Author's POV

[FEW HOURS BEFORE]

Dane woke up at dawn as usual to hit the gym. He's the most disciplined member of the Frostbites. When he wakes up, he watches his girlfriend snoring softly beside him. Still in bed, he turns to her and contemplates needing to go to the gym.

'One cheat day wouldn't hurt anyone. She will wake up soon too. Maybe I'll go with her.' He thinks to himself. Staring at her beautiful, porcelain skin, he wonders how he scored such a beautiful woman for his life. Her straight black hair falls over her face neatly, covering her sharp jawline that he adores. When it comes to choosing between Amy and Winter, he would choose Amy under obligation. But if Amy was never in his life, maybe...just maybe, he would have loved Winter more. He would have chosen Winter as his lifelong partner.

He didn't want to worry about the future so soon. 'Not yet' he thought.

Forcing himself out of her face, instead of enjoying her company in the warmth of their hotel bed, Dane chooses to hit the gym nonetheless. Freshening up, he chose a loose tank top and paired it with gym shorts. The hotel is buzzing with people as soon as he walks out of his room and reaches for the corridor.

By the time he comes back, he is exhausted yet feeling excited for the day. The siblings have made a bucket list of things they wanted to do. Dane has his as well, but Winter has the possession of most. He opens the door, his smile falling.

He looks around, dropping the gloves aside on the table as he checks the bathroom. Fishing his phone out, he sees the text message.

"What...is that supposed to mean?" He asks himself. Dialing her number, he brings the phone to his ear. No answer.

"Tsk. What is she doing?" She's never done this before. Winter is a devoted, homely woman who would never walk out of the door without informing anyone of her absence. This seems strange to him, especially since they're out in the open of media and people in a whole different country. They haven't even been escorted by bodyguards - which is the norm of the elite.

"Winter...pick it up. Don't piss me off." He prays. He grows angry and irritated, mostly upset, because of his raging hormones empowered by the gym activities.

He thinks it is strange, yet, he continues with his day. One hour later, he checks his phone on wit. He reads the message again. 'I'll be waiting...'

What did she mean by that?

As he relaxes on the bed, suddenly, it strikes him.

It's almost noon, way past brunch time. She's been gone for more than five hours! He dials her number again only to hear the robotic voice speak back. Panic rises in his blood. His eyes widen when it finally clicks,

"No, shit!" He grunts, growling as he jumps out of the bed. Bursting out of the door, he flees straight into Amy's room.

"Amy! Amy! Open it!" He bangs on the door! Despite all the stares he's getting from the other guests, Dane doesn't care. Rubbing her eyes, Amy walks out and says,

"It's still noon. What's with you?" She asks, her voice groggy and sleepy.

"Where's Winter?" He asks, Amy reads the panic in his voice. "I'm not sure. Um...let me check."

"Aren't you sharing a room with Aria? Where did she go?" When Dane asks that out loud, stepping into her hotel room, Amy's slumber flies out of the window.

'He's right. Where is she?'

"Winter AND Aria are missing? How fucking odd." Cursing out, Dane tries to call Winter one more time, only for it to say [The number you're dialling is busy. Please try later.]

Amy hears the same, which is on speaker. Dane, wide-eyed, stares at Amy in defeat. He's thinking of all possibilities, Amy as well.

"Let's search for them together. I'll wake up the others." Any volunteers shut the door as she quickly changes into normal clothes. Dane and Amy rush out to search for Nick, Alex and Crystal. All were found in the hotel's restaurant section. Dane rushes to them, exasperated as he asks,

"Have you seen Winter from morning? Anywhere." He asks.

"No. Not really. What happened?" Nick stands up, noticing the beads of sweat forming on his brother's forehead. Appearing behind him, Amy says,

"Aria isn't answering my phone either. Winter and Aria aren't picking up our calls. I...I don't know what is happening." Dane's fear is injected into all of them now. All the siblings, along with Crystal, start panicking. They call around and ask the staff for any updates. Yet...nothing.

The afternoon regrettably turns to dusk when two women walk back into the hotel. With all smiles and pearly teeth on display, they witness the turbulence on the floor. The staff are running around. Winter and Aria hear the words, 'Guillebeaux, Frostbites, Chen' falling out of people's mouths.

The two women look at each other. They coordinate their sprint across the corridor as the staff watch them with bewilderment. Winter bursts into her room, her eyes wide when she sees Dane in tears and clutching, pulling his hair. He sits in front of an empathetic Swiss police officer who stands up at once.

Dane whips his head up, Winter doesn't know what is going on! Out of nowhere, Dane sprints to her and hugs her tight to his skin.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU!?" He holds her shoulders and shakes her up! Watching him behave so out of his skin, Winter pushes his hands off and shows him the texts and numerous calls...

He stares at her phone, dumbstruck.

'Why are these messages and calls all delivered...but I don't see any of them in mine?'

Dane then wordlessly lifts his phone, showing it to Winter who stares at their phones with sheer shock.

"Why...didn't I receive your calls nor did you mine? What is going on?" Winter crushes her eyebrows close. She's not a dumb woman, she's far away from that.

Slowly, she turns around to see Aria being embraced tightly by a worried Amy. Amy is crying and complaining to Aria, about how she thought Aria and Winter were 'kidnapped'.

Winter...isn't a dumb woman.