28 Hours Before.

Doncaster.

The sky was cloudy the entire trip, but not a single drop of rain fell. River accompanied us, it would be the first time she visited Doncaster, although she is not aware of what is happening yet and she will not remember it, at least I hope so. I would hate that she had a place like this in her memories.

A part of me wanted to be a little more open with Harry, to show my more vulnerable side, but the memories of this place brought a lump to my throat, I didn't want to worry him, because nothing bad had happened, or at least not yet, but I wanted to show him this part of me that I had never shown him, that part of me that I buried years ago.

The car stopped. I turned my face to Harry and smirked at him, I could tell he was confused, but how to explain?

"Wait here, I'll be right back," I said after clearing my throat in an attempt not to sound strange, but some nervousness was noticeable. Harry nodded and I got out of the car before he could tell me anything else.

The mist hid all the tombstones in the place and the sound of my shoes hitting the damp earth filled the silence that was also accompanied by the cold breeze on this day of April. The rainy season was approaching and the weather began to change with each passing day.

I walked slowly while carefully observing the names written on all the stones around me. Some of the names stood out in my memory, maybe they were people who were part of my past or people who messed with us, but I was looking for one in particular. .

The red roses that I carried with me stood out in the cold weather, usually I would bring white, but today I decided on something different, my instincts told me that it was the best for some strange reason.

I stopped under a tree and set my jaw, here it was once more.

"Love?" Harry called after me. I turned to him surprised, when had he gotten out of the car? He had been following me all this time? "What are we doing here?"

He looked around with a frown. River was asleep in his arms, covered with the little blanket my mother had knitted for her. So oblivious to everything around her.

"I wanted to show you something," I said with a serious voice, his gaze fixed on mine, his eyes with that brightness that could illuminate even the darkest place, "I needed to do it."

I dropped the roses and Harry looked down at the headstone in front of us.

"In memory of

Louis William Tomlinson

beloved son and brother

12/24/1994一XX/04/2005"

"Lou... What is this?" He approached the grave and observed better what it was saying.

"When my... when Charles threw me out of the house, well, my mom started looking for me everywhere, every night she went out with a group of policemen to look for me, and one day Charles told her that I had died, so she buried me, or rather buried the memory of what used to be," I said with my gaze fixed on the grave. "Maybe she did it as closure, maybe this was the only way to move on with his life, I really don't know."

"And why didn't anyone notice that you were in the boarding school?" I looked at him and laughed bitterly.

"I assume it was because Charles forced her to stop looking for me, I don't remember... By then I was starting to become friends with Zayn and I doubt Kasper didn't start protecting me from the moment we became friends, besides the fact that the Christmas of that same year we went to the house and Kasper started with the adoption papers, so if they had kept looking for me they wouldn't find me anyway, because I wasn't there, Louis Malik was."

Harry was still looking at me confused.

"Yes Harry, my legal name is Louis William Malik, but I always use Tomlinson for business reasons, because if I had started being a Malik with everyone I would have been the heir to Icarus Rose and not Zayn, because..."

"He is an omega and you are an alpha," he said interrupting and I nodded.

"But anyway, my father's other partners wouldn't have accepted an adoptive son taking over his empire, so we left everything like that to avoid problems."

We both looked at the grave again, a bit more serious now. This was the first time I had brought someone here with me since I realised there was a grave in my name, I decided it was probably for the best to bury the eleven year old Louis that his father kicked out of the house on his birthday to that a new me would emerge, or at least that's what I told myself... although I could never completely bury my past.

"You shouldn't be here," said a voice behind us. We both turned around to find an elderly woman, she was wearing a long black dress and a huge scarf of the same colour covered her hair.

"Excuse me?" I questioned with a thick voice. The woman walked to the grave and smirked.

"He was a very good boy, I remember he used to go out to play with my grandson when he came home from school." I cocked my head a little confused.

"Did you know him?" Harry asked this time.

"Yes," she sighed, "his death was the most painful thing that could have happened to her mother, I still remember hearing her screams at night while she was looking for her little one." I looked down nostalgically.

"What do you mean we shouldn't be here?" Harry asked. The woman looked at both of us and her expression changed.

"Bad things are about to happen," a shiver ran down my spine when I heard her voice. There was something strange about that woman, but I still couldn't figure out what she was.

That day had been the first time in a long time that I had carried a gun with me.

That morning I had woken up with a feeling of restlessness in my being, I needed to keep my family close, I had to keep them in my sights. There is no logical way to explain it, but I had to make sure they were safe, it was as if someone was watching me from a distance, hidden in the mist. And that woman saying that something was about to happen didn't calm my nerves.

