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I sit in the quiet for a long time after he’s gone, turning his words over in my mind. I don’t want to admit that he’s right. I don’t want to acknowledge that Davina has become something more than a strategic asset, something that I can’t easily categorize or control.

But she has, and denying it won’t make it less true.

I’m still sitting there, staring at nothing, when my phone rings.

The sound cuts through the silence like a blade, and I answer it immediately, grateful for the distraction. The voice on the other end isn’t giving me good news.

“Sir, we have a situation.” It’s Kirill, and his tone is urgent in a way that immediately puts me on alert. “There’s been a breach at the eastern perimeter. Multiple hostiles, organized movement. They’re not just probing this time—they’re coming in.”

I’m on my feet before he finishes speaking. “How many?”

“At least a dozen, possibly more. They’ve disabled two of our cameras and cut the power to the secondary fence. We’re tracking them now, but they’re moving fast.”

“Where are they heading?”

There’s a pause. When Kirill speaks again, his voice is strained. “Toward the main house, sir. Specifically—” Another pause, longer this time. “They’re heading toward the east wing.”

The east wing. Where Davina is.

I’m moving before I’m conscious of the decision, striding through the halls toward the security center. My mind is racing, calculating distances and response times, trying to figure out how much time we have before they reach her.

“Get everyone to the east wing,” I say into the phone. “I want a full perimeter around that section of the house. No one gets in or out without my authorization.”

“Understood. Sir—there are a lot of them. More than we initially estimated. And they’re well organized. This isn’t a random attack.”

“I know.” Callum. It has to be. He’s making his move, and he’s doing it while I’m distracted, while my attention is divided. “Just get to her. I’m on my way.”

I hang up and break into a run.

The mansion is in chaos by the time I reach the security center. Guards are rushing through the halls, weapons drawn, shouting orders to each other. I push past them without slowing down, focused on reaching the monitors that will show me what’s happening outside.

The screens confirm my worst fears. Multiple hostiles, moving in coordinated formation, cutting through our defenses with a precision that speaks to careful planning. They’re not just attacking—they’re executing a targeted extraction, heading straight for the one thing they know will hurt me the most.

“Where is she?” I demand as I enter the security center. “Where’s Davina?”

Andrei is already there, his face grim. “She was in the library. We’re trying to reach her detail, but communications are spotty. They may have already—”

A burst of static cuts him off, followed by shouts and the sound of gunfire. I grab a radio from the nearest guard and try to raise her security team.

No response.

I try again. And again. Nothing.

“Get me a visual on the library,” I say, my voice tight. “I want to see what’s happening.”

One of the technicians pulls up the relevant camera feeds, but the library is dark. The power has been cut to that section of the house, and the backup generators haven’t kicked in yet. We’re blind.

“Send a team,” I say. “Now. I want every available man heading to that wing.”

“They’re already on their way,” Andrei says. “Sir, the hostiles are between us and the east wing. It’s going to take time to—”

“I don’t care how long it takes. Get to her.”

I’m running again, through halls that are filling with smoke and the distant sound of combat. I can hear my men shouting, can hear the crack of gunfire, can feel the chaos closing in around me like a vise.

I’m not fast enough.

By the time I reach the east wing, it’s over. The hostiles have retreated, leaving behind damage and confusion and a gap where Davina should be.