Darkness Chapter 56: Missing

**Vincent**

“It's been 5 months. She's managed to evade me for 5 fucking months. I yearn for the return of my beloved wife, to embrace my precious daughter. I have secluded myself within the nursery, only emerging to provide sustenance, and even then, it is a challenge. The ache for their presence is unbearable. I am desperate for them.

"Boss..." Alec's voice breaks through my thoughts. "Boss."

“Go the fuck away!”

"Vincent..." I hear her voice, a voice I never thought I would hear again. It can't be her. "Open the door," she says.

I sprint to the door, and there she is, standing before me - my wife, my everything. "Nelly!" I exclaim as I embrace her tightly. "You're back?"

Nelly nods solemnly. "I had to see you."

As I pull away and gaze at her, I notice her flat stomach and empty hands. My heart sinks. Did our child not survive? What happened? "Where's our daughter?" I ask, my voice trembling.

"Safe," she replies softly.

Tears well up in my eyes as I collapse to the ground at her feet. "Can I see her? Please," I plead, my voice filled with desperation and longing. I have learned my lesson. I will never keep my feelings from Nelly ever again.

“Yes, but I needed to make sure you were ok before you saw her,” she says.

“What do you mean? If I was ok?”

“I left. I needed to make sure if I brought her here you weren't gonna lose your shit,” she explains.

“Where is she, Nelly?”

“Safe. We talk first, and then you can meet her,” Nelly says. I grab her wrists. “Vincent. You're hurting me.”

“Give…Me…My…Daughter!”

“Not until you calm down and talk to me,” she answers.

“You left me! You left a damn note! I have searched for you for five fucking months! And you want me to calm down!”

Nelly's voice echoed through the room, filled with anger and hurt. "You abandoned me first! You turned your back on me the moment you discovered Peter was the one responsible for Bianca's death. I was terrified, haunted by nightmares of him coming after me like he did to Tara. He even murdered his own child! I needed to know if you were still fixated on her, leaving me to face my fears alone."

"I'm sorry, Nelly. I didn't realize the impact my actions had on you. I never intended for you to feel like you had to measure up to her. I was consumed by anger, and I've been punishing myself instead of confronting the real issue."

Nelly hesitates before asking, "Can we go back to how things were before?"

Confusion clouds my expression. "What do you mean? You're here, you're back...right?"

Nelly shakes her head. "I don't know."

"Have you stopped loving me? I've never stopped loving you. I haven't even looked at another woman. Have you moved on? We're still legally married."

"No. I've told you before. You still have my heart. I just need to know where I stand with you," she says.

As her phone buzzes, she quickly types a response. "I have to go. I'll be back later." 

“No...Where are you going?”

"Vincent, I beg of you, trust me when I say I will return. Let me go. And make sure Quinn knows that if he or the wolves attempt to track me, I will not come back," she pleads.

"Don't go, please," I implore. She descends the steps and exits through the front door, slipping into a waiting car. I stand at the threshold, watching her departure. I sit by the door, anxiously awaiting her return. As the sun sets, my hope begins to wane. Suddenly, a set of headlights approaches down the path. I stand, anticipation building.

A man emerges from the driver's side and opens the back door. I catch a glimpse of Nelly as she emerges, cradling our daughter. The man positions himself between us, a barrier to our reunion. "Who are you?" I demand, my anger simmering beneath the surface. He stands stoically, arms crossed, refusing to speak.

Nelly fixes me with a steely gaze. "Vincent, you must calm yourself. Our daughter is sleeping. I will not allow you to disturb her." 

“Took you long enough. Having fun with your boy toy?”

Nelly rolls her eyes. “Vin, this is my....”

“I'm her brother you jackass, and if you ever lay a hand on my sister again l'll kick your ass!” Kade says.

I look at the guy. “You are supposed to be dead.”

Nelly shrugs. “Yeah, well, he's not. So if you want to see your daughter, you need to calm down.”

I take a deep breath and nod. “Come inside.” They follow me inside and we sit in the living room. I sit on the couch. She sits on the chair adjacent to me, and her brother stands behind her. “You're a vampire?”

Kade nods, “Yeah.”

“How?”

Nelly says, “Doesn't matter.”

Fine, but I will eventually find out. “So can I see her?”

Nelly nods, “Yes.” She stands and brings her over to me, placing her in my arms. “Say hello to Alexis.”

Hello world! I can't help but cry. My little angel is finally in my arms. “Nelly, she's beautiful. You gave her the name we discussed. 

“We like that name. It was the only one we could agree on,” she says.

Alec says, “Vincent.” We all look up and see Alec. “Is that her?”

Nelly smiles. “Yeah, Alec. This is Alexis.”

“She's beautiful,” he replies.

“Of course she is. She's perfect.” She starts to stir in my arms. Her small eyes open, and she looks at me. I can't help but cry. This is my baby. Part of me. How I don't know, but here she is. She starts to cry. I try rocking her.

Nelly goes to pick her up, but I pull away. “She's hungry.”

“I'll feed her.”

“You can't. You aren't equipped for it,” she points to her boobs. 

I look at her as she grins at me. “You need to sit here, though. I need to see her, please.”

Nelly huffs, “Fine.” She sits next to me. Her brother hands her a blanket, and she prepares to feed her. She takes Alexis from me and starts to feed her.

“She doesn't drink blood?”

“It's hard to explain. It's a combo. I pump once in a while, and it comes out pink,” she explains.

“Stay.”

“I can't. Not till we fix us,” says.

“Alec, go get the box from my desk.” Alec nods and runs off.

“Sis, it's getting late. We should get back,” Kade says.

“No! I just got you back. I can't…”

“Listen, you let her down. I won't let you hurt her again,” Kade replies.

“Here you go, boss,” Alec says as he hands me the box. She hands Alexis to her brother while she fixes herself. All I want to do is take my daughter from him, but if I do that, she will leave and not come back.

"Nelly, I cannot bear the thought of living without you. I am fully aware of the mistakes I have made, but please, grant me the opportunity to prove myself to you. You are my beloved wife, and you deserve to be adorned with these rings. I refuse to allow anyone to mistake you for being available." Quinn had suggested that I keep her rings close at hand, but little did she know, I had already made plans to do so.

“Don't worry. She scares them all away,” she says.