Chapter 77- Missing Baby

I woke to a cacophony of yelling and frantic voices. Panic buzzed through the air, sharp and suffocating. My head still throbbed, though the pain had dulled to a manageable ache. Blinking to clear the haze clouding my vision, I sat up slowly.

The first thing I noticed was Mason, pacing furiously near the window, his voice raised in an argument with Damon. No—this wasn’t an argument. It was a war of words, heated and raw, though I couldn’t make out the details.

I turned my head, scanning the room. My heart clenched as I realized something was missing—someone. My baby. He wasn’t here.

“Damon,” I croaked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Damon…”

The shouting continued, the maids throwing frantic words into the mix, their faces pale with terror. My stomach dropped.

“Damon!” This time, I forced more strength into my voice, cutting through the noise like a blade. The room fell silent, and every pair of eyes turned to me—Mason, Damon, the maids—all frozen in place.

Their expressions twisted with something I couldn’t quite decipher. Guilt? Fear? Regret? A lump formed in my throat as an awful realization crept over me.

“Where’s my baby?” I asked, my voice trembling.
The silence was deafening.

“Damon,” I demanded, my voice rising. “Where’s my baby? Bring me my baby! I haven’t even held him yet—”

Damon was by my side in an instant, sitting on the edge of the bed. His face was tight with tension, his voice low and measured. “Something happened. Just a few minutes ago.”

“What happened?” My chest tightened. “Why is everyone acting like this? Where is my baby?”

Damon hesitated, his jaw clenching. “We let him sleep in the nursery you set up. The maids went to check on him, but…he’s not there.”

For a moment, I stared at him, my mind refusing to process his words. Then my gaze darted to the maids, to Mason, and back to Damon.

“Well?” My voice cracked. “Where is he?”

“We don’t know,” Damon admitted, his voice raw with frustration. “We’re looking for him. He can’t have gone far—”

“You lost my baby?” My voice shattered, rising in pitch as tears stung my eyes. The weight of his words crushed me like a tidal wave. “You lost my baby?”

“Luke has already gathered patrols to search,” Mason interjected, his voice trying to be soothing but failing. “We’ll find him. Malios is on his way—”

The door burst open, and the doctor rushed in, his face pale and grim. “He’s not in the house. We’ve checked everywhere. Luke’s men are moving into the woods now. There’s a possibility…” He hesitated, his gaze darting to me.

“A possibility of what?” I snapped, my voice breaking.

“Tessa,” he muttered. “It could be Tessa.”

The name sent a jolt through my body, and before I could respond, Damon cut the doctor off. “Wait outside. I’ll handle this,” he ordered, his tone sharp.

I couldn’t hold back anymore. Sobs wracked my body as I struggled to sit up, my limbs weak and trembling. “Get me out of this bed,” I demanded, clawing at the wires and IVs attached to me. “I need to find him!”

Damon caught my wrists gently but firmly, easing me back down. “You can’t go anywhere,” he said, his voice both commanding and soothing. “Listen to me. We will find him. Nothing is going to happen to the baby.”

“Damon, please,” I begged, gripping his hands so tightly my nails dug into his skin. “She can’t take him. You have to stop her. Please.”
“I promise,” Damon said, his voice like steel. “Whoever did this, I will bury them.”

His words carried a chilling finality that struck me deeply. For a moment, I saw the storm raging within him, barely contained. He was holding it together for me, but I could see the same terror and fury mirrored in his eyes.

Mason stepped back into the room, his face as grim as Damon’s. “Damon, they need you out there,” he said quietly.

Damon turned back to me, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “I’ll be back,” he promised.
“With my baby,” I whispered desperately.
“With our baby,” he swore, pressing a kiss to my forehead before striding out of the room.

As the door closed behind them, the silence pressed down on me like a heavy weight. Alone, I was left with my spiraling thoughts and the suffocating helplessness of my situation.
How could this happen? How had Tessa—or whoever it was—gotten into the house? The patrols should have caught anyone who approached.

My mind raced, piecing together fragments of what little I knew. She must have had help. She couldn’t have done this alone. But who would betray us?

My thoughts turned to Valia. She had been the last person I’d seen holding the baby. Had anyone even questioned her?
Anger and fear churned within me, my tears blurring my vision. I hadn’t even gotten to hold him yet.

Damon had to find him. He had to bring our baby back. Because if he didn’t…

I didn’t think I could ever forgive him—or myself.