The villa was silent.
Too silent.
Zara noticed first.
She had just come down from upstairs, checking in on the wedding shoes, only to realize the house was emptier than it should be. The bridal suite still looked untouched. Naya hadn't returned from the quick run she'd gone on nearly an hour ago.
At first, she wasn't worried. Naya probably stopped to chat with someone. Or maybe the store had a queue. But when the clock ticked past another thirty minutes, a prickle of unease climbed Zara's spine.
She called Naya's phone.
No answer.
Another ten minutes passed. Then twenty.
Still nothing.
By the time it was approaching two hours, Zara was pacing the living room, calling every ten minutes. Her gut screamed something was wrong.
Kain was at the hotel when he got Zara's call. He didn't wait to hear more than "Naya's missing."
He was out the door before the phone dropped from his hand.
---
Within an hour, a search party had mobilized. Friends, bridal crew, family members. The police were alerted. Kain filed a report immediately. His hands trembled as he signed the papers.
"We don't have a lot to go on," the officer said. "But we'll start with the CCTV footage near the store."
Back at the villa, Mrs. Lawal had collapsed in tears. "My child… where's my child?"
Mr. Lawal stood quietly, holding her hand, but his eyes were glassy.
Zara had locked herself in Naya's room, clutching her friend's pillow like it could answer her questions.
Kain was everywhere.
He searched the route Naya always took to the store. He interrogated neighbors. He begged shopkeepers for security footage.
He called every contact he had. Every favor he was owed.
By the second day, the media caught wind of the missing bride.
"Socialite Naya Lawal Missing Days Before Lavish Wedding," one headline read.
Rumors swirled. Maybe she got cold feet. Maybe she ran.
Kain ignored all of it.
He knew better.
She would never leave Tami. Never disappear like this.
Something had happened.
He could feel it.
---
Meanwhile, in the abandoned building on the outskirts of town, Naya lay in silence.
She had lost count of how long it had been. Her throat was dry and cracked. Her lips bled slightly. Her muscles screamed from the constant tension in her arms and legs.
Clarissa had come twice more. Each time angrier than before. She didn't hit her again, but her words were sharp enough to cut flesh.
"You were never supposed to be part of this family," she hissed. "Kain was mine. Mine. He would've come back if you didn't interfere."
Naya didn't respond. Couldn't. But she met Clarissa's eyes without flinching.
She wasn't afraid of her anymore.
Clarissa seemed to hate that more than anything.
By the third day, Clarissa stopped visiting. Instead, her two thugs would check on Naya, one standing at the door, the other pacing. Neither spoke. They never untied her.
She didn't know what Clarissa planned next.
But she knew she had to hold on.
Someone would come.
He would come.
---
On the fourth morning, Kain sat in his car outside the villa. His eyes were bloodshot. He hadn't eaten. He hadn't slept. His hands were shaking around the steering wheel.
Tami had asked him last night, "Is mommy okay?"
He hadn't known how to answer.
His phone buzzed.
Zara.
"Come to the station," she said, voice urgent. "They got something."
Kain flew down the road.
At the station, an officer pointed to grainy footage on the screen. A black SUV pulling up next to a figure matching Naya's build. The timestamp confirmed it. The license plate was partially visible.
But more than that—someone recognized the vehicle.
"It was last seen at an old government project site," the officer said. "A half-completed housing estate that was abandoned years ago."
Kain didn't wait for backup.
---
The site was desolate.
Kain drove through the rusted gates, heart pounding. Overgrown grass cracked beneath his tires. Empty buildings loomed like skeletons.
He stopped in front of a structure that had boards across the lower windows. His gut told him this was it.
He grabbed a tire iron from the trunk and crept around the back.
There were voices inside.
He climbed through a broken window and landed silently.
One thug was leaning against a beam, scrolling through his phone.
The other had his back turned.
Kain didn't hesitate.
He slammed the tire iron into the first man's side. The man crumpled without a sound. The second turned, startled—but Kain was already on him, fury driving his fists.
When they were down, he searched the rooms.
"Naya!" he shouted. "NAYA!"
A muffled cry came from behind a closed door.
He kicked it open.
She was there.
On the floor.
Barely moving.
Ropes cut into her wrists and ankles. Her lips were swollen, the rag still across her mouth.
He dropped beside her, his hands trembling as he removed the gag.
"Naya," he whispered, tears falling freely. "I'm here. I've got you."
She blinked slowly. "Kain…"
He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"I knew you'd come," she whispered.
He carried her out into the daylight, shielding her from the brightness with his body.
Police sirens wailed in the distance.
Clarissa had already vanished.
But they had enough now.
And Naya—she was alive.
That was all that mattered.
---
At the hospital, doctors said she was dehydrated, bruised, but stable.
Kain never left her side.
Mrs. Lawal wept when she saw her daughter. "My baby… my strong baby."
Zara held her hand. "You scared the hell out of us."
Naya smiled faintly. "I scared myself too."
When Tami finally saw her, she climbed onto the hospital bed and hugged her tightly.
"You're not allowed to leave again," she said seriously.
Naya nodded. "I promise."
---
The wedding was postponed.
Not canceled.
Kain wouldn't allow that.
And neither would Naya.
"I want to walk down that aisle," she told him. "Not as someone who was broken. But as someone who made it back."
He kissed her knuckles. "Then we'll do it. And it'll be more beautiful than anything we planned."
Because now it wasn't just about love.
It was about survival.
And the power of coming back home.