Chapter 5

Ava’s POV

I didn’t remember leaving my mother’s house.

One moment, I was sitting across from her, laughing over an old childhood story she had brought up for the hundredth time. I could still hear her laughter, still feel the warmth of that rare moment of peace between us.

Then the next… I was staring down at my phone with trembling hands, my heart sinking lower with every unread message.

Ava*,* I*’ve****** been calling, but you’re** not *****answering. 

It*’s*** urgent. The triplets aren’t** here. Please answer. 

I think someone took them*.*

My blood ran cold. “No…” I whispered. The phone almost slipped from my fingers.

I was already moving before my mind could process the words.

Mama pushed herself up from the couch, confusion quickly turning into concern. “Ava? What happened?”

“I have to go.” My voice barely sounded like mine. “The children… something happened.”

Fear had wrapped itself around my throat so tightly that breathing felt difficult.

Before she could ask another question, before she could even understand what I meant, I was already rushing out the door.

The drive back to the Williams mansion felt like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.

My hands shook violently around the steering wheel. More than once, I almost swerved into another lane because my mind kept replaying those words over and over again.

The triplets aren’t here.

No. They couldn’t be gone… they were probably hiding somewhere. Maybe Gloria had made a mistake, maybe they had wandered into another part of the mansion.

Maybe they were playing one of their little games and everyone was just panicking. Maybe…

I grabbed my phone at the next red light and called Gloria again.

She answered almost immediately, and the sound of her crying nearly broke me.

“They’re gone, Ava!” she sobbed. “I only turned my back for a few minutes. Just a few minutes. I don’t know what happened!”

My grip tightened around the steering wheel.

“Gloria, think. Did anyone come into the house? Did you see anyone?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know!” Her voice cracked. “I looked away, and when I came back, they weren’t there.”

My chest tightened painfully.

Please. Please let this be a mistake. Let me walk into that mansion and find them exactly where I left them— laughing, playing and probably waiting for me to come home. 

The gates of the Williams estate finally came into view. But something was wrong.

My breath caught as I saw the flashing lights cutting through the darkness.

Blue and red lights reflected against the enormous mansion, destroying the peace of the home I had known for years.

Police cars filled the driveway, and security vehicles blocked the entrance. Officers rushed across the lawn, speaking urgently into their radios, while search dogs barked somewhere beyond the gardens.

My stomach twisted. “No…” I didn’t even wait for the car to fully stop.

The moment it slowed, I threw open the door and ran.

“Ava!” Someone called my name behind me, but I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t waste another second.

I pushed through the front doors, nearly crashing into two officers standing near the entrance.

“The kids room,” I gasped.

One of them immediately pointed upstairs. “They’re up there.” 

I didn’t wait for anything else. My legs felt weak as I climbed the stairs, but fear carried me forward. Every step felt heavier than the last.

Please be there…Please. I reached the room door and pushed it open. 

For one terrifying second, everything looked normal. The room was exactly the way I had left it that morning— three blankets folded neatly, and their favorite stuffed animals sitting beside the cribs.

Three beds waiting for three little girls, except that they were empty and the silence was unbearable. 

Only this morning, Ivy had been running around the house insisting she was old enough to carry her rabbit downstairs by herself. Julie had cried because Rita took her favorite blanket and refused to give it back.

They had filled this room with noise, laughter and life. Now there was nothing. Not even a tiny footsteps, giggles or little voices call me Mommy. 

My knees nearly gave out. 

I grabbed the nearest crib rail to keep myself standing, my fingers squeezing the wood so tightly that pain shot through my hands.

“They’re gone…” The words left my lips in a whisper, but saying them made them real. And I wasn’t ready for that.

Behind me, hurried footsteps echoed through the hallway. “Ava!” I turned.

Nicholas stood in the doorway. For the first time since I had known him, he looked completely undone.

His expensive black suit was wrinkled. His tie hung loosely around his neck. His usually perfect hair was messy, as though he had run his hands through it repeatedly without even realizing it.

For one brief moment…I didn’t see the ruthless billionaire everyone feared. I saw a father. A terrified father.

His blue eyes searched the room desperately, almost as if he expected the girls to suddenly appear if he looked hard enough. Then his gaze landed on the empty cribs.

Something inside him broke. “Where are they?” His voice was quiet. I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I… I don’t know.”

His eyes snapped toward me. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I came back as soon as Gloria called me.”

“You left them.” His words hit harder than I expected.

“I was gone for a few hours.”

“A few hours?” His voice finally rose. “My children disappeared in those few hours!” The pain in his voice made my chest tighten, but his anger still cut deep.

“I trusted Gloria.”

“You trusted someone else with my daughters?”

“I needed to see my mother!” The room went silent, even the officers outside seemed distant. Nicholas stared at me.

I forced myself to keep looking at him even though tears burned my eyes. “I haven’t seen her in years,” I whispered. “I thought… I thought everything would be fine.”

He let out a short laugh, a cold, broken sound. “Fine?” His jaw clenched. “My daughters are missing, Ava.”

Every word felt like broken glass piercing through my heels. “And you’re telling me you thought everything would be fine?”

“I didn’t know this would happen.”

“You never do.” The accusation settled between us, and somehow, that hurt more than anger. Because beneath his words was something worse than doubt.

Before I could defend myself, two detectives entered the kids’ room. “Mr. Williams,” one of them said. “We’ve sealed the property.”

Nicholas didn’t look away from me. “Question everyone.”

“We already started.”

“The staff?”

“They’re downstairs.”

“The guards?”

“Being interviewed.”

“The cameras?”

“Our forensic team is recovering the recordings now.”

Nicholas nodded once. “I want every private investigator available in New York working this case.”

The detective hesitated. “Sir, the police are already handling—”

“I don’t care.” His voice turned cold. “I want helicopters. Drones, roadblocks and every airport notified.” He stepped closer to the empty cribs, his expression hardening. “If someone took my daughters, I want them found.”

The detective gave a firm nod. “We’ll do everything possible.”

After they left, the mansion became a storm of movement. Servants answered questions through tears, and security guards were escorted into separate rooms. Phones rang constantly.

Officers searched every bedroom, every hallway, every corner of the gardens. Even the lake behind the mansion was searched.

I refused to sit still, and searched the playroom. The library, greenhouse and every place the girls loved to hide. Every corner where three curious little girls could have wandered.

It was impossible, I knew that. But stopping meant accepting the truth and admitting they were really gone. I couldn’t do that.

As I walked back inside, Nicholas appeared at the end of the hallway. His eyes followed me, not with hope, but suspicion.

The realization made my chest ache. “You think I had something to do with this,” I whispered. He didn’t answer immediately, and that silence hurt more than an accusation.

Finally, he spoke. “I don’t know what to think anymore.” 

Those words shattered something inside me. Because if he had accused me, maybe I could have defended myself and fought back. 

But this… this meant somewhere deep inside him, he believed it was possible.

Night fell over the mansion, but no one slept. The kids’ room remained brightly lit as officers moved in and out, collecting fingerprints and taking photographs.

I sat outside the room, too exhausted to cry anymore. The silence was unbearable, even though this house had always felt too big.

But without the girls’ laughter filling these halls, it felt like something had died.

Then my phone vibrated. I looked down, it was a restricted number. My heart stopped.

Slowly, with trembling fingers, I opened the message. This is only the beginning.