Chapter 123
There was no trace of her, the SUV that took her, the person who could’ve dared to take her, or anything regarding the case.
Even after forty minutes of driving along the same highway the shop owner had pointed to, Antonio couldn’t locate or even guess where those people could’ve taken Elara.
His hands trembled in frustration and anger at himself as he parked the car to the side to make a call.
With trembling fingers and a pounding heart, he called George, the sweat on his brow glistening as he tried to steady his voice amid the chaos, knowing every second counted.
“And I think we should primarily focus on the development of—” George paused when he saw his phone vibrating, the caller ID catching his attention.
He knew if Antonio was calling him at this time, even when he was aware of his schedule because of how he used to work for him earlier, it had to be something important.
“I am sorry, Dad. I have to take this,” George stood from his seat.
Logan narrowed his eyes at his son, but didn’t say anything; nonetheless, he motioned for the team to continue the meeting.
Once George ensured no one was following him, he walked to the fire exit to pick up the call.
“This better be p>
“I am sorry. Sir. I failed you.” Antonio’s words made George swallow the rest of his sentence, his heart skipping a beat.
These kinds of words from a bodyguard could never mean anything good.
“What happened?” George asked, hoping Elara didn’t get injured again. That girl had a weird habit of attracting trouble.
However, what Antonio said next crossed all his premonitions.
“Someone took Miss Elara away, sir. And I haven’t been able to find them. I contacted Xylon to track her phone with the tracker, but she left the phone at the shop, and—” Antonio said before he explained everything that happened.
The more George heard, the more his heart sank at the news, while his fists clenched in anger.
“How could you—” George wanted to lash out at Antonio, but he knew his sister the best and knew the man wasn’t at fault this time.
The mere thought of his sister in pain and helplessness made heat rise to his head. He didn’t even know who was behind the kidnapping or what they wanted from her, deepening the sense of danger.
George’s thoughts paused as he remembered the recent incident involving the man who had been observing Elara from the adjacent building.
Could it be Arnold’s team who—? Even the thought alone was enough to send his heart into a panic mode.
She still had nightmares from the last time Elara was kidnapped. What if p>
No. There was no time to think about such useless things. He needed to act fast to find her.
“I am coming. We need to see the CCTV footage and everything to check who took Elara away. George didn’t waste a second in rushing out of the company.
In the meantime, he alerted Xylon and the entire team to get onto the work.
He parked the car and stared at the CCTV footage, the grainy images flickering on his screen, revealing shadowy figures following them and the SUV parked at a distance, their movements deliberate and ominous.
As George watched the footage, a cold dread settled in—this kidnapping was no random act; it was meticulously planned, and that made his stomach tighten.
Those people were following them, and when they thought Antonio had become suspicious, they changed lanes, only to reappear at some distance. The CCTV from the adjacent shop clearly showed the SUV parked at some distance.
The woman who threw that mocha at Antonio was also paid to do it.
George massaged his forehead, observing the clothes the men were wearing.
There was no dress code, no similarities, and even the way they handled her, with such imperfection, made them appear more like local gangsters.
If that were the case, it wouldn’t be too hard to locate them.
George quickly pulled out his phone to call Xylon and inform him of his observations, then made another call to the police station.
At the same time, Daniel, who had been waiting in his company’s lobby for Elara’s arrival, kept looking at his wristwatch.
She should have arrived fifteen minutes earlier. What was taking her so long?
“Sir, Miss Elara must have stopped to eat something,” Alen tried to pacify his boss, whose mood seemed to be worsening.
“She isn’t that kind of person. If she said she would be here in 25 minutes, she must’ve calculated everything. Her phone is switched off too.” Daniel looked at his phone. Something didn’t feel right.
It was almost as if his intuition was telling him something had happened. However, he still wanted to wait for 30 minutes to get over it, in case she got caught up.
He didn’t want to look like a pushover by continually irritating her and making her second-guess the idea of going out with him.
He even made all the preparations with his team for the perfect hiking spot, where they would camp at the top and enjoy the beauty and tranquility of nature in each other’s company.
Should he call her brother to ask where she was?
It was a peculiar position. He wanted to show her just so much, give her everything, but at the same time, he was afraid that that would scare her away. Daniel sighed, feeling complicated.
Alen smiled bitterly.
Sir, she is not your manager who is working on a deadline. She is a woman and is allowed to be late. Alen wanted to tell his boss, but cherished his life more than taking that kind of risk.
Thus, rather than disturbing him, he stepped aside to call Antonio, knowing the bodyguard was always with her.
Antonio, who was driving to the highway again to see if he had missed any cuts between where the SUV could’ve turned, answered the call through the Bluetooth.
“Hey, where are you guys? You are with Miss Elara, right? She said she would be here, but you guys haven’t arrived yet. What’s taking her so long? Can you tell her to hurry up because our boss is getting impatient? And why is she p>
Alen started speaking without a break, and Antonio looked at the phone in annoyance.
“It’s not her fault that she couldn’t make it there in time. She has been kidnapped,” Antonio gritted out.
Alen, who was cut off mid-sentence, paused when he heard what Antonio said.
“What did you say? Kidnapped?” Alen asked. He was about to ask the details of how and what happened exactly when he felt a chill run down his spine.
He turned around, only to come face-to-face with his boss, his pupils dilating.
“Who got kidnapped?” Daniel asked, his gaze dark and cold.
“I—it’s Miss Elara, sir. She—” Alen stuttered.
Daniel took the phone from his hand.
“What happened, and why the hell was I not informed?” Daniel asked Antonio, and the latter could feel his dangerous vibes through the phone.
“We don’t know who did it,” Antonio said, and was about to explain everything again when the call ended.
Whoever kidnapped Elara was surely going to suffer greatly this time, but their primary focus was to find her and ensure she was safe and sound.