19 Chapter 19
His words were meant to comfort me, but they only reminded me how much I had failed them. I should have been there. I should not have left them alone for too long.
Scrolling through the others, I could almost hear Annie’s cheerful voice narrating their antics: ‘Diana refusing to eat her carrots, Devon pretending to be a superhero, both of them begging for bedtime stories about wolves.’
Killian nodded slowly despite her questioning gaze. “Alright. We will keep it that way. Regardless of the father, I would help you find the twins.”
She stepped away, calling for the twins in the background. But then, something shifted.
Her voice grew louder, sharper, more… urgent. “Devon? Diana? Where are you?”
Killian froze for a moment, his eyes narrowing. “Why? Has the twins’ father attended the
Summit?”
I nodded. I have always been grateful for everything with Killian, he had never failed to be
there for me and the twins, treating them as if his own. His loyalty was overwhelming,
but it only made the situation more complicated. “Thank you, Killian.”
Killian nodded in understanding, squeezing my shoulder, “You are right. Let’s start with
alerting the staff if ever the twins found their way here.”
I nodded, swallowing hard. “There is one more thing…” I trailed, my eyes going to the view outside the glass walls of my room as I made a decision.
Relief washed over me. “Thanks, Annie. You are a lifesaver.”
“Annie, talk to me!” My voice came out harsher than I intended as panic bubbled in my
chest.
I told him about Annie’s call and that the twins were not in the house. “They are gone, Killian. I don’t know how far they could have gotten or where they might be.”
His eyes met mine, and I hesitated before speaking. “Killian… Dominic is here at the Summit and I can’t… He can’t know about the twins.”
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We scoured the hotel, questioning staff members and checking every hallway and corner and my panic grew with every passing minute. The twins were smart, but they were still just kids. Anything could happen. Killian had also alerted his men to investigate, following the twins’ trail from the house, to where they could have been if they had not reached the
hotel.
Annie nodded frantically, already dialing. I ended the call and quickly removed my bathrobe to put on my clothes. My hands shook as I scrolled through my contacts. I
needed help. I could not do this alone. And it was not that hard to know who to call if not
the only person who had always been on my side no matter the case.
“Sam,” he held my gaze with pure sincerity in his eyes as he spoke, “I want you to know
that I do not care who their father is,” he uttered firmly. “But if you will let me, I am more
than willing to be their dad. They deserve someone who is there for them.”
“Killian, I… I don’t know yet. For now, we should focus on finding them.”
Annie’s face appeared again and I could clearly see the worry etched into her features.
“They are not here. They were in their room a few minutes ago… wait, what’s this?”
“What?!” he exclaimed, surprised, and at the same time, I could hear him alarmed.
“Where are you right now?”
Samantha’s POV
I stared at the words, blinking hard. For a moment, the chaotic events from the day
melted away, leaving only the ache in my chest, to see my twins again. They were my
family now, my reason to fight, to survive, to keep moving forward, and this was the first
time I had been away from them for too long.
I straightened in my chair as the relief evaporated in the air and was replaced with worry. “Annie? What’s wrong?” I asked.
Killian arrived within minutes, mirroring the same worried expression that I had on my face.
Killian.
I brushed away a tear threatening to fall and took a deep breath, trying to push aside the lingering thoughts of Dominic and focus on my twins. My phone buzzed again this
—
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time, a video call from Annie.
I immediately connected my charger as I settled on a chair in my hotel room after I was transferred here. Annie’s name glowed on the screen, followed by a string of messages that I was not able to access earlier since my phone immediately died.
Killian nodded, his hand resting lightly on my back as he agreed, “Then let’s go find them
quick.”
The screen tilted as Annie bent down, picking something up. Her face went pale as she
read whatever it was.
He shook his head. “I mean it, Sam.”
The first one brought a smile to my lips:”The twins wanted to stay up late, but don’t
worry, I tucked them in on time. Devon tried to convince me otherwise, though!”
“I-I swear I did not hear them leave! I was just in the other room
Samantha, I’m so sorry!”
—
oh my God,
“But I can’t reach them, Killian. We need to find them before… something happens,” I said.
I was scared that there might be rogues around the hotel just like last time, and hurt my
twins. But one more thing I feared, was for them to be found out by Dominic.
“I am still in my room at the hotel. Please, Killian, I need you here.”
“I need you,” I blurted out, pacing the small room. “The twins, they are gone. They left a
note saying they are coming to find me.”
The front desk called our attention again after asking their other associates if they had
seen two kids that entered the hotel, and the receptionist confirmed that two children
matching their description had been seen earlier in the lobby, but they had gone quickly afterward. My heart leaped and sank at the same time.
He picked up on the first ring. “Sam? What’s wrong?”
I closed my eyes, trying to feel their presence if they were around. “They are here,” I whispered, I felt it, the pull of their presence, but it was faint, too weak to reach them.
My heart dropped. “What?!” I exclaimed.
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“What happened?” he demanded.
Killian stayed close to me, reassuring me as he received updates and kept tabs on his
men’s progress in tracing their twins’ route. “We will find them, Sam. They are strong, and smart, just like their mom. They will be fine.”
“Killian…”
“I’m on my way.”
The screen lit up with her smiling face. “Hey, Samantha! I thought you would want to say goodnight to the kiddos. Let me grab them.”
But it was her last message that made my heart clench:”They’ve been asking for you all day, Samantha. Devon said he missed your hugs, and Diana said she did not like how long
you are gone.”
“Just… he can’t know about them. I do not want him to find out about them.”
My grip tightened on the phone as I hurriedly looked for my clothes. “Call the cops. Right
now. I will figure something out on my end.”
“It’s… a note. From the twins.” Annie’s voice shook. “They said… they said they are going to find you.”
His hand went on my shoulder, comfortingly firm as he reassured me, “Don’t worry, we will find them. I promise you that.”
