A gust of wind blew through the branches of the pine tree Zayn was sitting under, tossing his hair across his face and obscuring his eyes. However, he did not move to stroke his hair away from his face but continued staring blankly ahead. His expression was grave, preoccupied, and deep in thought.

He has been sitting in this ring of emptiness for about a few minutes, his mind going into spasms and racing with the worst terrible scenarios of what might be happening to MJ. He has never been moved to violence in his life and yet, he is seriously contemplating homicide which is out of his character. He exhales heavily through his nose, in an attempt to control his frustration and all of the what-ifs, then hears the sound of footsteps padding towards him and he knew who it was without looking behind him.

"You okay?" Mary asked concernedly as she halts beside him.

Zayn ignored her, hoping she will take the hint and leave him alone to his thoughts.

Mary sighed and sat next to him, cross-legged.

"Look, we can't save the kid with you moping around and Louis blaming himself for what happened. We need to come up with a plan, and we barely have three hours to do that before we meet up with Horan" She said, hoping her words would sink in, so Zayn would realize he has less time to get his shit together.

Zayn reminds silent, weighing what Mary said, and racks his hands through his hair. He glances at Mary, giving her a curt nod without saying anything.

"Good, we are waiting" She gave him a small smile and stood up, going back into the house. Zayn sighed loudly and glance at the sky before standing up and following her into the house.

He opened the door to the living room as Mary, Louis and Ezra averted their gaze to him. He approached them, his mind fluttering on what to say, and glances at Louis. He saw the remorse on his face, and as much as he was angry with him and felt like punching his face. He knew it wasn't his fault. They've been aware for months that they were being followed and they had been careful but ever since MJ came into their lives, they forget he might also be in danger because of them.

They got careless, and now MJ is paying the price.

He cleared his throat and laid out the plan. "We'll go without the usual. We all know what Horan wants and we will give him what he wants"

Everyone waited for him to continue but after waiting for a minute it looked like that's all Zayn had to say.

"Wait, that's it?" Disbelief grew on Ezra's face.

Zayn sighed and turned his gaze solely on him. "If you have a better idea without endangering the life of the baby then I'm all ears," He said.

"I mean, no plan B? No, how to escape if shit hits the fan? We can't just go out there without a plan B, what if he kills us?" Ezra babbled, his eyes reflecting the disapproval in his tone.

"I've told you, he won't kill us. He needs us and besides this isn't about us, this is about MJ. I put him in this mess and......

"No" Louis eventually spoke, interpreting Zayn with a sorrowful look. "It's my fault, it's me...

Mary groaned deeply in a dramatic manner, having enough of the pitiful sight she was enduring from Zayn and Louis. "There's no you," She said briskly, pointing her finger at Louis. "Nor you" She averted her finger at Zayn.

"There's US!"

"It's our mess. We're a team, we stick together, we die together and we will do anything, and everything to protect the kid and bring him back safely. It's our fault he's being used as leverage. So I say we all stop blaming ourselves and get our shit together. The last thing we need is to show any weakness in front of Horan"

Silence enveloped them after Mary finished speaking.

Ezra slumped into the couch and palmed his face. "It's going to be a long night" He murmurs.

The car ride to meet up with Horan was almost silent, except for the radio playing low. Zayn had his eyes on the road, his fingers tapping nervously on the steering wheel while Louis was in the passenger seat, leaning against the window. Mary and Ezra are in the back seat, each in their thoughts. The further they drove to their destination, the narrower the road become, and apart from the city and all they saw were trees and grasslands.

They saw the outline of a building from a distance which looks more like a warehouse from between the trees.

Zayn double-checked the GPS making sure they were in the right location before parking the car in front of the building. "This is it," He said as Louis and Mary cast their eyes around while Ezra stared at the bag on his lap containing the tech.

They snapped their attention to a loud sound of an iron gate being opened and saw five buff men come out of the building and stood at the entrance.

Ezra gulped. "We're going to die" His voice quaver.

Zayn let a sigh through his nose. "Relax" He mummers, and they got out of the car, closing the doors quietly.

They walked towards the men and held their arms up, so the men could search them. But instead, the men moved out of the way, indicating for them to enter. They exchanged confused glances but they went along with it and walked inside the building with men following behind.