I took my little baby in my arms in silence, Harry kept staring at that unknown woman, I could see that his hand was on his belt, right over his weapon; he too was alert. I needed to get them away from that woman, from this place, my alpha and I agreed that this was a dangerous place for our family. I was still watching the women's movements.

"Let's get out of here," I ordered with my eyes fixed on the woman, who didn't even flinch.

"But love..."

"Let's go, Harry." I turned and walked silently, listening as my omega excused himself to the woman and followed close behind.

I accommodated River in her car seat, and I got into the driver's seat. After a few seconds Harry opened the car and sat down, and as soon as he closed the door I started the jeep and left that place.

When I looked in the direction of my grave, the woman had already disappeared without a trace. The only proof that she was there was me and my omega.

"What was that?" Harry asked suddenly, when we were already on the road to London, I softened my gaze and faced him.

"My alpha has been very restless since we woke up," I started to explain, putting my hand on his leg to reassure him, as it was moving quickly, "I can't explain it, I just have a bad feeling, something is going to happen, things have been very quiet lately and that can not mean anything good."

The car was completely silent, except for the little noises that River made from time to time, Harry leaning back to check on her every few minutes, but other than that we didn't start a conversation again until we got to London.

Normally I would park the car I used at the time myself, but that day we were so tense that I decided to give the jeep keys to one of the bodyguards who were following us from a distance so they could take care of it, all I wanted was to lock myself in my office and focus on the paperwork to take my mind off whatever was going on at the moment, to have the smell of my baby and my omega nearby.

"Welcome, Mr. Tomlinson," greeted the guard at the gate, and I nodded in greeting and heard Harry mutter a soft "good afternoon."

We walked in silence, Harry directly went to sit in the living room, I could feel through the loop how tense he was, and it made me feel helpless not being able to do anything other than stop him from feeling my tension. I had to deal with it for me and my omega, that was my responsibility.

"I'll take River with me to the office, are you coming with us?" I asked in front of him, his eyes closed and his head resting on the back of the chair. He opened one eye so he could look at me and shake his head.

"Later, darling, I want to rest a bit," he muttered with a small forced smile. I nodded, I didn't want to pressure him to lock himself up and work with me.

"Well, you know that whatever you need I'm in my office, okay? I love you." I kissed his lips and left there with River in my arms.

24 hours before.

Liam entered the room with an iPad in his hand and frowning, he looked up and saw Harry sitting on the couch, now he had his hands on his face and his eyes fixed on the ceiling, quite pensive.

"Harry, what are you doing here? And Louis? River?" The alpha asked, sitting next to the omega, Harry looked at him and Liam knew something was wrong when he didn't smile at him, there wasn't even that glint in his eyes that he'd had since that Louis had marked it.

"Louis took me to the cemetery," he blurted out seriously and Liam looked at him confused.

"It's something he used to do, every couple years around this time, of course, before you got to the house, did you argue about it? I thought the day he took you there you'd be glued to the hip for at least that whole day." Harry shook his head and leaned back. face in his hands, looking at the ground.

"Something's wrong, Liam."

And that made the alpha stop to think for a moment, because since he woke up he had a strange feeling that had him reviewing the diagram he had with the exact locations of each security guard over and over again, that feeling that had made him accommodate to two extra bodyguards at the doors of each office, even that he had asked Barbara if he could stay with Zayn and the twins in his office.

"Yes, I've been feeling the same for a few hours now," Liam replied thoughtfully.

He had to go to Zayn right away.

"I have to go, Harry, are you staying here or do you want me to walk you with Louis?" He asked kindly, wanting to make sure everything was in order, but Harry shook his head. "Okay, I'll ask a guard to keep an eye out , yeah? If anything happens, you know where to find me."

"Thank you, Li" and with a nod, the alpha left, but not before ordering the closest guard to be aware of anything Mr. Tomlinson might need.

He walked to the omega's office in a hurry, he thought that maybe if he wasn't the only one with that feeling, it would be best to talk to Zayn about it, he would probably know what to do. He nodded to the guards at the door and entered without knocking, finding his now seven-month-olds sitting on the floor playing with some dolls that Barbara had given them, while she was sitting in the chair across from Zayn's desk. .

"Hello honey, is everything in order?" Asked the omega as she stood up, Liam greeted her with a hug and nodded.

"Yes, everything is in order, don't worry. Thank you for taking care of the twins, you can go rest if you want." Bárbara smiled and said goodbye to the four of them before leaving the office.

The alpha walked over to the chair near where the children were and sat down, letting out a sigh to release some tension. The little ones began to get up while holding onto things, they took a few steps without letting go, although they preferred to crawl from one side to the other, always together. It seemed to Zayn and Liam a little early for them to learn to walk, but to the others it seemed normal considering that they had very intelligent parents, that had only made the couple laugh.

