A Divorce He Regrets (Alissa Nexus) novel Chapter 15

DOMINIC

As I watched the city lights flicker past the window, a strange heaviness settled in my chest. The of the engine filled the silence between Alex and me, but it wasn’t enough to drown out the thoughts swirling in my head. Each light, every passing landmark we drove by felt like a tick of a relentless clock counting down and the words I held back lodged paindelly in my throat.

The temptation to tell Alex the truth–it clawed at me. If he knew the reality of my relationship with Rains, the years of assumptions and anger would crumble. It would all finally make me. He’d see how twisted and backwand his thinking had been I’d clear it all up with a single confession: Raina and I were family, tied by loyalty, not by blood. We were each other’s shelter through every storm, but never anything more

The words hovered at the edge of my tongue, heavy and eager to break free. I felt that pulse of anger, a sharp, hot urge to spit out the truth so he’d be forced to choke it. Maybe he’d realize just how wrong he’d been, how much he’d but her with his self–righteous assumptions. It would be so easy to strip away the lie he’d wrapped around himself, that familiar cloak of superiority he always wore

I’d made aina a promise I’d protect her secrets until the day she felt ready to share them herself. Even now, with the truth gnawing at me, that promise held me back. It wasn’t my story to tell, and i had no right to spill it for my own satisfaction

Besides, a part of me prefered it this way. It was better, saler, to keep Alex and his family at arm’s length. I didn’t want to be bound to them by anything other than bedness. They were poison, tangled up in lies and manipulations that had already cost Raina more than anyone should ever have to pay. If keeping my distacce meant bolding my tongue, then so be it

The silence weighed heavy, mingling with memories 1 didn’t want to revisit. Back when Raina and I went just kids, abandoned to

ned to the car of the state, we’d each ching to the other, sharing secrets and fears under dim lights in a world that telt impossibly dark. I could still remember the day she’d disappeared from the orphanage one without a trace, with no clue of what had happened to her. And then, years later, we found each other again, older, scared, but still bound by something deeper than blood.

TedAlex from the comer of my eye. His gaze was fixed ahead, his expression blank but tense, as though he, too, was holding back a storm of words. We mached the hospital, and the minute we pulled into the lot, I bolted out, striding straight toward the security office. The stale air of the hospital mingled with the

ent of antiseptic, sharp and welcome. But there was no time to linger. My men were already waiting, gathered around a series of screens, the footage pulled up send parsed, ready for me.

Eleaned over, focusing on the timestamp. I denched my fists as 1 watched the grainy footage flicker on the screen, my jaw set in frustration. We’d come all this way, only to find that the damn cameras were practically useless. The angles were all wrong, the views blocked by walls or positioned in the worst possible places And the blind spots–there were so many, it was like someone had designed it that way on purpose.

A low his escaped me, the imitation simmering beneath my calm exterior. Either the hospital’s security team didn’t know what they were doing, or someone was

in this, subotaging things from the inside. The cameras looked the they’d been tampered with–only on the floor where Liam was, too, which was suspicious as It wasn’t just poor security, this was deliberate. It was calculated. No one saw anything, and the footage barely showed Raina before she disappeared around a Then, a figure—a shadow, really carried her out, their face conveniently hidden. Disappearing with her into a waiting van parked outside in the loading

iration sank in, a sick feeling clawing at my gut. This was planned down to the last detail. Whoever did this knew exactly where to go, exactly where the

wouldn’t catch them. I clenched my fists tighter. It was a well–thought–out trap, and we had all walked right into it.

rage bumed bot and fast, surging up as I slammed my fist on the counter, the force of it rattling the room. “This was coordinated,” muttered, my voice low d dangerous. “There’s no way someone pulled this off without Inside help.”

me, Alex stayed sület his face pale but determined. He didn’t say anything, didn’t ask questions, just stood there, taking it all in. For the first time, senised a shift in him–realization that this wasn’t just a game Raina was in real danger. I almost respected his silence, his readiness to put aside whatever

pand unforgiving. “Track the vehicle’s plates. I don’t care how. Get it done.”

Tutting to my men, I supped out oaders, my v

voice sharp a

Iberly registered the nods Delour they sprang into action, and I stood there, fists clenched at my sides as the seconds ticked by, each one winding the coil of Tension tighter in my chest Fually, a lead care through–the van’s plates were registered to a man named Daniel, a small–time crook with several charges against

stretched longer than could remember Kidnapping which was one of them. My blood boiled at the name. It this was who they’d hired, Rain was in more

I could feel Alex’s eyes on me, his gate heavy with something unreadable as passed a command to my men, barely able to contain my rage. “Find him. Track his phone. I don’t caur if it takes all night.” The words catue out cold, almost mechanical, but beneath the suitace, my panic threatened to spill over. This was my fault — I should have protected as better

ostartats later, one of my men tumedze nie, phone in hund e’ve traced the sigiul, but it went dark here—just outside the city, near an abandoned roast.”

need hum to say anything mour. The location alone told me everything I needed to know. Abandoned roads, isolated warehouses–places like that were brże people went to disappear. Í tumed vs my heel and made my way to the car. Alex followed, keeping pace, his expression untradable but full of something i Imogelord: drienburuation, Right as I reached for the driver’s door, I shot lama dhaip glance “Stay at the hospital,” I ordered, my tone unyielding Raina’s safety

ra stepped closer, eyes tience. “No. Raina needs me just as much as she needs you.” His words hung heavy in the air, as unmovable as stone. I was imitated,

ith tension as I drove, the road narrowing as we approached the outskirts of the city. Every mile that passed seemed to stretch „each, second dragging doser to a point i didn’t want to mach

ming back I kept my focus on the road, my knuckles white against the

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