The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 202

Chapter 181: The Hunt Begins

Caleb POV

I had run boardroom coups, had dismantled hostile takeovers in forty-eight hours. I had stood in my father’s office at thirteen while he told me that crying was a disease, and I had believed him for years.

None of it had prepared me for watching Bella watch that video.

I’d seen every side of Bella-her strength in boardrooms, her resilience in the hospital, and her quiet empathy for others. But I’d never seen the look that hit her face when Tom said, “Come find me.”

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In that moment, the fear she’d been holding back finally surfaced. I held her upright, my mind flashing to Tom on that concrete floor with his dinosaur backpack. He was five years old and alone, yet he’d stopped crying to be brave-using the exact words Bella had taught him.

A cold, absolute rage settled in my chest. I grew up knowing what it felt like to be afraid, and I had promised myself Tom never would. Whoever put him on that floor was going to be systematically dismantled.

Bella pulled herself together first, her spine straightening as she turned her fear into purpose. I felt that familiar, overwhelming love for her-the woman who had carried so much alone before I came along. I had told her I needed her to stay strong so I didn’t lose my way, and I meant it. The time for restraint was

over.

“Caleb,” Lena said from the door. “I have something.”

“Lena,” I said, stepping into the hallway while Bella walked Reyes through her analysis of the background in the video. “Talk to me.”

Lena pulled up her tablet. She was a former military intelligence-small, precise, and impossible to read under pressure.

“The grey vehicle is a rental with cloned plates,” she said. “The rental agency is a shell company in Malta. This was planned.”

“Two weeks in the making,” I noted.

“It was well-planned, but not elite,” she continued. “They scouted the school’s blind spots but missed the street cameras three blocks away. I have a partial plate that narrows things down significantly.”

“And the ransom phone?”

“A burner, used once. It pinged within two miles of the school. A professional would’ve used a satellite relay. These people are amateurs with money-dangerous because they have resources but lack discipline. They might not have an endgame.”

That hit me hard. People without an endgame are unpredictable and dangerous.

I went back inside. Bella was standing over a city map, marking warehouse districts and camera dead zones. She hadn’t eaten, so I put a sandwich in front of her.

She didn’t look at the sandwich; she stayed focused on the map.

13

Chapter 1 The Hunt Begins

Bella

“I’m working.”

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“I know you are,” I said I didn’t push or make a scene, but I stood my ground. She knew that meant I wasn’t leaving. “When did you last eat?”

“This morning.”

“It’s nearly nine PM.”

“Caleb”

“Your hands are shaking,” I said quietly. “I’ve been watching them for twenty minutes.”

She looked down and pressed her palms flat against the table to hide the tremor.

“Five minutes,” I told her. “Eat half, then go straight back to the map. I’m not asking you to stop. I’m asking you to stay functional enough to find him.”

She looked at me, then at the sandwich, ‘and finally pulled it toward the center of the table.

“Sit down,” she commanded.

“Bella”

“You haven’t eaten either.” Her eyes were exhausted but certain. “If I have to eat, so do you. Sit.”

I sat.

We ate in silence with the map spread between us.

Maya had arrived earlier with baby Grace in a carrier. She hadn’t said a word to Bella-just a brief touch on the shoulder before moving to a corner to keep the baby quiet.

I watched them from across the room.

Maya knew how to read Bella better than I did. She knew exactly when to speak and when to just stay quiet. It was a skill she learned during all those hard years before I met them. I was more grateful for her than I could say.

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Maya walked up to Bella and whispered something. Bella didn’t look up, but she answered. Maya just nodded and stayed by her side.

That was all they needed. No big speeches, just being there.

I turned back to the tablet.

Grace had woken up some minutes later. Maya tried to distract her with a toy, but it didn’t last. Grace eventually found Bella with her eyes-the way she always did-and reached out both arms. She made that impatient noise that meant she wanted to be held now.

Bella looked up. They locked eyes across the room.

Grace reached even harder, her tiny fingers spread, sure that if she tried hard enough, her mom would

Chapter 181 the Hunt Begins

come

Bella gave her a small, painful smile and then looked right back at the map.

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When Grace made the noise again, even touder, I saw Bella’s jaw tighten. I knew how much it was costing her not to run over and pick up our daughter.

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