Beyond The Rules

[Some go missing. Others choose not to be found.]

It was a heavy night. Dew clung to the earth, and the lights in the estate never dimmed.

"The child… is gone."

Her voice trembled. The words caught in her throat before they could finish.

She stood in the front hall, the hem of her dress damp and cold, eyes dazed, struggling even to lift her head to look at the man before her.

Mr. Zane watched her quietly.

He didn't scold. He didn't console.

With a wave of his hand, everyone around him withdrew. Their footsteps broke the stillness of the night.

For three days straight, the estate was turned inside out.

Servants searched every well, every storeroom, every corner of the garden. Even the docks were scoured.

Still, nothing.

The child they called the feral one had vanished—as if he had dissolved into air.

**

Elena didn't cry.

She sat at the threshold all night, eyes locked on the stone steps in the courtyard.

It wasn't that she wasn't afraid—

She had been afraid for so long, the fear had turned to numb clarity.

On the third night, just past midnight, she quietly stepped into the study.

Mr. Zane was reviewing documents. When he heard her approach, he looked up.

She hesitated for a long time before whispering:

"I don't think… it was outsiders."

He didn't respond, but he set down his pen.

**

Soon, a quiet investigation began.

No blades were drawn. No blood was spilled.

But the chill in the air told everyone exactly what was happening.

Several staff were questioned in private. The ledgers were checked. Kitchen records were pulled for review.

A few days later, one of the kitchen aides came to Elena in secret, eyes red.

"Don't ask how I know… but the child was taken out—by someone trusted."

"There's someone in Sixth Alley. They've been taking in children for years… not to sell, but to place. You understand?"

"I didn't do it. But I know who couldn't stand it anymore."

She spoke slowly, painfully. Like every word could bring her punishment.

And the name she uttered—

Was the head of the kitchen.

Elena's closest confidante in the household.

**

Elena didn't ask further.

She simply stood there, remembering the day the child went missing.

She recalled the way the cook had stared at him—too long, too intently, with a look she couldn't read.

Suddenly, she understood.

Some people don't intend to harm.

They just can't accept… that another woman's child could be chosen by fate.

**

The next morning, Mr. Zane reshuffled the staff. The steward was reassigned. The kitchen, reorganized.

He didn't punish anyone.

But he did one thing more:

He said to Elena, almost casually:

"I've sent someone to check on Sixth Alley."

"He might… still be there."

—

[Chapter Prologue]

Sometimes, children aren't stolen.

They're quietly let go—by hearts too bitter to hold on.

And she, at last, began to see beyond pain—to what lies underneath it.

⸻

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Chapter 3: The Trade

You came back—

But no longer believed that being "rescued"… was ever pure luck.