Chapter 41
849 Words
Elias POV
I swore she wouldn’t spend another day wherever she was. I was going to make sure of that.
The thought of her alone—being taken, hurt, tortured, was enough to make something violent stir inside me. Whoever had touched her, whoever thought they could use her to test me, would not live to repeat the mistake again.
For the first time, I admitted something I had refused to accept before.
That I missed her.
So much that it hurts.
The realization came with frustration, sharp and bitter. I was not a man who longed. I didn’t ache for people. Yet the hours without her had been unbearable, torturous in a way I couldn’t control. The silence she left behind was louder than any threat.
My phone rang.
I answered without a second thought.
“We have a lead about Mrs. Lawson's location” the detective said. “ It’s not confirmed yet, but—”
“Send it,” I cut in.
The moment the address came through, I was already moving. I dialed another number, my steps sharp, controlled.
“I want you to get them for me, no matter what it takes,” I ordered when the call connected. “The police are already on their way. Make sure you get there before they do. I’ll forward the address.”
“Yes, sir.”
I ended the call and drove.
When I arrived and saw David standing there, something dark twisted in my chest. I didn’t stop to ask why he was there. There wasn’t time. There was only one thought in my mind, getting to her.
A sound echoed from upstairs.
We headed upstairs.
I knew my men were already inside, doing exactly what I had instructed. I didn’t want law enforcement getting to the kidnappers first.
This was personal.
I was going to deal with them myself.
When we burst into the room, it was empty.
Except for her.
Mara lay there, bound, blindfolded, motionless.
I didn’t think. I moved.
I untied her hands, my fingers shaking despite myself. Her skin was red where the ropes had bitten into her wrists. Her legs were bruised, angry marks standing out against her pale skin. She was lighter than I remembered when I lifted her into my arms.
Rage flooded me.
They were going to pay.
I carried her out, ignoring everything else—the voices, the questions, the police presence behind me. I laid her carefully in my car, adjusting her so she was comfortable, safe.
I was about to get in when David grabbed my arm.
“Where are you taking her?” he demanded.
I didn’t answer.
I got into the car and drove straight to the hospital.
Hours passed in a blur of white lights and waiting rooms. I didn’t sit. I didn’t rest. When the doctor finally approached me, I turned instantly.
“How is she, Doctor?”
“She’s stable now,” he said. “Dehydrated. Weak. Exhausted. But she’ll be fine. She should wake up soon.”
Relief hit me so hard I had to steady myself.
“I want her in VIP,” I said immediately. “No visitors. No interruptions. I’m the only one allowed in.”
The doctor nodded and arranged it at once. She was transferred to the top floor. I left briefly and returned with assorted fruits, anything she might want when she wakes up. When I entered her room, the sight of her stopped me.
She was pale. Fragile. An IV line running into her arm.
I set the bag down and moved closer, sitting beside her bed. My thoughts turned restless and heavy.
I never hated her.
I hated what she did to me.
From the moment she entered my life, she disrupted my control. I was a man who thrived on discipline and precision. Yet around her, I unraveled. I despised myself for feeling anything at all.
The days without her had proven something I didn’t want to face.
They had been unbearable.
I would never forgive myself if she had been harmed beyond repair.
A memory surfaced, her clinging to me when I carried her, her fingers tightening weakly into my jacket. The way she had murmured my name, faint and breathless, before losing consciousness.
My hand lifted instinctively toward her to touch her pale face.
My phone rang.
I stopped, withdrawing my hand, reaching for it.
“Yes,” I said.
“We were able to capture one of them,” The voice said. “He’s locked up here.”
My jaw tightened.
“Also, the burner phone used to send the anonymous messages has been traced successfully,” he continued.
My eyes lit up immediately and I straightened. “Where?”
“This time, it came from your family's mansion Boss.”
The word settled heavy in the air.
I ended the call slowly.
The room felt different now. Tainted.
So the enemy had been closer than I thought.
Who in the mansion was toying with me?
Who was it?
And how long had they been watching?
- Writer
