Damien froze.
For a moment, the world around him turned into a silent void. The only sound left was the rapid pounding of his own heartbeat.
His grip on the phone tightened. "What the hell do you mean, she's missing?" His voice dropped to a dangerous growl.
Lu Yuhan was breathless on the other end. "We—We were at the amusement park. One second she was there, and the next… she was gone."
Damien shot up from his chair, knocking over a glass of whiskey he hadn't even realized he had poured. The amber liquid spilled across the desk, but nothing mattered anymore.
Nothing—except finding her.
Lu Meilin's muffled sobs came through the line. "Gege, it's our fault… we told her not to bring bodyguards… if something happens to her, I—"
Damien didn't let her finish.
"Send me your location. Now."
His voice was sharp, cutting through the panic like a blade.
Without waiting for a response, he grabbed his coat and stormed out of the office.
His assistant, who had been about to knock, took one look at his murderous expression and immediately stepped aside.
"Prepare the car. Now."
The drive felt endless.
Damien sat in the backseat, his entire body coiled like a spring. His jaw clenched so tightly it ached, but he barely noticed.
His mind was ruthless, calculating every possibility.
Who? Who would dare take her?
A business rival? Someone with a personal vendetta against him?
His fingers tapped against his knee, his patience wearing thinner with every passing second.
"Gege…" Meilin's voice was small when he arrived at the amusement park.
The moment he saw her red, tear-streaked eyes, something inside him snapped.
"Where did you last see her?" His voice was quiet—too quiet.
Yuhan pointed towards a darker, less crowded area near the game stalls.
"She told us to wait here while she handled something," he whispered, eyes filled with guilt. "We didn't think—"
Damien didn't wait for an explanation.
He turned on his heel and walked straight into the darkness, his presence so cold, it sent shivers down the spines of those nearby.
Whoever took her…
They just signed their death sentence.
Despite the storm raging inside him, Damien's face was unreadable—a mask of terrifying calm.
He pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"Zhao." His voice was clipped, controlled.
Zhao Wei, Damien's personal secretary, answered instantly. "Yes, sir?"
"Get access to the amusement park's security footage. Now."
Zhao hesitated. "Sir, this is private property—"
"I don't care," Damien cut him off. "Do whatever it takes. If anyone stands in your way, remind them who I am."
Zhao didn't need further instructions.
"Understood, sir. I'll handle it."
Minutes later, Zhao returned with grim news.
"The amusement park security is refusing access. They say it's against policy." His voice was tight with frustration.
Damien's gaze was ice. "Bring me their head of security."
It took only five minutes before a man in a cheap uniform stood before him, sweating bullets.
"Mr. Lu, I-I understand your concern, but we have protocols—"
Damien took a slow step forward.
"Do I look like someone who gives a damn about your protocols?" His voice was deceptively soft, his presence overwhelming.
The guard swallowed hard. "I—"
Zhao stepped in smoothly, his tone deadly polite. "This isn't just any missing person case. The woman who was taken is Liyana Xu."
The guard visibly paled. The Liyana Xu—CEO of Celeste, heiress to the Xu family.
And Damien Lu's fiancée.
There was a beat of silence before the guard snapped his fingers. "Get the footage, now!"
The security team scrambled to pull up the CCTV footage.
Damien stood motionless, his hands tucked into his pockets. But Zhao, who had worked under him for years, knew better.
This wasn't calm—this was lethal silence.
Then, the footage played.
Liyana stood alone near the game stalls, scanning the area as if she felt something off.
Then, a shadow moved. A man, lurking too close.
Damien's sharp gaze followed every movement.
She turned. Spoke a few words.
Then, more men appeared.
Zhao exhaled sharply. "It wasn't random."
A coordinated effort. A planned ambush.
Then came the moment Damien's fingers twitched.
One of the men leaned in, whispering something into Liyana's ear.
She stiffened. Her posture changed.
And then—she willingly followed them.
Zhao clenched his jaw. "They must have threatened her."
Damien's hand curled into a fist.
The screen flickered.
Then, the final blow to his restraint.
The camera caught the culprit's face for a brief second.
Damien's pupils shrank.
"…Lin Hao."
Zhao's breath hitched. "Sir…"
A man from his past. A man who once stood as an ally but turned into an enemy when Damien severed ties with him.
And now, he had taken Liyana.
Damien's expression didn't change.
But his aura darkened into something utterly unforgiving.
"Find him," Damien ordered.
Zhao didn't ask how.
He simply nodded.
Because the moment Lin Hao took Liyana…
He signed his own death warrant.