Chapter 9 Ava's POV

Nicholas's words hit me like thunder.

"And now you will help me get them back- whatever it costs."

The way he said it, calm but dangerous, made it clear this wasn't a request.

It was a final judgment. And I was now part of a war I didn't start but was somehow central to.

"Whatever it costs?" I repeated, my voice shaky.

"What does that mean?"

He turned away from me, moving to the cabinet behind the bookshelf and opening a hidden panel. I didn't even know it existed.

He pulled a black box and a file from it, thick, old, and sealed with a weak leather strap.

He tossed the file onto the table, the contents clinking together.

"It means you'll learn things you were never meant to know about me. Things that'll make you question everything, especially why someone would use children as leverage."

I stepped back.

"Nicholas, what is this?"

He stared at me, grinding his teeth together.

"This is the other half of my life, Ava. The part that built this mansion. That funded those children's futures. The part Vivian never liked asking about."

I looked at the file, then back at him.

"Why now?"

He came closer, voice low.

"Because whoever took my kids knows me, not just the billionaire, the man, the mistakes. They're not targeting my name; they're targeting my past."

He opened the file containing names, photos, locations, and transactions.

A chill shot through me.

Black-market deals.

Property handovers in countries I didn't even know existed.

Signatures.

Alias names.

Pictures of people I'd never seen, some looked bruised, some beaten.

"What is this?" I whispered.

Nicholas didn't flinch. "Leverage"

He pushed the file closer to me.

My fingers trembled as I turned one page, then another.

Some documents were contracts written in foreign languages, but the names were familiar people from Vivian's charity foundation.

A man I'd once seen shaking hands with Nicholas at an awards gala, A woman who had smiled too brightly during the funeral.

"These people... they worked for you?"

"They worked with me," he corrected.

"But loyalty has a price, and when money speaks louder than blood, people switch sides."

The weight of silence filled the air.

"You were involved in this?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Years ago. Before I met Vivian before I knew what life was like with children, back when I believed building an empire meant getting my hands dirty and keeping my heart locked away."

"And now?"

His eyes collided with mine.

"Now, I'm paying for every secret I buried."

I stood there, the file open between us like an open sore.

My mind raced with questions I wasn't ready to ask, but one word repeated in my mind.

"Do you think... someone you trusted took them?"

His silence was answer enough.

I backed away, my stomach twisting.

"And you think I can help with this? Nicholas, I don't even know where to start!"

"You don't need to," he said, standing.

"You just need to follow me."

He moved toward the hallway, not waiting for me to catch up. The fury in the way he moved made it clear this wasn't just about the kids.

It was about setting things right.

I followed him out of the study, my bare feet walking slowly against the cold marble.

We entered another room, smaller, windowless, filled with screens.

"This is the surveillance room," he said flatly.

"Everything gets recorded here. Every car that enters. Every call that is made from inside this house."

He indicated to the screen on the left.

It was paused on the footage from the night of the triplets' disappearance.

I held my breath.

"They didn't break in," I said softly.

"That car was let in."

He nodded.

"Someone had access. Which means it was an inside job."

I watched the footage closely.

The driver wore a cap, and sunglasses. Not even the high-quality zoom could catch their face.

"Who was on duty that night?" I asked.

Nicholas pressed the keyboard. The guard's ID showed up.

"Marco," he said. "New hire, cleared background and no history. But he's gone now. Left that same night."

"You think he was planted?"

"I think he was bought."

We stared at the screen, the same scene repeating; the car entering, headlights blinding, the guard waving it in like it was routine.

I drew in a sharp breath.

"What do you need me to do?"

He turned to me, his eyes darker than I'd ever seen.

"Pretend like nothing's changed. Stay here, play your part and watch everyone."

"Everyone?"

"Yes, maids, all staff, Vivian's friends and even my board members, if they show up."

My heart raced in my chest.

"You think the betrayal goes that deep?"

"I think this isn't about ransom. It's about revenge."

He handed me a tablet, on it were pictures of ten people. All familiar faces. All the people I'd smiled at in passing.

"These are my suspects," he said.

"But I need you to be the eyes I can't use. They won't talk to me. But you? You're innocent to them. They'll underestimate you."

"Is this even legal?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," he said.

"But neither was stealing my children."

I gripped the tablet, bile rising in my throat.

"What happens if I find the person?"

He drew closer to me, his voice was cold and sharp.

"Then I make them pay."

I couldn't breathe.

The Nicholas I met when I signed that surrogacy contract was cold, guarded, and controlled.

This Nicholas? He was terrifying in a new way.

Broken, raw and willing to burn the world to get his kids back.

I wanted to scream, I wanted to ask why I had to be part of this, but something deep inside whispered that I'd already crossed the line the moment I gave birth to those babies.

They weren't just Nicholas's anymore.

They were mine too.

And if this was the only way to bring them home, then so be it.

Even if it meant facing my worst fears or the kind of danger I'd only seen in nightmares.

***

That night, I couldn't sleep.

The file tormented me in my mind.

The faces.

The bruises.

The silent screams on paper.

Nicholas's calm voice telling me about leverage like it was just business.

But mostly, the way he'd looked at me when he said, "You're innocent to them."

I wasn't sure that was true anymore.

I rose before sunrise and walked down the empty hallways. Everything was so quiet that the air felt so suffocating.

Then I heard it - a soft sound. A door creaks shut near the eastern wing.

I stood motionless.

That part of the mansion had been off-limits since the kids went missing.

Nicholas said it was being kept sealed for the investigation.

So who was in there?

I tiptoed forward, careful not to make a sound. My fingers gripped the tablet he'd given me, using it like a mirror to check the hallway around the corner.

A shadow moved, someone tall and broad.

I hid behind the curtain.

They stopped at the corner and then sneaked through a side door to the kids room.

My heart almost stopped.

No one was allowed in there.

I waited, counting the seconds.

One. Two. Three.

The door creaked again.

I rushed out, ready to confront whoever it was, but the hallway was empty.

Gone.

Like a ghost.

I looked down the corridor. I found nothing.

But when I stepped closer to the kid's room door, I noticed it wasn't locked.

My hand shook as I reached for the knob and slowly pushed it open.

Inside, the bedsheets were untouched. The toys were still in place.

But a single envelope sat on the centre bed, the one where Ivy used to sleep.

My knees nearly gave out.

I walked over and opened it with trembling hands.

Inside was a photograph.

The triplets.

Alive.

Sleeping.

And a note written in cut-out letters that screamed horror film:

"Stop digging. Or the next picture won't be so peaceful."

My eyes filled with shock then my fingers went cold.

A sound behind me made me spin, but no one was there.

I pressed the photo to my chest, heart racing.

They'd been here.

Someone had been inside the house again.

Watching.

Mocking.

I wasn't just part of the game anymore.

I was being hunted.