Page 138 of Stuck with my Boss Daddies

I woke up to a silence that wasn’t right, an emptiness that clawed at my chest before I even opened my eyes.

The storm had passed, leaving the world outside unnervingly still. But it wasn’t the weather that made my gut twist.

There was just something wrong, and I needed to figure out what it was.

I sat up fast, heart hammering, my eyes scanning the room. I didn’t even know exactly what I was looking for, but it wasn’t there.

My pulse spiked, a rush of panic surging through me as I shoved the covers back and swung my legs over the side of the bed.

The house was too quiet.

The kind of quiet that settled in after something had already gone wrong.

I pushed to my feet, my chest tight as I strode toward the door.

When I stepped into the kitchen, I froze.

Kai stood by the counter, his face pale, his knuckles white from the way he clenched a crumpled piece of paper.

My gut twisted.

“What’s wrong?” My voice came out rough, uneven.

Kai didn’t answer right away. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, his eyes flicking up to meet mine, dark with a pain that made my breath catch.

He held out the note with a shaking hand.

I took it, fingers already numb before I even looked down.

And then I saw it.

I’m sorry. I can’t do this. Please don’t look for me.

The air punched out of my lungs.

“No,” I rasped.

Kai’s jaw was tight, his expression carefully locked down, but I could see it in his eyes. He was barely holding it together.

“She’s gone,” he said quietly.

Before I could even process what I was feeling—anger, fear, disbelief—footsteps pounded down the hall.

Samuel’s voice cut through the heavy silence. “What the hell is going on?”

He strode into the kitchen, his hair a mess, his shirt rumpled, like he’d just woken up.

His sharp gaze flicked between me and Kai, his brows furrowing at the tension suffocating the room.

No one spoke.

I was still gripping the note, the words burning into my skin, into my brain, into my goddamn heart.

Samuel’s gaze dropped to the paper in my hand.

“What is that?” he demanded.

I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t force the words past the knot in my throat.

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