I let out a satisfied sigh as I slowly awake from my sleep, not even bothering to even open my eyes, as I don't want this moment to end. I finally had a good night of sleep, my princess finally back in my arms even after the terrible events that have been happening one after the other. Consciously, I extend my arm to bring her close to me, but I am left empty handed.

My eyes open wide and I sit up feeling once again the empty space next to me. This has to be a mistake. She was just with me hours ago.

"Magnolia ?" I call out for her hoping that she would be in the bathroom, but when I only get silence in return, I pull the covers off of me quickly and stand up, intending to have a look around the house. Instinctively, I want to grab the gun that I left on the bedside table, but my throat tightens when it is nowhere to be found.

Immediately, I go towards my trousers to slip them on, and take the knife I always have with me, before I leave the room in a fast pace. The sun is slowly rising, which leaves a dark orange colour in the empty hallways, the only sound coming from my feet hitting the floor that are accelerating by the second just like my heart beat.

She didn't leave did she ?

The thought of her leaving would have been absurd, but seeing her laying the bathtub underwater completely motionless yesterday makes me doubt now.

I come across Sam, a member of the Devil's Sons and I watch as he lift his gun towards me, before putting it back down when he realises it's only me. He frowns when he sees the hard expression that lingers on my face, and without an explanation I take the gun out of his hands before putting a bullet through the wall next to us.

Sam's eyes widen and he shouts at me for making this happen, but I don't give a single fuck and wait. Just like I expected rushed footsteps start running down the stairs towards us, until one by one the Knight Brothers are in front of me, their guns lifted in the air searching for any sign of danger.

"What the hell is going on Reed ?" Blake spits out, the bags under his eyes even bigger than the day before, showing the lack of sleep he has had these couple of days. I see him look around, his eyes searching for Magnolia, but I cut his search short by giving him the answer directly.

"She is gone." I say with clenched teeth, keeping the fear of what she might have caused or done to herself, buried deep inside of me. I watch as the emotionless wall on the brothers faces crumble down leaving nothing, but desperation, worry and fear. I take a glimpse at Leo who looks at me knowingly, before turning to Ethan who looks like having an idea of what might be happening. Just then, I realise at the same time as Damon that the youngest of the brothers is missing.

"Ethan go look for Greyson." Damon orders tensely, all the brothers looking confused as where he could be, and I just have a feeling that this is not over.

"What happened Reed ?"Blake asks, as he makes his way over to me craving to get answers.

"I don't know... she was with me the whole night and when I woke up just now, she was gone. My gun is gone and so is she."

Ethan curses upstairs, before he starts yelling that Greyson is not in his room, which makes Damon furiously leave us planted in the hallway to go God know's where.

"Do you think she might have gone back to them ?" Leo asks me, Ethan joining us seconds later answering the question, before I could.

"It could definitely be a possibility if she is not the mansion. I know for sure no one took her, because of the high security of the mansion and especially if she was sleeping next to you." Ethan says giving me a look. "We need to check the security cameras, it will probably give us the information of where Grey is too." Ethan finished with a sigh, before looking at Blake who looks utterly lost at what is going on right now. He has no clue that Magnolia is the cure for the virus...

"Grey is gone !" Damon reappears and shouts through the hall, as he makes his way to us. He explains everything he saw on the security cameras that are on every corner of the mansion. "He left with Magnolia when she was trying to sneak out of the property about two and a half hours ago. He took all his hacking tools with him, a car and apparently someone I thought we could trust !" Damon turns to me before grabbing me by the collar of my shirt and pushing me against the wall. "Your fucking friend Tucker went along."

Anger boils inside of me of what is actually happening around, but I am for sure not going to be treated like shit by someone who is just as responsible for this, so I push Damon back, which makes him hit the opposite wall, angering him even more.

"You don't get to put the fault on me Damon, Greyson is your fucking brother ! He made the decision to go back in here and leave with her." I yell my whole body trembling out of anger and my chest rising up and down as I try calming my breathing. Tucker did betray me, but I am pretty sure, he had no idea what he got Magnolia into and probably Grey either.

Magnolia is smart, she knows about this whole situation, and she will do everything to get this over with, even if it means hurting herself on the way, and that terrifies me.

The silence is thick right now, but the wisest of the brothers takes the lead before it's all gone to shit.

"The only thing is see right now is that she is heading to get the necklaces back, but she couldn't possibly know why..." he pauses for a second deep in his thoughts, before he looks at Leo and me directly. "Shit."

