The sterile, bitter scent of antiseptic filled the air as Ruby, Stefan, Rayna, and Ethan moved quietly down the hospital corridor. The white tiles beneath their feet felt colder than usual, though it might have just been Ruby''s exhaustion sinking into her bones.

    They had just finished checking on Elizabeth. The older woman had still been resting, her vitals steady, but her condition remained delicate.

    She''d been surprised to see Ruby and Rayna back after just leaving barely two hours ago until they''d told her the reason for their return.

    Though she had never seen eye to eye with Regina, she''d been sad to learn about the circumstances surrounding her death and had even felt pity for Ruby.

    She''d never received love from her mother or sister yet was left to see to the burial arrangements and would also have to inherit all that the Quinn owed since Ivy would be arrested abd charged for murder if she were to ever show her face again.

    Now, as they made their way toward the hospital''s main exit, the tension hung thick between them. No one really spoke. Words felt pointless after the day they''d just had.

    Ruby clung to Stefan''s arm, her legs sluggish. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen, her face pale, expression hollow. She wasn''t sure how she was still standing.

    "You should get some sleep," Stefan said gently, running his thumb over the back of her hand. "You''ve been through too much today."

    "I will," Ruby murmured. "I just want to go home."

    They reached thest turn in the hallway when the hospital lights suddenly blinked—and then wentpletely out.

    Immediately, darkness swallowed everything.

    A sharp gasp escaped Rayna''s lips.

    "What the hell?" she asked, voice tense. "Why did the lights just go out?"

    Ethan''s voice came next, calm but alert. "Hold on. I''ve got a light." A secondter, the faint beam of his phone shlight cut through the pitch ck.

    "Probably just an electrical issue," Ruby said tiredly, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the sudden shift in brightness. "Maybe the backup generator iste to kick in."

    But something about the darkness felt off—too sudden. Tooplete.

    Then someone bumped into them—hard. Ethan grunted, stumbling slightly.

    "Sh*t!" Ethan hissed as his phone flew from his hand and hit the floor.

    Ruby flinched. "Who—what was that?"

    "Everybody stay together," Stefan said sharply, his hand reaching instinctively for Ruby. "Don''t let go."

    Ethan bent to pick up his phone. "I can''t see anything!"

    Before he could pick up the phone, Ruby screamed.

    It wasn''t a small yelp or startled noise. It was a full, terrified scream that ripped through the darkness like a de, startling both Rayna and Stefan.

    Before Stefan could even register what was happening, he felt Ruby''s hand slip off his with full force.

    "RUBY!" Rayna shouted, voice cracking with panic. "Ruby, what happened?!"

    "Where is she?!" Stefan snapped, his voice full of dread as it dawned on him that he was no longer holding her.

    Ethan finally got his phone shlight on again, the weak glow trembling as his hands shook. He swung it around wildly, the beam bouncing off the walls.

    But Ruby was gone.

    "RUBY!" Rayna called again, spinning as she turned on her own shlight. She swept the light back and forth, panic choking her breath. "Ruby, answer me!"

    "Babe? Babe!" Stefan called, bringing out his phone to on the shlight, too.

    Just then, the overhead lights flickered once… then again…

    And suddenly, they zed back to life, flooding the corridor in sterile white light.

    Stefan''s breath caught as his eyes swept over the space around him, scanning left and right with a growing sense of dread. The blood drained from his face. His body froze. Then slowly, painfully slowly, his chest tightened as realization mmed into him.

    Ruby was gone. Where she had stood seconds ago—right beside him—was now an empty stretch of floor. There was no scream, no warning. Just darkness… and now, silence.

    She had not fallen or had kicked her head against the wall because of the darkness. Something had happened to her.

    Rayna''s voice was small, breaking the stillness like a crack in ss. "She''s not here…"

    Her words barely registered.

    Stefan''s world tilted. A roaring sound filled his ears. His heartbeat pounded against his ribs, fast and frantic. His jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. His eyes darted across the hallway, desperate, wild.

