks.
I'd chosen her, and I'd choose her every time.
The question now was… what would I do when I found the two of them?