I head back toward the kitchen to see Margaret is there, moving around like usual
"Where’s Elaine?" I ask not bothering with greeting.
She turns to imdiately.
"Oh.....she went out," she says.
"Went out?"
My voice drops slightly.
"With Aaron."
That stops Completely.
"With Aaron?" I repeat.
My mind starts ticking imdiately.
"When?"
"Soti during the day," she replies.
I nod slowly but sothing already feels off..
"Why wasn’t I inford?" I ask.
My tone sharpening just slightly
Margaret hesitates.
"I... I thought....."
"I gave strict instructions," I cut in.
"Anyti she leaves the house, I get notified."
My jaw tightens. No one disobeys that, no one. I pull my phone out imdiately and call her. It rings once, twice then...Voicemail.
My chest tightens as I try again bt it’s the sa thing. Straight to voicemail.
A cold feeling settles in my gut as I switch to Aaron. It rings and rings and rings. No answer.
Now my jaw clenches hard, Sothing is definitely wrong. I can feel it.
I don’t waste another second.
"Thomas," I call out.
He appears almost imdiately but the mont I see his face.... I know Sothing is wrong.
"What is it?" I demand.
My voice drops dangerously.
"What the fuck is going on?"
Thomas hesitates just for a second but I catch it.
"I was just about to inform you," he says carefully.
My patience snaps instantly.
"Say it."
His expression hardens.
"They were attacked," he says and my stomach drops.
"What?"
"At the ice cream shop they went to."
My hands curl into fists at my sides.
"What do you an attacked?"
My voice is low now bt Thomas knows to take a small step back.
"Shots were fired," he says
"They got caught in it."
"What do you an ’caught in it’?" I ask
"Who shot at them?"
Thomas swallows.
"We’re still gathering details, but....."
"But what?"
He exhales.
"They were shot at inside the shop."
The room goes completely still as sothing dark settles deep in my chest. My fist hits the wall before I even realize I’ve moved, the impact cracking through the room. Pain shoots up my arm, sharp and imdiate, but I don’t care cause I barely feel it.
"When?" I demand my voice rough.
Thomas doesn’t flinch, but I see the way his shoulders stiffen.
"It happened about a few hours ago," he says carefully.
A few hours..... My chest tightens so hard it feels like sothing is squeezing the air out of .
"hours?" I repeat.
My hand curls into a fist again, blood saring slightly against the wall where my skin split.
"And I’m just hearing about it now?"
Thomas exhales quietly.
"You were in the eting with the investors," he says.
I turn to him sharply.
"And?"
"You said no one should disturb you," he continues.
"No matter what."
I drag a hand through my hair, pacing once, twice, my boots hitting the floor harder than necessary.
"I don’t give a fuck what I said," I snap.
My voice rising
"Nothing....." I turn back to him, jabbing a finger in his direction, ".....nothing is more important than my wife."
My wife.....Mine.....and she’s out there, sowhere after being shot at.
My jaw clenches so hard it hurts.
"You should have pulled out of that eting," I continue.
"I don’t care who was sitting in front of . I don’t care what deal was on the table."
My chest rises and falls unevenly now.
"If sothing like this happens, you co get ."
Thomas nods once.
"Yes, sir."
But I’m not done.
"What else?" I demand.
"Where are they now?"
He hesitates.
"What?" I press.
His expression shifts.
"We lost contact after the crash," he says.
My stomach drops.
"What do you an you lost contact?"
"There was a collision," he explains.
"Their car was forced off the road."
My mind starts racing
"And?" I push.
"And when our n got there..." he pauses
"They were gone."
The word echoes in my head and my hands curl into fists again.
"Gone?" I repeat.
My voice drops this ti
"No sign of them," he says.
"No bodies, no driver, no Elaine and no Aaron."
Silence, heavy and suffocating so much that my chest feels tight.
Because this..... this isn’t random.
This isn’t so street attack, this is planned and targeted. And the thought that she’s out there..... probably Hurt and alone or worse....
"Lock everything down," I say, my voice calm now.
"Every road, every exit. I want eyes everywhere."
Thomas nods imdiately.
"It’s already in motion."
"Good."
I start moving again, grabbing my phone, already dialing.
"Get footage from that shop," I add.
"From Every angle."
"Yes, sir."
My grip tightens around the phone, because whoever did this..... Whoever thought they could take her..... They just made the worst mistake of their life.
I turn away from Thomas before he can say anything else. I don’t want to hear it, not right now.
My feet move on their own, fast, taking the stairs two at a ti, I head toward the bedroom.
Ours.
Then I stop.
Because she’s not there, she hasn’t been there in days.
That thought hits harder than it should, I push the door open anyway.
The bed is untouched on her side, like she never ca back. My chest tightens painfully.
I step in, just for a second, my eyes scanning the room like she might magically be there, sitting sowhere, reading and Ignoring .
I’d take that...God, I’d take that. Instead, there’s nothing.
The silence presses in heavily and Unforgiving. As dread starts creeping in, It floods every lart part of .
I look down at my hands..... and They’re shaking.
I stare at them for a second like they don’t belong to .
I can’t rember the last ti this happened, not in a fight, not with a gun to my head.
Not even when I thought I might die. But this?
This is different.
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