They came to a large space filled with about thirty men holding guns, but Zayn's attention was on the man sitting on a comfortable couch in the middle. He could see his blonde hair but his face was hidden in the dark.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Zayn Malik and his three horse's men"

The blonde-haired man whom Zayn assumed is Horan spoke.

"Where's the baby?" Zayn retorted, his voice void of emotions.

Horan stood up and stepped out of the shadows, looking at their surprised expression. "What? Were you all expecting an older guy?" He questioned with an assumed smile, though it didn't reach his eyes.

Zayn slowly looked at Horan, really regarding him for the first time, and stepped forward with Louis, Mary, and Ezra behind him.

"Where's the baby?" He repeated.

The blonde-haired man curled his lips into a smirk, staring at Zayn. "Drop the attitude, Malik. You don't wanna piss me off. If I were you I will keep my anger in check, and you're in no position to be ordering me around. If you want something from me, you beg for it"

Zayn grits his teeth inwardly and lets out a breath to calm his boiling rage. "Please, where is the baby?" He begged and didn't care. He wasn't embarrassed or humiliated. He just needed to know if Mj is safe.

Horan arched an eyebrow as if expecting Zayn to put up some resistance. He snapped his fingers, then a boy around Ezra's age, stepped into the light, cuddling a sleeping MJ in his arms.

Zayn, Mary, and Louis breathe a sigh of relief but Ezra's face paled, his mouth gaping when he found two pairs of blue eyes staring right at him. "Cara?" He minced the words out in disbelief.

Suddenly, the atmosphere became tense.

Zayn, Louis, and Mary snap their gaze toward Ezra, visibly baffled and shocked.

"Cara is a boy!" Mary eventually spoke with conflicting emotions, but there was no mistaking the anger in her eyes, though. Ezra's eyes roamed wildly around, jumping between Mary, Louis, and Zayn, and watched their shocked glimmer replaced with fury.

"Guys, wait it's not what you're thinking. I will never betray us"

Horan chuckled lightly as if the whole situation is a big joke. He glances over his shoulder at Cara. "Don't tell me he's the one you were planning on introducing to me"

Horan's words were the last straw to Louis's patience, then he shoves Ezra, causing him to stumble a bit backward. "You son of a bitch" He spits out, as anger bubbles through his chest.

"Hey!" Cara called out to Louis. "Shove my boyfriend one more time and you'll lose that fucking hand," He warned.

"Stay out of this" Zayn replied, gritting his teeth as he glares at Cara.

"Well, he's not the only one among you who is familiar with one of my brothers," Horan uttered, stressing the word familiar out, leaving an awkward silence in its wake.

Zayn raised his brow at Horan's comment as he and Louis exchanged confused looks before looking at Mary and Ezra who reflected the same perplexed faces.

They paused their family feud and averted their attention to Horan.

"What did you just say?" Zayn queried, knitting his brows.

Horan smiled at them sardonically. "I said he's not the only one among you who is familiar with one of my brothers" Horan's words were slow and deliberate.

Louis, Ezra, and Zayn turned their eyes to Mary.

"Why the hell are you looking at me, it's not me, I haven't been familiar with anyone since I came to this City" She whispered yelled, glaring at them.

Louis frowned, then veered his attention to Zayn. It was like a light bulb just went off in his head. Instantly, Mary and Ezra followed Louis's gaze to Zayn with a knowing look.

Zayn knew what they were thinking but he ignores them. He doesn't remember sleeping with a blonde guy who looks like Horan and besides, they're here to trade the tech to get MJ back. Sleeping with one of Horan's brothers has got nothing to do with their current situation.

"Look, we are here to give you the tech in exchange for the baby then we'll leave and we promise never to cross you"

Horan hums, approaching Zayn as if he's thinking of what Zayn just said, and with lightning speed, Zayn never saw coming, Horan punched him in the face hard. Zayn fell to the ground and before Louis, Mary and Ezra could react, they felt guns pointed at the back of their heads and thirty guns pointed in their direction. They gulped and held their hands up.

