The tension in the air was suffocating, a silence so thick it threatened to crush everything in its wake. They stood before him—silent, unmoving, their expressions unreadable. And in that stillness, Kian felt the weight of a thousand possibilities crashing over him like relentless waves.
"Tell me where she is!" His voice was raw, a desperate plea teetering on the edge of rage and anguish. His chest tightened, breaths growing shallow as his gaze flickered between the faces that refused to answer. Why weren't they saying anything?
"Tell me, Kabir!" He turned sharply, grasping at the last sliver of hope he could find. "Tell me she's fine! Tell me she's safe! Tell me she's coming back!" Each word felt like jagged glass slicing through his throat, but he didn't care. He needed to hear it. He needed to believe it.
Yet, the silence stretched, thick and suffocating. His pulse pounded in his ears, drowning out the world around him. The fear inside him twisted, morphed, clawing at his sanity with relentless force.
"Someone—goddamn it—someone just tell me!" His voice erupted louder, more frantic, as though sheer volume could force an answer from them. But nothing. No words. No movement.
And then, the worst came—the flood of thoughts he couldn't control, the images of everything that could have gone wrong. Panic seized him, wrapping around his ribs like a vice. No. No, this wasn't happening.
"Synn, at least ask your security—just let me know she's fine!" His voice wavered now, breaking under the pressure of the unknown. Over and over, he begged, pleaded, until desperation replaced the fire of his anger, leaving behind only a hollow ache.
"Please," he choked out, his voice barely above a whisper. "Tell me. Tell me where she is."
But even desperation yielded nothing. No reassurances, no explanations. Not even a lie to cling to.
A bitter realization sank in, cold and unrelenting—he had trusted them. He had trusted her with them. After everything they had built, after the years spent standing together, they couldn't even give him an answer.
His fists clenched. He couldn't wait for them. If they wouldn't tell him, he would find her himself.
The moment he moved, they blocked him. A wall of bodies, unyielding and unwavering.
"You can't go out, Kian," Kabir's voice was low, firm, almost pleading. "This is dangerous for you."
"I don't care!" Kian's voice was sharp, unwavering, his body rigid with determination. "I need her. I want to see her."
"Kian, listen to us." Rudra stepped forward, his tone steady but urgent. "There's a team out there looking for her. If you go outside, you'd be putting everyone in danger." He was reasoning, calculating, but Kian wasn't listening. "We will find her."
A small hand wrapped around his wrist, halting him.
"Dada, don't go." (Dada means brother)
Arna. Her voice was soft, breaking, but he couldn't stop now. They didn't understand. None of them did.
He let his gaze sweep over them, cold, unwavering. "Stop me, and you will be dead." The words weren't a threat. They were a promise, hollow yet heavy with intent. He was desperate. Past reasoning. Past caring.
Kabir stepped into his path, shoving him back, his jaw clenched, eyes dark with warning. "Kian... I swear, if you don't stop, I will chain you myself," he growled. "And I won't care if you try to kill me."
Something inside Kian snapped.
He grabbed Kabir's collar, yanking him closer, his breath heavy and ragged. "It's Maya!" The name tore from him like a wound being ripped open. "How could you not care about her?" His gaze swept over the faces that were supposed to be her family. His family. "She... she considered you her own," he spat, voice shaking with disbelief. "And goddamn it, there isn't even a hint of concern in any of you!"
The silence that followed was deafening.
Then, the EWT beeped.
One sound. But it shattered everything.
A voice erupted from the device. "From 0000, code 999."
The thin, fragile thread keeping Kian sane snapped.
Tenebris Manor.
Code Black.
His chest tightened, his mind screaming for it to be a mistake. But then—
"She is here. Code Black."
No.
No. No. No.
His legs moved before his mind could catch up, his body surging forward, fingers grasping the EWT so tightly his knuckles turned white. "No..." His breath hitched, hands trembling so violently the device nearly slipped. "NO... NO... NO!"
He ran.
This time, no one stopped him. No hands reached out to hold him back. No voices tried to reason with him.
He threw the doors open.
And then—
He saw them.
The world stopped.
Through the pounding rain, Evaan walked toward him, his body drenched, his arms cradling a figure that made Kian's stomach twist violently.
The lifeless body in his hands.
Kian's breath stuttered, his pulse roaring in his ears. No. This wasn't real. It couldn't be.
Evaan's voice trembled, raw, desperate. "Please... save her. They're tracking her." His words spilled in rushed, broken fragments. "She was breathing—she is—please. I didn't know where else to bring her." His voice cracked. "You will save her, won't you?"
Kian couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. His hands shook as he turned to Kabir.
"Kabir!" He screamed, voice shattering the air. "Call the doctors now!"
Shadows moved in the periphery, but he didn't care. He ripped Maya from Evaan's hold, pulling her against him. No. He didn't trust anyone anymore. Not with her.
Her body was cold. Unnaturally cold. Her weight limp in his arms.
He rushed her inside, the rain trailing behind them, as if the universe itself mourned what was slipping through his fingers.
He lowered onto the couch, cradling her gently, refusing to let go.
Kabir crouched next to him, fingers brushing against her wrist. Kian waited. And waited.
The silence stretched, unbearable. Suffocating.
His body trembled, his heartbeat hammering in his ears. Say it. Say she's fine. Say she's weak but she'll live. Say she'll wake up and scold him for making a scene.
Say it.
Kabir's face fell. His hand dropped from her wrist.
"Kian..." His voice was barely a whisper. "She's no more."
The world cracked.
Kian's breath hitched, his body frozen in time. His fingers gripped her shoulders, shaking her gently. "No. She—she's just cold. She—she'll wake up." His voice was barely his own. He pressed his forehead against hers, body trembling. "Come on, Hellcat. You promised. You said you'd come home safe. We—we were supposed to get married."