Chapter 19: “No Way Back”

Adrian’s POV

“FIND THAT VAN NOW!”

My voice echoed through the room, sharp enough to make everyone get to work immediately.

“Plate number, sir?”

“Zoom in,” I snapped.

The footage was zoomed in, blurry but not useless.

“Enhance that frame. I want every digit and every scratch on that vehicle.”

My chest felt tight like something was pressing down on it. What was this feeling? Fear? No, I'm supposed to be composed in this situation and not let them see me falling.

But this, this was something i never imagined would happen. I watched the screen again and again and I couldn’t help but notice how they rough-handled my woman.

The way they grabbed her and the way she struggled to break free. My jaw clenched, whoever did this to her was going to pay and that was my vow.

“Sir, we’ve got partial plates,” one of my men said quickly. “Tracking traffic cams now.”

“Do it faster.”

I ran a hand through my hair, as I paced back and forth the room. This wasn’t random, It was too clean like it was done by some professional. Still lost in my thoughts when the buzzing of my phone brought me back to reality.

It was an unknown number yet it felt familiar to me. I answered immediately while trying to keep my cool.

“Where is she?”

A pause then that same distorted voice came from the other side of the line.

“You look stressed.” He said.

“If you touch her…”

“Relax,” he cut in smoothly. “She’s alive. For now.”

“For now? What do you mean by that?” I could feel something cold settling in my chest.

“You want money?” I asked flatly.

He laughed, the sound dipping with mockery. “If I wanted money, she’d already be back home.”

That confirmed it, this wasn’t just some hungry guy looking for a rich payday, this was personal.

“What do you want?” I asked, my voice quieter now.

“I want to see how far you’ll go,” he said.

“To protect something you finally care about.”

I forced myself to stay still.

“You’re running out of time, Adrian.”

Click and the line went dead.

I turned sharply towards my men. “Lock down every exit in the city.”

One of them frowned, “Sir?”

“No one gets in or out without us knowing. Check private routes too. I want checkpoints, I want eyes everywhere.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And get me everything on recent warehouse rentals, abandoned properties, docks, just anything off-grid.”

“Right away.”

I stared at the paused image on the screen again.

My Amber.

“I’m coming for you,” I said under my breath.

“And when I find him…”

My voice dropped.

“He won’t get the chance to die.”

*****

Amber’s POV

My eyes fluttered open slowly, my vision blurry at first then the throbbing headache, everything felt heavy. It was like my brain was trying to capture everything and see everything at the same time.

It was dark, cold and quiet. I tried to move but my hands wouldn’t budge and that was when it hit me. The struggle to get home and the kidnapping.

Okay, okay, think. Don’t panic, you know better than to panic. I swallowed, forcing myself to stay calm as my vision adjusted.

By now my eyes were getting used to the darkness and I could see that it’s a small room with no windows and concrete walls too.

There was a bulb hanging from the ceiling though it didn’t seem to be working

It’s real, not a dream. I’ve been kidnapped. I could feel my chest tightening but I forced myself to breathe through it.

Then suddenly I could hear the sound of footsteps before the door creaked open.

A figure stepped in. From the shadows, he looked tall though I couldn’t make out if he was dressed in black but he had his face covered.

I stiffened.

“Good,” the voice said. “You’re awake.”

My throat felt dry.

“What do you want?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

He chuckled.

“Straight to the point, as usual. I like that.”

I stayed silent, watching him carefully.

“Do you know why you’re here?” he asked.

I shook my head slowly.

“Because of him,” he said.

Adrian.

“You’re lying,” I said quickly. “If you had a problem with him, you would go after him and not me.”

He tilted his head slightly.

“Ah… but you’re wrong.”

He stepped closer.

“You’re his weakness. Funny thing about powerful men, they always think they don’t have one. And besides, I don’t see a reason why you will be with someone like him and not me.”

My fingers curled in disgust despite the restraints.

“No,” I said, firmer this time. “I’m not his weakness and there’s certainly no one I would be with other than Adrian .”

There was silence then I could hear his mocking laughter.

“I see, feisty huh? Well, let’s see how long you will keep this up.”

He crouched slightly, bringing himself to my level.

“Let’s see how he’s gonna rescue you before you become mine.”

My stomach dropped, mine ? What does that even mean? Before I could respond, his phone buzzed.

He glanced at it then smiled.

“Perfect timing.”

He turned the screen toward me.

It was a live feed of Adrian looking distraught while pacing back and forth.

To others he looked calm but I could see it already. The tension, the anger and the fear.

My heart clenched in pain for him, worried that I was the reason for this and I longed for nothing more than to hug him.

“See?” the man said softly. “Everything he’s doing is being watched by me and all his efforts would be futile. He will lose hope eventually and stop the search then you will be mine.

I shook my head.

“No, that won’t happen. I would rather die than be yours. I spat in his face.”

He frowned, then slowly wiped his face clean.

His smile disappeared. “What did you just say?”

A small, shaky breath left me but I held his gaze refusing to show weakness.

“You just made the biggest mistake of your life.”

You think this is his weakness? I think you overestimated my value. Watch him figure this out and I bet you won’t live to tell the story.”

The room went quiet. I could see his expression shift and that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to plant the seed of self doubt.

When I heard his footsteps down the hallway, I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Please Adrian, come get me quickly.

Adrian’s Pov.

Back at the villa, a new alert flashed across the screen.

“Sir!” one of the men called out. “We’ve got a location hit!”

I turned instantly. “Where?”

“…It’s coming from inside your old properties list.”

I froze, that list? I hadn’t used those locations in years. Which meant only one thing, this was someone who knew me.

My expression darkened more like I was ready for war.

“Prepare the cars,” I said. As I picked up the gun I hadn’t handled in years.