A Divorce He Regrets

Chapter 271:

Vanessa’s lips parted, as if she desired to beg, to beg for a second chance, but she must have read the unrelenting fury in my eyes because she closed her lips.

“Alex, please—”

“No.” My voice cracked slightly, the gravity of my words settling on my chest. “If anything happens to Raina, I will never forgive you.”

The suffocating silence that followed was a burden on my ribs, something that felt invisible yet infinitely heavy. I stepped back from Vanessa, clenching my jaw. My hands trembled. I clamped them tighter, trying to stop the storm raging within me.

Dominic sat in the corner of the room, knees bent, elbows on his knees, his face a mask of tense control. He was as devastated as I was, but the fire burning in his eyes was silent, lethal.

He breathed slowly, then gritted out, “We should’ve tied her up.” I remained silent.

I had attempted to protect her. I had locked her in that damn room, for her own protection. But then I had let my guilt overwhelm me. I had gone soft.

I had arrived at her doorstep with plans to get things straight with her—to cook her supper, stay with her, make sense of it all. But as soon as I saw that door ajar, I knew.

Something was wrong.

A queasy, falling sensation churned in my belly as I stepped inside. The room was vacant. The bed untouched. My stomach churned.

I should have known she would use Vanessa to escape. I should not have assumed that their hatred towards one another would be so great that it would prevent them from working together.

My whole body tensed, filled with rage and regret. I had underestimated Raina. And now she was gone.

I stormed upstairs, my heart racing in my chest, each step driven by desperation and fury. There had to be something—a clue. Raina wasn’t dumb, not exactly, but she was reckless, and that recklessness had just gotten her into trouble.

I pulled out my phone from my pocket and rapidly dialed her number. The ringing seemed to drag on forever, but as soon as the call went directly to voicemail, my stomach dropped.

𝖁𝗂𝖊𝖜 𝗍𝗋𝗎𝖾 𝗎𝗉𝖽𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗌 𝗈𝗇 gal𝖓𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀﹒ⅽ𝗈𝗆

I went into her room, searching cautiously around, hoping for something—a note, anything she had left behind, something that would give me an indication of where in the hell she was. And then I spotted it. Her phone.

It sat there, on the bed, the screen dark and dead.

“Dammit!” I muttered under my breath, pushing my fingers into the nape of my neck as anger ate at me. Stupid Raina. She wasn’t even clever enough to bring her phone with her, in case she had to call for help?

A ragged breath heaved my body as Dominic appeared behind me, his pounding footsteps stopping at the door.

“Anything?” he repeated, his voice gruff, tinged with the same terror I felt.

I grabbed the phone, moving my head. “Just this.”

“Shit!” Dominic muttered, running his hand over his face.

Ignoring him, I hit the power button, and the lock screen appeared.

Password-protected. Of course.noveldrama

I turned to Dominic, an eyebrow raised. “You have her password?”

He scoffed. “Don’t ask me.”

I rolled my eyes before my fingers hovered over the keypad.

One shot. Just one.

I entered my birthday.

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