Horan tsk as if he was disappointed. "I heard you're fast, but I guess not fast enough"

Zayn stood up and wipes the blood from the corner of his lips, glaring at Horan. He knows Horan is toying with him but he won't give him that satisfaction to jeopardize getting MJ back or putting his team in more danger. He strokes his jaw and said calmly. "The bag hanging around Ezra contains the tech, now take it and give us the kid"

Horan quirked his brow with an intensity that would make anyone looking at him shiver. "Do you remember the guy you met at the rainbow club a year and a few months back?" Horan retorted as four of his men strode forward and stood behind him.

"Did you bring us here to find out who slept with your brother?" Zayn managed to say with great restraint, his anger rising with each passing second.

Horan didn't answer but continued staring at him, expecting an answer to his question.

Zayn took a deep breath, knowing he has to cooperate and play along with Horan's game, or else everything will go south soon. "Look I have been to that club countless times. I've slept with a lot of people I'd met in that club and I don't remember most of the faces I sleep with, okay"

Horan snorted. "Of course, you don't remember, but am willing to help you remember"

As he finished speaking, the men behind him stride toward Zayn, cracking their knuckles. Zayn knew what was coming and quickly glance at Louis, Mary, and Ezra, his eyes telling them not to interfere before he felt a ram to his chest, followed by ferocious blows and kicks, knocking him to the ground.

Ezra whimpers, tearing his eyes away from the scene. Mary was looking on, flinching at every kick and blow with a helpless expression while Louis prays for a miracle to happen for the assault to stop soon.

Suddenly, a high-pitched wail coming from MJ echoes throughout the warehouse. Horan waved his hand, gesturing his men to stop, and whirled to Cara "Take him away"

Cara nodded, soothing the baby but hesitated to move. "Please don't hurt him," He said, darting at Ezra. "And don't kill them, they are his family"

Horan raised his brow at Cara and didn't reply. Cara rolled his eyes and step back into the dark, taking the baby with him through the back door of the warehouse. Horan crouched down next to Zayn, examining his bruised face and body.

"Remember anything yet?" He asked with an assumed tone.

"Fuck you" Zayn managed to say in a whisper as excruciating pains engulfs his entire body. Groaning, he slowly turned his body sideways to spit out the blood in his mouth.

Horan pulled his phone out from his pocket and swipe the screen a few times before bringing it to Zayn's eye view to show him the image on the screen.

"Remember him now?" He questioned.

Louis, Ezra, and Mary tried to catch a glimpse of the picture from where they stood but they couldn't see anything.

Zayn blinked his eyes a few times to get rid of the blurriness he was experiencing and Horan slightly slapped his right cheek for him to pay attention to the image he was showing him.

Zayn squinted his eyes to see the image Horan was displaying and became visibly shocked when he saw a picture of Harry on the screen.

When Horan realized Zayn has recognized his brother, he stood up and placed the phone back in his pocket. "Yeah, that's my brother" He growled, followed by a vicious kick to Zayn's ribs.

Zayn groans loudly at the force of the kick, trying not to scream out the pain. Horan smiled enjoying Zayn's agony and spoke.

"Not only did you get him pregnant"

*Kicks*

"But you also stole one of my cars he was driving"

*Kicks*

"And kidnapped my nephew"

*Kicks*

As Zayn's body endures the agonizing and torturous pains, his mind was running overdrive, trying to make sense of Horan's utterances and everything he had just found out. He doesn't remember meeting Harry at the club, he doesn't remember sleeping with him. He has only met him twice, at the parking lot and the beach. He would have recalled meeting someone like Harry if he had encountered him before and if they had met before, why didn't Harry say anything and pretended not to know him? It can't be a coincidence that they both forgot about meeting each other after a one-night stand. And Harry got pregnant? Harry got pregnant! His brain began screeching at that realization.

Does that mean MJ is .......

"Finally, connecting the dots?"

Horan's face appeared in his blurry vision then he felt a kick in his face before everything fell into darkness.

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Hello 👋

It has been a year or two, I can't remember. Hope you're all doing well. Sorry for the long wait. Life hasn't been easy.😔 I'm not fully back into writing but when I get the time I will write. Don't worry I will finish this story. I logged on to Wattpad and there are a lot of messages that I don't think I can go through all, so sorry if I don't reply you. Thanks for all the messages. I appreciate it.

I hope my writing is okay 🙈😂.

Thoughts on the chapter?

Merry Christmas in advance and Thanks for reading.💕