Daphne POV

“When a monster calls you home, you don’t pack a bag, you pack your courage.”

The moment I heard Charles’s voice through the speaker, my blood turned to ice.

“If you want the boy,” he said smoothly, almost tender, “come home.”

Then the line went dead.

I stood there, phone trembling in my hand, staring at the wall like it could give me an answer.

My lungs forgot how to breathe. “He called,” I whispered, voice breaking. “He has Christian.”

Xavier froze ...