Chapter 124: ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR

Author’s POV

Breakfast was already prepared by the time everyone came downstairs.

Nicholas’s mother had spent the early hours in the kitchen making enough food for everyone, and by the time she finished setting everything out, the brothers were already seated around the dining table.

Adrian sat quietly at one end while Cassian, Roman, and Elijah settled into their usual places, talking among themselves as they waited.

There was only one person missing.

Nicholas.

At first, nobody thought much of it. Elijah glanced toward the staircase while reaching for a glass of water, expecting to see Nicholas come down at any moment. A few minutes passed, then several more, and when Nicholas still hadn’t appeared, Elijah frowned.

"He’s probably still asleep," he said, pushing his chair back. "I’ll go get him."

He made his way upstairs and walked toward Nicholas’s room, expecting to find him buried beneath the blankets or standing in front of the mirror getting ready.

He opened the door but the room was empty. Elijah stopped.

For a moment, he simply stood there, staring at the untouched bed. Nicholas wasn’t in the bathroom either, and when Elijah checked the rest of the room, there was still no sign of him. He called his name once, then again, but received no response.

He hurried downstairs and told the others.

Adrian immediately stood. "Let’s check."

The four brothers went back upstairs together, searching everywhere he could possibly be.

They checked every room, every book and cranny that could tell them where he had gone.

Nothing.

Nicholas was nowhere in the mansion.

Cassian’s expression became increasingly tense as he looked around the house. "He wouldn’t just leave without saying something."

"No," Adrian agreed.

Roman looked toward the entrance. "Maybe he went outside."

They searched the compound, but still nothing.

By the time they returned upstairs, Elijah was beginning to look genuinely frightened. He walked back into Nicholas’s room and looked around again, as though the answer might somehow appear if he searched a second time.

Then he noticed something. Nicholas’s phone.

It was tucked beneath the duvet on the bed.

Elijah slowly pulled it out and stared at it. The others noticed the phone at almost the same time.

They simply exchanged looks and Adrian’s face hardened as the pieces fell into place. "He was taken."

Elijah swallowed. "You think Dad—"

"Who else?" Roman asked quietly.

Cassian looked at the phone in Elijah’s hand, then toward the empty room. "He knew this might happen."

Adrian nodded.

Nicholas had known there was a possibility that Blackthorne would come after him. But he hadn’t told them that he feared Blackthorn would take him away so soon.

This was not part of the plan. But they would stick to what they had discussed.

Adrian took a slow breath and forced himself to remain calm. "We stick to the plan."

Elijah stared at him. "Even now?"

"Especially now." Adrian looked at all three of them. "We can’t afford to fuck this up."

Cassian nodded reluctantly, although worry was still written all over his face. "So we pretend we don’t know?"

"Exactly."

Roman picked up Nicholas’s phone and looked at the screen before setting it back down. "And we find whatever we can while he’s distracted."

Adrian’s expression remained serious. "We find the names, the connections, anything that tells us which Alphas are involved. We don’t waste the opportunity Nicholas just gave us."

Before they could continue, footsteps sounded in the hallway and Nicholas’s mother appeared at the doorway.

Her eyes immediately went to the four brothers. "Where’s Nicholas?"

For a second, nobody answered and Elijah was the first to recover. "He probably stepped outside." His answer came too quickly.

His mother frowned. "Outside?"

"Maybe he wanted some fresh air," Cassian added, trying to make the explanation sound natural. "He didn’t say anything to us."

She looked between them, clearly unconvinced by how strangely they were behaving. "Why are all of you standing around his room?"

Adrian stepped forward before any of the others could say something that would make things worse. "We were looking for him because breakfast was ready. We thought he was still upstairs."

She continued looking at them, but before she could question them further, her phone began ringing.

She glanced at the screen and immediately stepped away from the doorway. "I need to take this."

She answered the call and walked back toward the staircase, leaving the brothers alone.

The moment she disappeared, all four of them released the air they had been holding.

Elijah exhaled heavily. "That was close."

Adrian looked toward the door. "We don’t have time to worry about whether she believes us. We need to start looking."

The brothers immediately got to work and separated, each taking responsibility for different parts of the mansion while keeping their behavior as normal as possible.

They had a plan. And now they had to make it work.

***********

Meanwhile, Nicholas slowly opened his eyes.

For several seconds, he didn’t understand where he was because everything around him looked unfamiliar.

The surface beneath him wasn’t his bed, and the room was colder than the one he had fallen asleep in. He blinked repeatedly, trying to clear the dizziness from his head while his eyes adjusted to the dim surroundings.

Then he remembered.

He had known this might happen. He had expected that Blackthorne would eventually come for him.

Nicholas pushed himself up slightly and looked around.

The place was large but empty, with little that could tell him exactly where he was.

There was no one and he immediately panicked, wondering what had happened in his sleep.

Did it go according to what he planned? Was this Blackthorn’s doing? But there was no sign of him here.

He was alone.

"Oh fuck." He struggled with his restraints as his breathing became faster.

Then a voice came from somewhere nearby. "Good morning, Nicholas."

Nicholas froze and he turned to where the sound had come from.

Blackthorne stepped into view and Nicholas stared at him.

Blackthorne smiled. "Welcome to my little torture warehouse."