"Is something wrong?" Zayn asked with a serious voice.

Liam never, ever let Zayn feel his concern through the bond, but in that moment he found it impossible to control his emotions, and Zayn felt that uncontrollable anxiety, that inexplicable fear that was getting on the alpha's nerves. He got up and walked to the chair.

"Love, what scares you? Tell me, are you okay?" His voice was soft, the omega inside him screaming that he had to help his alpha feel better, and Zayn did his best to make sure he did. He took his hand and placed it on his chest, holding him close to him. Liam watched him with downcast eyes.

"Louis took Harry to the cemetery," he blurted out seriously.

"Really? He's never taken us, but I'm going to assume he wanted to get a little more intimate with him, right?" Liam didn't answer, "is that what has you like this?"

"Zayn," he looked into his eyes, "he didn't greet me when I saw him, he didn't even turn to look at me... Harry isn't like that, plus Louis is in his office with River, alone... don't you think it's something strange?"

Zayn pulled away from Liam a bit and nodded.

"Yes, it is, but it may be because they went through something very personal and they need, I don't know, to assimilate everything that happens, you shouldn't worry about that," he caressed his cheek and gave him a short kiss on the lips. "Don't worry, love, we all argue from time to time, it's normal in a relationship."

"Yes, yes... you're right," he stood up and walked to his children, "maybe we can go to a park, the four of us can go out for a while to distract ourselves, what do you think?"

"How about you take Blair and Blake to the playroom for a while instead? I still have things to do here and..." Liam sighed and nodded.

"Yes, you're right, don't worry, I understand that there are many things to do for us to go out, besides it's already getting dark and it's likely to rain." He said before picking up both babies in his arms. Zayn moved a little closer to give his babies and his alpha a quick kiss before they left his office, he sighed and sat back down at his desk.

Back to the paperwork, but still with what Liam had told him in mind, although he had told Liam that everything was in order, for a while the house felt very quiet, tense, especially since his brothers left to do their things.

Shawn walked into his office an hour or two later, which was weird in itself, although they got along better now, Shawn never went to Zayn's office alone, plus he smelled worried and had both hands on his belly, intertwined, a nervous habit he had adopted with the pregnancy.

"Shawn, what brings you here?" Zayn asked, trying to sound relaxed, Shawn sat down on the couch.

"Niall just had two deliveries cancelled," he announced with a frown, Zayn putting down the papers he was reading to pay attention.

"Two deliveries? Did he tell you who they belonged to?"

"He didn't go into much detail, just that he was already on his way," Zayn nodded, still looking at the omega on the couch. "Two hours ago."

"He probably stopped by to buy dinner or something Shawn, don't worry too much about it, you know how he is."

Nobody said anything after that, both omegas were looking at different points in the office, Zayn went back to his work and Shawn just looked at his tennis, without removing his hands from his big belly.

"The house is kind of quiet," Shawn pointed out, as if to break the ice.

"And a little tense, did you notice?" Zayn put down the papers again and went to sit next to the Canadian.

"I thought I was being paranoid, but yeah, I noticed, I saw Liam walk into the playroom very quietly, and when I passed through the room I saw Harry alone, he didn't even look at me," he said softly, as if he was afraid someone else could hear them, Zayn nodded, before he could answer, a bodyguard knocked three times on the door.

"Come in," he indicated and a red head of hair peeked out of the door.

"Mr. Horan, your husband has asked us to inform you that he has already arrived from his deliveries." He said in a monotone voice, Shawn nodded.

"Of course, I'll join him in a moment. Thank you very much," the guard nodded and left, closing the door behind him. "I guess duty calls, see you later, Zayn."

"Of course," he said goodbye and Shawn left.

He walked towards the elevator at a slow pace, he felt a little calmer now that he knew his alpha was home, he pressed the button that took them to the top floor, the doors closed and the omega leaned against the wall of the luxurious elevator. When he finally got to the fourth floor he walked towards his room.

He entered without knocking and found his alpha lying on the bed, eyes closed and arms over his head, he smiled at the image.

"I was starting to worry about you, you fool alpha," Shawn said closing the door, Niall sat up and watched his omega walk towards him with a smile.

"I remembered that this morning you told me that you were craving cake and I went to a pastry shop on the way. I also bought you a can of ice cream and some fruit." The alpha replied, extending his arms, and Shawn simply allowed himself to be wrapped by them, leaning against his alpha in bed and giving him a soft kiss on the lips.

"Thank you, you are the best alpha," he murmured sweetly, Niall smiled.