    No. No.

    Not her. Not now. Not again.

    "Ruby!" he barked out, stepping forward as if she might reappear from a hidden corner. "Ruby!" He ran to the front to search and when he didn''t see any trace of her, he ran backwards.

    Ethan followed suit, his voice hoarse. "She didn''t just vanish. Someone took her. That ckout—it wasn''t some random thing. It was a setup. I think it was all a means to get Ruby."

    Stefan turned to face him, his throat tight. He couldn''t breathe properly.

    A setup. This had to be Ivy''s doing.

    Stefan could feel the panic rising in his throat, threatening to suffocate him. His stomach twisted violently, the weight of dread crashing over him like a wave. A cold sweat broke across his brow as he tried not to think what Ivy could do to Ruby if she could kill her mom.

    "Come on," he muttered, his voice raw as he turned on his heel and stormed down the hallway. "Walter''s still here. We need to tell him. Now."

    He didn''t wait for a reply. He just ran. He didn''t care about hospital protocol. He didn''t care about people staring. He needed to find her. He needed answers. He needed Ruby back in his arms where she belonged.

    Because if she was gone—if something happened to her or their baby—he didn''t know how he''d live with himself.

    Rayna and Ethan followed him, their footsteps echoing against the tiles.

    They found Detective Dn Walter just outside the nurses'' station, standing near two in-clothed officers. Walter turned when he saw them approaching, his eyes narrowing at their frantic expressions.

    "What happened?" he asked, instantly alert and noticing that Ruby wasn''t with them.

    "It''s Ruby. She''s gone," Stefan said, his voice hard but trembling.

    Walter blinked. "What?"

    "She was taken," Ethan added quickly. "Right in the hallway. Someone grabbed her during the ckout."

    Rayna''s hands were shaking. "She screamed, but it was too dark. We were all reaching for our phones and by the time the lights came back on… she was just gone."

    Walter''s face darkened with realization. "Damn it." He reached for his radio immediately. "Dispatch, this is Detective Walter. Lock down the hospital. I repeat—lock down all exits. We have a possible abduction inside the premises. Victim is Ruby Quinn. Suspect believed to be Ivy Quinn. Initiate full sweep immediately."

    Static hissed before a voice responded. "Copy that, lockdown in progress."

    Walter turned back to them. "Where exactly were you?"

    "East hallway. Near the exit," Ethan pointed out. "There wasn''t even enough time to react. It all happened so fast."

    Walter barked an order to the other officers to check security footage and alert security personnel. "We''ll find her if she''s still in the building."

    Rayna''s voice cracked. "And if she''s not?"

    Stefan''s jaw clenched. His fists trembled at his sides. He couldn''t stop the worst-case scenarios from crashing into his mind. Ruby tied up somewhere. Ruby bleeding. Ruby calling for him. Ivy trying to hurt her.

    His chest heaved, the panic wing at him. He couldn''t afford to think like that. He couldn''t afford to fall apart now.

    He had to stay sharp.

    He had to get her back.

    But deep down, a part of him—terrified and wounded—kept whispering… What if you''re already toote?

    Walter''s eyes flicked to Stefan, catching the torment in his expression. "We''re going to find her. Ivy won''t get far."

    But Stefan barely heard him. His thoughts were with Ruby.

    The woman he loved.

    The mother of his unborn child.

    And she had been taken, right from under his watch.

    "I was right there," he murmured, his voice breaking. "I was right beside her."

    "She''s tough, Stefan," Rayna whispered, her voice trembling. "She''ll hang on. We''ll get her back. This isn''t the time to me yourself. We have to find her as soon as possible."

    "Yes, you''re right. This isn''t the time." Stefan turned toward Ethan. "We have to search this building. Ivy''s not going to stop and we can''t wait till the police finds her."

    If Ivy had gotten this close… then Ruby was in more danger than any of them had feared.