5 Kael's POV # 25 Bonus Nyssa was pregnant , and I couldn't have been happier . I loved her more than anything , more than anyone . But Vivienne ... she was the problem . She was clever , and clever women rarely welcomed a girl like Nyssa into their world . So when Nyssa called , shaken , saying she'd been harassed by an old man at a restaurant - and that some woman called Vivienne had been there too - my worst instincts surged . I sent Vivienne to a club as the punishment . The thought of her daring to sell my Nyssa to another man twisted something ugly inside me . When I got back home , the bodyguard was already waiting . His face was grim . " Miss Nyssa ... she slipped away . " My stomach dropped . " What do you mean slipped away ? Where could she possibly go ? " I pulled out my phone and dialed her number . A cold , automated voice cut through the line : " The number you dialed is busy now . Please try again later . " Busy ? At a time like this ? I tried again . Same message . A chill crawled down my spine . Something was wrong . The very day I learned Vivienne knew Nyssa - and now Nyssa had vanished ? Had someone taken her ? Or worse - had she run because she knew the truth about me and Vivienne ? I called Edison . " Was Vivienne still at the club ? " He hesitated , then spoke carefully . " You called me to check the casino , so I had left her at the club . She was probably entertaining a guest right now ... " My chest tightened , fire roaring through me . " What do you mean she was entertaining a guest ? " The words scraped out of me , raw . " You said ... " Edison's voice cracked . " I said ? " My rage snapped , hot and violent . " What the fuck do you mean I said ? I told you to take her there , to watch . To learn. Not- " My voice broke on the taste of humiliation . " Not to be touched . " " Mr. Throne , I- " " Get back to the club . Now . Check if Nyssa's there . " My voice was a growl as I cut Edison off . I didn't wait for his answer - I hung 1/3 up . +25 Bonus I drove like a madman , cutting through every red light , not giving a damn how many cameras caught me . Twenty minutes . That's all it took to reach the club . The moment I stepped inside , I felt it - the air thick with panic . Blood streaked the floor . The manager was screaming at his guards , his face blotchy red . " What do you mean you can't find her? Find that bitch who shot my client right now , or I'll blow your brains out myself ! " I crossed the room , cold fury in every step . " Did you see my assistant bring a woman here ? About an hour ago ? " The manager turned , his expression morphing the instant he recognized me . Grease - slick smile , obsequious tone . " Mr. Thorne , what an honor . Yes , I saw your assistant . He did bring a woman . " " Where is she ? " He stammered , sweat beading on his temple . " Another woman came in not long after . She hurt one of my clients and the two left together . " Nyssa ? But why would she risk herself to save Vivienne - a woman she should have hated ? " Show me the footage . " 5 : On the screen , Nyssa appeared . My Nyssa . Firing a gun , her hands trembling , but her aim true . Then she was at Vivienne's side , helping her escape . My mind fractured into chaos . " Edison , " I rasped , the words barely forming . " Find them . Find my wife and Nyssa - now . Start with her parents ' house . " Even if they'd run , they couldn't have gone far . Edison hesitated . " We already checked her parents ' house . Everything's gone . Except ... one letter . " " Bring it to me . " I stalked back to the car , only realizing how badly my hands shook when I gripped the wheel . For once , the feeling of losing control churned in my gut , black and suffocating . Edison returned moments later and handed me the envelope . My chest tightened as I unfolded it . Nyssa's handwriting . And another slip beneath - Vivienne's . Nyssa : I know everything now , Kael . Vivienne was my friend . I told you that countless times . I invited her to dinner . I provoked that man at the restaurant . She only protected me . She threw herself in front of him for me . And she was the one who told me to hang on when I said I couldn't go on , when I suspected you were hiding something from me . 2/3 I never imagined the secret you hid was so ... unforgivable . +25 Bonus I've made my decision . I'm leaving you . Don't worry about the baby - I'll raise him myself . And don't waste your time chasing Vivienne and me . If you ever truly loved me , let me go . Because the closer I am to you now , the more dead I feel inside . Vivienne : Goodbye , Kael . The letters slipped from my hand , falling into my lap like the final blow . Nyssa . My Nyssa . The only softness left in my world - gone . And Vivienne ... smug , poisonous Vivienne , her last word carved like a knife : Goodbye . My chest constricted until I could barely breathe . For the first time in years , I felt it - helplessness . I had ruled every boardroom , every street , every corner of the underworld . I had bent men to my will with a glance , made empires crumble with a single call . But tonight ? Two women had slipped right through my fingers . A guttural sound ripped from me , half roar , half curse . I slammed my fist into the dashboard , the crack of glass and plastic shattering through the car . My knuckles split , blood seeping warm over my skin . I didn't even feel it . I unleashed every man I had to search for Vivienne and Nyssa . Every street , every safehouse , every whisper of a lead . And still- nothing . It was as if the two of them had vanished off the face of the earth . And while my men failed , the world turned against me . The story spread like wildfire , splashed across tabloids and whispered in backrooms . The headlines painted me as a caricature : the mafia king who killed his wife for his mistress ... only for that mistress to abandon him in the end . Eyes followed me everywhere . Not with fear . With amusement . As if I was no longer a king but a punchline . Business partners pulled their funds from my casino , one after another . Deals I'd spent years building collapsed overnight . No one wanted to tie themselves to a man mocked in the press , a man whispered about in shadows . I was losing everything . Support