Chapter 4: The Kidnapping
1181 Words
"...your younger sister."
Ava's world stopped.
"What?"
Her voice cracked.
"No..."
Damien lowered the phone slowly.
"I'm sorry."
Ava shook her head violently.
"You're lying."
"My sister is at university."
"She should be in class."
"There must be some mistake."
Damien handed her the phone.
"Talk to my head of security."
With trembling fingers, Ava pressed the phone against her ear.
"Hello?"
A man's voice answered immediately.
"Miss Lawson, I'm afraid we've confirmed that your sister, Lily Lawson, was taken about thirty minutes ago outside the university library."
The phone slipped from Ava's hand and landed on the carpet.
Her knees weakened.
"No..."
"Lily..."
Damien caught her before she collapsed.
For a brief moment, she forgot how much she hated him.
Tears streamed down her face.
"I only have her left."
"My parents are gone."
"If anything happens to Lily..."
Her voice disappeared into sobs.
Damien gently guided her to the sofa.
"Listen to me."
"We're going to find her."
"I promise."
Ava looked at him through tear-filled eyes.
"How can you promise something like that?"
"Because I've already started looking."
He picked up another phone.
Within seconds, several large monitors lit up across the room.
Maps.
Traffic cameras.
GPS locations.
Security footage.
His entire security team appeared on video calls.
"Lock down every airport."
"Monitor every highway leaving the city."
"I want every CCTV camera from the university to the expressway."
"No delays."
Everyone answered at once.
"Yes, sir."
Ava stared in disbelief.
"You have all this?"
"I prepare for emergencies."
"This isn't an emergency."
"This is war."
The room fell silent.
One of the security officers suddenly spoke.
"Sir."
"We've found a witness."
Damien nodded.
"Put him through."
The screen switched to a frightened young security guard from Lily's university.
"I... I saw everything."
"What happened?" Damien asked calmly.
"A black van stopped outside the library."
"Two men got out."
"They called Miss Lawson by name."
"She looked confused."
"Then they forced her into the vehicle."
"Did you see the number plate?"
The guard swallowed.
"They covered it."
"Did you recognize either man?"
"No."
"But..."
He hesitated.
"They kept saying..."
"What?"
"They kept saying they needed 'the file' before it was too late."
Damien's face became unreadable.
"What file?"
The guard shook his head.
"I don't know."
"The girl kept saying she didn't understand."
The call ended.
Ava looked at Damien.
"What file were they talking about?"
"I don't know."
"But I think your father did."
Ava closed her eyes.
Every answer seemed to create three more questions.
Her father.
The company.
Her uncle.
Now Lily.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Martha entered quietly carrying a tray.
"Miss Lawson."
"You should eat something."
Ava barely looked at the food.
"I can't."
"You need your strength."
"I said I can't."
Martha gave Damien a worried look before leaving the room.
Damien sat opposite Ava.
"You blame yourself."
"I should have picked her up today."
"You couldn't have known."
"I should have warned her."
"You didn't know she was in danger."
Ava covered her face with both hands.
"For years I believed my biggest problem was saving my father's company."
"I was wrong."
"My family is falling apart."
Damien watched her silently.
He had negotiated billion-dollar mergers without breaking a sweat.
He had faced hostile boardrooms, ruthless competitors, and powerful politicians.
Yet nothing had prepared him for the sight of Ava trying so hard not to break down.
He walked to a cabinet and poured a glass of water.
"Drink."
She looked at the glass but didn't move.
"I don't want water."
"I want my sister."
"I know."
"No, you don't."
Her voice grew louder.
"You don't know what it feels like to lose your parents."
"You don't know what it's like waking up every morning wondering how you're going to protect the only family you have left."
For the first time since they met, Damien's expression changed.
There was pain in his eyes.
"You assume I've never lost anyone."
Ava frowned.
"What do you mean?"
He stared into the fire burning inside the fireplace.
"My mother died when I was twelve."
"My father was murdered six years later."
"I buried both of them before I turned twenty."
The room became silent.
Ava hadn't expected that.
She had read countless newspaper articles about Damien Blackwood over the years.
They described his wealth.
His companies.
His expensive cars.
His success.
None of them had mentioned this.
"I'm... sorry."
Damien gave a faint smile.
"Don't be."
"They're the reason I learned never to trust appearances."
He turned to face her.
"That's why I need you to stop judging this situation based only on what you think you know."
Before Ava could respond, one of the security officers rushed into the room carrying a tablet.
"Sir."
"We've recovered footage from a traffic camera."
"Show me."
The officer placed the tablet on the table.
A grainy video began to play.
A black van sped through an intersection.
The image wasn't clear enough to identify the driver.
But as the van stopped briefly at a red light...
A frightened face appeared in the rear window.
"Lily!"
Ava cried.
Her younger sister's hands were tied.
She looked terrified.
Then, just before the van drove away...
Lily managed to press something against the window.
A small piece of paper.
The camera zoomed in automatically.
The image was blurry, but one word could still be read.
WAREHOUSE.
Damien paused the footage.
"Zoom in."
The technician enhanced the image.
There was another clue beneath the word.
A number.
17.
Damien looked at his security chief.
"Search every warehouse registered under number seventeen within a fifty-kilometre radius."
"Immediately."
"Yes, sir."
Within seconds, computers throughout the security room sprang into action.
Maps appeared on every monitor.
Addresses flashed across the screens.
Ava's heart pounded.
They finally had their first real clue.
But would it be enough?
At that moment, one of the monitors emitted a loud beep.
A new message had arrived.
No sender.
No phone number.
Just a short sentence displayed in red letters.
STOP LOOKING... OR THE GIRL DIES.
The room fell silent.
Damien slowly clenched his fists.
Then he looked at Ava.
"They're watching us."
Just then, one of the monitors flashed red.
A technician shouted,
"Sir!"
"We've intercepted a message."
Damien stood immediately.
"Play it."
Static filled the room.
Then a distorted voice echoed through the speakers.
> "If you want to see Lily alive..."
Ava's heart stopped.
> "Bring us the Blackwood file."
> "You have forty-eight hours."
The message ended.
Silence filled the mansion.
Ava slowly turned toward Damien.
"What is the Blackwood file?"
Damien didn't answer.
Instead...
He walked to a locked cabinet in the corner of the room.
He entered a fingerprint scan.
Then a passcode.
The steel door clicked open.
Inside sat a single black folder marked in gold letters.
BLACKWOOD FILE
Damien stared at it for several seconds.
Then he whispered,
"I prayed no one would ever find out this existed."
Ava frowned.
"What is it?"
Damien looked at her with a sadness she'd never seen before.
"It's the reason your father died."
- Writer