They were silent for a while, just wrapped in each other's warmth and scent, until Niall spoke.

"Why are you so worried?" He asked softly, Shawn didn't know what to say until Niall continued. "Everyone in this house seems tense, Harry is lounging alone on the couch, quiet and barely waving when I spoke to him, the guards are very silent, there is no one in the corridors.

"I have no idea," Shawn called in a whisper, the alpha looking at him. "Things are too calm, and maybe I'm being paranoid, but I feel like there's something bad coming, everyone does, actually."

The alpha nodded and thought for a bit before getting up, Shawn following close behind as he started toward the door.

"Niall honey, where are you going?" he asked and the alpha looked at him once he opened the door.

"I'm going to check the house, I'm not going to be calm until I make sure everything is in order, I need to talk to my brothers, I need..." He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. "Give me a minute, okay love?" He winked before switching to that hard and professional tone that he only used with his clients and some employees. "Hey, you big guy. Make sure my omega has everything he needs, do you understand me?"

He kissed his omega's forehead and walked out, giving the bodyguard a cold look, who nodded with his hands behind his back.

He walked around the fourth floor, carefully observing his employees, analysing his movements and expressions, he realised that there were at least five employees missing. He went down to the third floor, walking through the corridors and analysing everything, who entered and who left each room, he even walked through the infirmary, three other missing employees.

The second floor was not very different, I could see that the guards were concentrated mainly at the doors of the game room and Louis's office, two other employees were missing and I went directly to inform Louis of this situation, talk to him and ask him about Harry, he was about to knock on the door, but a bodyguard interrupted him.

"Mr. Horan, two of the guards are having a fight outside and we need your help," the boy informed, Niall could tell he was new, not just from how he stood so stiff, but also from the way he played with his fingers and sweat on his forehead.

"The security matters are in charge of the alpha Malik, why don't you go with him?" He questioned and the bodyguard became more nervous.

"He has asked us not to disturb him when he is with the twins unless it is important, Mr. Tomlinson has also asked us not to touch his office unless his husband needs something and Chief Malik has gone down to the basement," he explained quickly, and Niall would have laughed in his face for being so scared except that everything seemed wrong in that house, so he just nodded and motioned for the guard to take him to the place of trouble.

☺☻☺☻

Zayn finally finished sorting out some pending papers, so when the clock struck midnight, he put everything in the filing cabinet and left his office, closing the door behind him before walking through the halls until he reached the living room, checking the kitchen, the small dining room and the large dining room where they usually held all the meetings and parties, there was no one else but the security personnel in the corridors anymore, most of the lights were off, and only a few lanterns illuminated the corridors to prevent the darkness of night from filling the house. He reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped.

He couldn't stop thinking about all the possibilities, about everything his family had told him, because he too had woken up with a strange sensation at the base of his throat. His mind wandered in a sea of ideas and thoughts that he preferred to bury in a trunk and then throw it into the depths of the ocean, he had no idea what was happening and that bothered him even more, he hated that feeling of being oblivious to the situation, even more if there was something going on at home. He hated that the people around him kept things from him, he hated secrets, he hated that they saw him as a simple omega and not as the authority that he is, and he hated that they wanted to see him as stupid, because he never has been. He approached the front door slowly and locked it. He had never done it, because in the house it was not necessary to close the doors due to all the security that protected them, but that simple gesture had given him some calm, the simple fact of knowing that he closed the front door would help him sleep in peace that night.

"Tomorrow Liam and I are going out with the twins, so I need you to get a van ready as soon as the sun hits the fields," he said as he started down the hall towards the stairs. He didn't look up from the ground at any time and he didn't wait for anyone to answer him either, he wanted to get to Liam as soon as possible, he must be tired and the babies wouldn't let him sleep.

☺☻☺☻

We waited until nightfall to get closer to the house, it was easy to get rid of the guards, no one suspected that someone would shoot them in the back, why would they?

Four bodies lay on the steps, blood staining the stone a dark brown that looked black in the moonlight. We made our way to the door taking care that none of the cameras were on, it had been agreed that the transmission would be cut off after eleven at night, and indeed, none of the cameras had that red light that indicated that it was recording.

"Get ready" I whispered, pressing a button on my earpiece and reaching my free hand to the door. I turned the knob, careful not to make noise, and pushed slowly.

It was closed. I looked up at the alpha who was accompanying me, neither of us expected that the door was locked and trying to force it could activate the alarm system.

"We have a situation" I said, pressing the same button on my headset. The boss said a few things to me and I just nodded even though he knew he couldn't see me.

We'll have to wait until tomorrow then.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, the countdown has begun...