Their Hidden Treasure

Chapter 25

William’s POV

I could have sworn that I heard the front door close.

What the fuck? Was someone leaving in the middle of the night? Why? It was pitch black outside and it was cold as fuck. Why would anyone leave?

Well, my guess was that it was Damien. He loved going on late-night drives. I wasn’t sure if he would be able to go far, though. The roads were covered in snow. No one could approach or leave the house. We were snowed in.

I turned to my side and sighed. He would come back once he realized he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. He probably wouldn’t even be able to start the car.

I heard footsteps in the hallway and I rolled my eyes. What the fuck was wrong with everyone? It was 1 a.m. and they were walking around like it was the middle of the day.

I sighed and threw the blanket off my body. I wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore so I might as well go check who was walking around the house in the middle of the night.

I stood up and walked to my bedroom door. I opened it and stepped out into a dark hallway. I yawned as I started walking down the stairs. I heard the kettle boiling as I approached the kitchen.

I saw Alexander when I walked into the kitchen. He was leaning against the kitchen island and rubbing his eyes.

“Why are you awake?” I mumbled, making him flinch.

He looked at me and sighed.

“Your brother woke me up,” he mumbled. “He is walking around his room like a caged animal. I don’t know what crawled up his ass, but he should learn to handle things better. It is 1 fucking a.m.”

“Luke?” I asked.

I was a bit confused. Luke was always calm. Something must have happened for him to react like that.

“No,” Alexander said as he approached the cupboard and took out a mug. “Damien.”

Oh, so I was right. Damien was the one who left the house. I wondered what happened for him to leave in the middle of the night.

“Well, he just left,” I said. “You should be able to go back to sleep.”

Alexander looked at me with confusion written all over his face.

“He didn’t leave,” Alexander said. “He is still in his room.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. I could have sworn that I heard the front door close.

“Why would you think that he left?” Alexander asked as he poured milk into his coffee. “Where would he go anywhere? We are completely snowed in. He knows that.”

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

“He takes late-night drives when he is upset,” I explained. “I thought that I heard the front door close and I assumed it was him. I must have imagined that.”

I was still half asleep when I heard that. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was all in my imagination.

“Probably,” Alexander mumbled as he took a sip of his coffee.

I couldn’t understand how he was able to drink coffee at 1 a.m.

“Isn’t that going to wake you up?” I asked, frowning at him.

“That’s the goal,” he said. “I can never go back to sleep when I wake up in the middle of the night. I need this to wake me up so I can at least do some work.”

He took another sip of the coffee and placed the mug on the kitchen island.

“My men will try to get her today,” he said. “They will set up an alarm system and we will talk about security details.”

I nodded. His men were supposed to arrive yesterday, but the snowstorm cut us off completely.

I heard footsteps approaching the kitchen and a second later Luke walked inside. He looked around and furrowed his eyebrows.

“Where is Sophia?” he asked.

“Sleeping,” Alexander said, confused. “Why?”

Luke shook his head. “No, she isn’t in her room. I woke up and wanted to go check on her. She isn’t there.”

My heart raced.

“Did you check the bathroom?” Alexander asked and I could hear nervousness in his voice.

“I did,” Luke said. “She isn’t there. I heard the two of you in the kitchen and I assumed that she was here with you.”

A huge lump started forming in my throat. I looked at Alexander and I could tell that the same thought formed in his brain.

She didn’t….

She couldn’t have…

“She has to be with Elijah,” Alexander mumbled as he started running out of the kitchen.

I followed after him, glancing toward the front door.

She didn’t leave. She couldn’t have fucking left!

“Eli!” Alexander screamed as we got to the second floor.

Damien ripped his bedroom door open and stepped out just as Alexander barged into Elijah’s room.

“What the fuck, Alex?!” Elijah screamed.

Damien ran into his room after Luke and me.

“What the fuck is going on?” Damien asked angrily.

“Where is Sophia?!” Alexander screamed, throwing the blanket off Elijah’s bed.

Elijah’s eyes widened.

“She is in her room,” he said, furrowing his eyebrows. “I went in to check on her maybe an hour ago. She is sleeping.”

My heart stopped beating. She was the one who left the house, not Damien. She was out in the snow.

Alexander looked at me and we both started moving at the same time.

“Sophia!” Alexander screamed as we ran down the stairs and toward the front door.

I heard Damien and Elijah scream after us, but I ignored them completely. My little girl was out in the snow. I needed to go get her.

Why did she leave? Why would she do that?!

Alexander ripped the door open so hard that the hinges broke.

“Sophia!” I screamed as we stepped out onto the porch.

Cold air washed over me and my body started shivering immediately. I started looking around frantically, but I couldn't see anything. It was still snowing heavily and everything was covered in a thick layer of snow.

“Is she out there?!” Damien screamed as he grabbed my upper arm.

I hadn’t even realized that he, Luke, and Elijah were standing on the porch next to Alexander and me. Luke and Elijah were screaming her name. Alexander was looking around, trying to see if maybe she was somewhere close to the house.

“Is she out there?!” Damien screamed again when I didn’t respond.

I couldn’t speak so I just nodded.

Damien let me go and started running toward the forest immediately. My heart almost jumped out of my body. He was going to freeze.

“Dame!” Luke screamed after him.

I watched Alexander run after him. Both of them were screaming her name. I knew that I had to do the same.

I had to find her. I had to find my little girl.

“Sophia!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I started running after my brother and Alexander.

I could hear Elijah and Luke do the same.

We had to find her. We fucking had to find her. I didn’t know what I would do if we didn’t. I didn’t know what I would do if I lost my little girl.