Chapter 202: Chapter 202 One Child Missing
Ivy’s POV
After the shopping center ambush, I refused to set foot outside our fortified compound. The pregnancy had become increasingly demanding as the quadruplets grew, leaving me drained and carrying what felt like lead weights through quicksand with every movement.
We immediately pulled Max from his private academy. Leaving him exposed when Roman’s remaining loyalists were still hunting our family seemed like tactical suicide. The former underboss was circling our territory like a wounded predator, waiting for the perfect moment to strike at what we held most precious.
Finn had been released from the family’s private medical facility and was completing his physical therapy in our guest wing. The assassination attempt left no permanent damage, but he moved with the calculated caution of a man who had stared death in the face. We all did now.
Roman had vanished completely after our violent confrontation at the shopping center. Our cyber warfare specialists discovered surveillance malware embedded throughout the Thorne Group’s digital infrastructure, but the insider feeding him information remained a ghost. Felix now controlled the entire technology division with ruthless efficiency, monitoring every electronic whisper that moved through our networks.
Caleb and I were preparing for the hospital. Dr. Taylor insisted on scheduling a cesarean delivery. Late in the pregnancy, our children were healthy enough for birth, and my body was demanding relief. The date fell on a Saturday in summer, which brought back memories of our masquerade encounter in the underground auction house.
"What has you smiling like that, tesoro?" Caleb appeared behind me, pressing his scarred lips to the crown of my head.
"I was remembering our first night together."
"Ah, the evening we created Max." His ice-blue eyes held that familiar dangerous spark.
"A Saturday in summer. Exactly like today."
"A sacred date for our bloodline." Caleb’s voice carried the same reverence I felt. "Ready to go? I am desperate to hold our heirs."
"Caleb, the hospital security arrangements. You implemented everything I requested?"
"Yes, tesoro. The hospital is locked down tight. We have teams stationed at every entrance, and our children will have armed protection around the clock. They will not move anywhere without our soldiers watching."
Relief flooded through me. Our compound felt impenetrable, but hospitals had too many vulnerabilities where Roman could strike at our most precious assets.
Our inner circle had transformed the hospital lobby into a celebration. Balloons bobbed against the ceiling, party decorations adorned every surface, and confetti sparkled across the marble floors.
"Did someone mistake this for a carnival?" I laughed at their extravagant enthusiasm.
"This is how we welcome the next generation of Sterlings with proper respect, boss lady." Ruby blew a party horn that made me laugh until my ribs ached.
The medical team prepared me efficiently. By sunset, I had delivered four perfect, healthy children who were transferred to the NICU purely as a precaution for their early arrival.
We would remain hospitalized for several days, which made my skin crawl with paranoia. Every shadow seemed threatening. Every unfamiliar face looked suspicious. Dr. Taylor eventually prescribed mild sedatives to stop my hands from trembling with constant vigilance.
"Ivy, I have excellent news." Dr. Taylor entered wearing a broad smile. "Your children are thriving beautifully. The pediatric team just cleared them to leave intensive care today. They will spend a couple more days in the standard nursery for observation, then your entire family can return home."
"Finally. After many days, that is music to my ears." I felt tension drain from my shoulders. "But why cannot we leave today if they are out of critical care?"
"I prefer a couple more days of additional monitoring." The doctor remained firm. "Plus, in a few days it will be weeks after surgery, and we can remove your surgical sutures. Better to return home completely healed."
"Whatever you recommend professionally, doctor."
The medication made me drowsy. Tomorrow we would finally return to our secure compound. A security operative entered and gestured for Caleb to step outside. That snapped me fully alert.
"Do not even consider leaving this room without explaining what is happening." I fixed the operative with a lethal stare.
"It is nothing serious, ma’am." He glanced nervously at Caleb, which only intensified my glare.
"Tell her." Caleb sighed, knowing he could never hide anything from me.
"One of the children, sir, cannot be located." The operative barely finished speaking before I was out of bed with my hands twisted in his tactical vest.
"What did you just say? You lost my child?"
"Ma’am, please, a medical staff member removed one infant from the nursery for routine testing. Our operative accompanied them, but somewhere within the hospital he was struck unconscious. When he regained consciousness, both the staff member and your child had disappeared."
Dr. Taylor rushed in with nurses who gently guided me back into bed. My entire body was shaking with barely contained rage.
"Ivy, breathe deeply. We will recover your child. All evidence suggests they remain within the hospital complex. We have triggered complete lockdown protocols. No one enters or exits this building. Security footage confirms the person who took your child has not left the premises."
"Daniel, thank God you are here." Caleb’s voice cracked when our friend appeared in the doorway.
"I was conducting business when the alert came through. I have several men with me. Adler is already coordinating the systematic search." Daniel’s voice was steady and professional. "Stay with Ivy. Trust me to tear this hospital apart until I find your son."
"Thank you, Daniel."
The door opened again, and nurses wheeled in bassinets containing my other precious children.
"Ivy, your remaining children will stay here with you. I believe this will ease your anxiety. I will also remain in this room personally. They will not leave for any reason, and only medical staff I personally trust have access."
I stared at my other children sleeping peacefully in their secure cribs, and my heart shattered for the missing piece. I called our compound to confirm Max was safe. My parents had arrived from our Greenleaf estate days ago to meet their grandchildren and were now watching Max under heavy guard at home.
But one of my children was gone, and madness was clawing at the edges of my sanity.