He starts running towards the way Damon just came from and Leo and I follow behind him, not having an idea of what he must have figured out. Ethan bursts in a room, filled with computers, before tipping a few things on one, and then the image of us three in the room the day before appears. Except there is an other camera, where Magnolia is slumped against the door, listening to our conversation.

"Fuck.." Leo whispers out, shock written on all of our faces, as we realised she heard everything we said in that room. "She is going back to get the keys and go to the vault am I right ?"

I gulp, not daring to say that he is right. I know her too well to know that she would prefer save the world instead of sitting around all because of her, as she blames herself for everything.

Leo suddenly starts running out of the room, coming back two minutes later, his face as pale as a white sheet.

"The vials... there are gone." He whispers out of breath, as reality hits us all in the face.

"What the actual fuck is going on !" We hear Damon exclaim behind us, as he is unaware of the whole situation that involves his only sister. We don't bother explaining to him, only ordering him to get cars and guns ready to go the vault immediately. First he looks at us in disbelief, but once he registers the urge in our expression, he starts shouting orders around the house to start moving.

"There is still two hours to the vault for Christ sake ! We need to make it in an hour an half, if we want to have a chance to stop Magnolia going into that vault." I say to Ethan, as the probabilities that we will make it there in time, shrink by the second.

"I know" he mumbles as he looks at his phone one more time checking if he could reach Greyson, before climbing in the passenger seat of the Black Lamborghini Aventador that I am going to drive to get to the vault, or rather Castello di Fiamme, as Damon said.

I just hope we will be there in time...

As I drive in front of the horde of black cars, Blake following behind me, Ethan Leo and I all try to reach Greyson without any luck. I even try calling Tucker, but it's like all communication has been shut down for him too. My hacker skills are not as grand as Greyson, who I assumed is the reason for their unavailability, so there is nothing more I can do, except race towards the vault.

We explained most of the things to Damon and Blake, who were furious of us not letting them know about Magnolia having created a protein in her blood that is the cure to the virus and that she is the only person who could get rid of it. They didn't see a real problem until we told them the huge risk she might be running, if she does go in the vault to terminate the virus. And I am guessing Magnolia told all of it to Greyson to persuade him, leaving the one crucial detail out that changes everything.

Once we arrive in front of the mansion, the gate is burst open, as if a car drive through it... fuck that is exactly it.

The fuming car Greyson took is standing in the middle of the driveway, doors open, and two injured men laying on the ground. I don't bother parking the car, as I just slam on the breaks and jump out of it, before starting sprinting towards the mansion, a hand on my gun.

With a quick look behind me, I see Blake and Leo close behind, and together we enter the mansion, as bullets get fired. We hear Damon order to halt the fire and for a few moments not a single bullet is fired, but movement can still be heard from the inside and that's when I see Greyson appear hands in the air.

"You have to let her do it !" He spits out when he sees us and I realise that I was right; she didn't tell him the whole story.

Without a second thought Blake grabs Greyson by the collar and starts yelling at him.

"She is going to die if she goes in there Greyson !" His words bring confusion to Greyson's face, before it slowly starts to decompose into devastation, as he realises that she lied to him.

"No..." he whispers so weakly, his face becoming pale, even though his was red from the effort only seconds ago.

"Where is she Grey ?" I exclaim, not wanting to lose anymore time.

"Tucker and her went in from the back to have access to the cellar... I-I hope it's not too late." He stutters and without giving him a second glance I start running towards the stairs, but I don't know my way properly around the house, so Ethan devances me.

We hear Tucker shout for us to stop, but we don't and keep running, and it's like I could hear her footsteps rushing towards the vault. We hear a faint thud coming from downstairs, my heart skipping a beat at the thought of her having reached the vault already. We need to be quicker...

I run down the stairs, my heart beating faster and faster, as I follow close behind Ethan that realises the gravity of the situation just as much as me. After all he might lose his sister too.

"The entry is behind a painting. It should be right there."Ethan let's me know and I keep my eyes and ears open and when we turn a last corner, the painting that was supposed to cover the vault is laying on the floor.

I freeze when I see the frail body of Magnolia slipping through the doors of the vault, and just then she looks behind her, her eyes brimmed with tears crossing mine.

"Magnolia ! Don't !" I yell completely heartbroken and I start sprinting her way, but I know it's already too late, as I hear he sob and close the door, followed by a locking sound.

"NOOOO !" I break down as I bang my fist over and over again, against the door that just locked my princess into a death cell.

I am going to lose her... it's over.

We failed.

an other update to not leave you hanging on the previous cliffhanger too long, but I just end up creating an other one. I don't know what else I can do sorry !

Thank you so much for your comments, I have been reading all of them, each and one of them touching my heart.

I should be updating in a day or two btw

Xx