The Years We Took for Granted

Chapter 5

When I woke again, my entire body ached and felt weak.

Coarse ropes bound my arms and legs so tightly that I couldn't move.

I was in an old warehouse that had clearly been abandoned for years, with discarded junk piled all around.

Beside me, Vivian was also tied securely to a chair.

Her eyes were red, her cheeks streaked with tears, and her whole body trembled.

The warehouse door flew open, and Derek's disheveled figure burst into view.

All his usual composure and dignity were gone. Raw panic and terror covered his face.

He breathed hard and stumbled as he walked.

The instant he came through the door, his terrified gaze locked on us. "Don't touch them! Whatever you want, I'll give it to you! Money, resources, connections—anything I have is yours. Let them go now!"

He roared at the kidnappers, his voice urgent and frantic.

Their leader gave a mocking laugh. "Mr. Lockwood, you can't have everything. You get one of them. Choose."

Vivian cried harder. Her body shook as she looked at Derek through her tears, her eyes filled with dependence and hope.

I watched him quietly, my heart calm. I had already prepared myself for any outcome.

But the next moment, Derek answered without the slightest hesitation. "Elise Marlowe."

My heart clenched as a tender ache spread through it.

So even after everything had come to this, some place deep inside him still belonged to me when life and death were at stake.

After all, the bond and affection of 15 years had long since sunk into our bones.

The faintest flicker of emotion and doubt had just stirred in me when the kidnapper in front of me suddenly laughed.

He hurried over and untied every rope around me.

Leaning close, he spoke with fawning respect. "Congratulations, Ms. Marlowe. We knew you were still the one Mr. Lockwood valued most. But was it really necessary to stage all this personally just to test his feelings?"

My entire body went rigid. I stared at him in shock.

Stage it? Test him?

I was completely bewildered. I had never planned any of this.

Before I could explain, Derek erupted in fury beside me.

Every trace of panic, fear, and concern vanished from his face, replaced by towering rage and bone-deep coldness.

He strode forward and slapped me hard across the face.

The force snapped my head to the side, and searing pain exploded across my cheek.

I stood there stunned as half my face rapidly swelled and burned.

My body was rigid when I looked at the man before me in disbelief.

Derek's eyes were bloodshot, and violence churned in them. "Elise Marlowe, you've gone too far. You actually used something this despicable to test me?"

He gave me no chance to explain. Turning away, he hurried to Vivian.

With infinite care, he lifted her into his arms. She was limp with fear, and he held her with exquisite gentleness and aching concern.

Vivian buried herself against his chest, sobbing softly and trembling.

Derek never looked at me again. Carrying her, he turned and strode out of the warehouse without looking back.

In an instant, I was alone in the enormous building with a group of hard-faced kidnappers watching me like predators.

The pain in my cheek was sharp and clear, but the cold spreading through my heart was far worse.

I knew with absolute certainty that I hadn't staged this.

Then who had hired these men?

Before I could make sense of it, their fawning expressions disappeared.

They came forward again and roughly tied me to the chair, leaving me unable to move.

My heart tightened, and I struggled with all my strength.

The ropes cut deep into my flesh until my whole body went numb with pain. "Let me go! Who sent you?"

No one answered.

One of the kidnappers took out a lighter and set fire to the discarded boxes and debris piled at his feet.

Flames leaped up and spread in seconds.

Crimson fire swallowed the dim warehouse, and the heat scorched my skin.

Terror rose inside me as I struggled desperately. "I can pay you! Let me go, and I'll give you as much money as you want!"

No matter what I promised or how I pleaded, the kidnappers remained unmoved.

They watched coldly as the fire spread, then hurried out and shut the heavy door behind them.

The raging flames devoured everything around me, sending thick smoke billowing through the warehouse.

Bound in place and unable to move, I could only watch as the fire crept closer, step by step.