Chapter 261 261

Chapter 261 261
MAD

“Well, you don’t know that monster. That man, I thought, was just a manipulative opportunist. I clearly underestimated his capability and talent. All this time, he’d been orchestrating my downfall from the shadows.”
“I fueled his revenge. I’m to be blamed for this, too, and if something happens to my sister, I don’t mind committing murder.” If he said it weeks ago, I would have laughed at him, but he seemed to have learned from his mistakes and began to come around.
“Take the right. Take the right lane!” Nites said urgently. 
“All right. No need to scream!” I barked as I swerved the wheel hard enough to take a sharp right turn and hit the gas as the exit sign appeared ahead, throwing Valentine to the side. 
“Seatbelt.” I glared at him before he could complain. “And don’t fucking ask.”
“How did you get a driver’s license?” He sounded confused and amused.
“Cut him some slacks, sir,” Nites said harshly. I felt like he was holding himself back from swearing at the prince’s face. “He hasn’t been behind the wheel since his sister died in a car crash.”
“My apology,” he said quietly.
“I did once. In Mexico, remember?” My pulse leaped into overdrive when the SUV came into view. I raced forward, overtaking cars in their lanes. 
At this moment, I forgot about driving safely, obeying traffic rules, and the speed limit. This was a matter of life and death. I would pay the consequences later once Tara was safe.
“How can I forget, sir? Porter knows no one would shoot the car or even attempt,” Nites said.
“And it’s bulletproof. Unless the aim is to slow it down,” Valentine said. “By shooting the tire, it can harm Tara.”
When the car carrying Tara turned a hard right, I stopped breathing. Panic surged through me, straight and hot. This time, I watched my woman about to get killed, and that thought alone sent another spike of fear through me. 
“Fuck!” I sped up as I watched her ride hit the railing and fly off the bridge. “Tara!” 
“Stop the fucking car!” Valentine yelled.
We had the same thought. I didn’t care we were in the middle of the street. I hit the brake. The tires screeched. The car halted. The smell of burning rubber filled the car. 
Simultaneously, we abandoned the car in the middle of the road and ran towards the bridge. The adrenaline in my blood was in overdrive. I tried hard not to avoid being overrun by the passing cars at their speed limit. 
Cars halted for us, honking, and some drivers were cursing and recognizing Valentine and me.
I was grateful for Nites being on my side all the time, doing his job, protecting me from the road accident while Valentine was ahead of us and had managed to cross the road, running to where the car took off side, colliding with the rails, flying off into the water. 
We made it, and I was still catching my breath. Watching the damage was brutal. Fear began to blind me. I still saw the last whirl as the water swallowed the car down, leaving me to wonder if Tara would survive the impact or die drowning. 
No. I couldn’t think like that. She was a survivor. 
My mind raced as I took off my jacket. Before I could attempt to jump, Lynx was already jumping, and surprisingly, Valentine followed.
“They can do it.” Memphis stopped me, gripping my arm. “They’re gonna need us up here.”
“Jesus Christ!” I pulled my hair in fear and frustration, and I’d never felt so useless in my entire life. 
My whole body began shaking, both from cold and shock, and I was on the verge of collapsing. I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t think through the rage and fear choking me from within. 
“Breathe.” Nites gripped my arms, shaking me. “They will find her. It’s only a few seconds before—”
I nodded frantically. “Stop talking, please?” I took deep breaths until I felt something in my chest— the agony and guilt. I went to the railings, waiting for them to appear.
Every second counted, but Tara hadn’t appeared.
The waiting was the most excruciating thing to do, and the crowd began to gather. The traffic started to pile up. In the distance, I heard the whine of sirens from ambulance and police cars, and the roar of helicopter blades grew louder above us. 
The ambulance arrived. The cops approached. The royal intelligence services just appeared out of nowhere. The noise from the helicopter became deafening, and the divers just jumped into the water. Two coast guard fast rescue boats showed up.
I grew restless, waiting for good news and miracles. I didn’t have the strength and the will to do all the talking. Nites began explaining, handling what he was best at.
The cops began creating barricades, securing the area, and handling the flow of traffic. Despite my fear, I couldn’t help but admire them for arriving on time and how Serevians listened to the authorities.
When the crowd gasped in unison, I looked at the water. My heart squeezed painfully at the sight. There was no denying that it was Tara in her white dress, covered in blood. Through my blurry vision, she was lifted by Valentine, surrounded by Lynx and the three divers, but I didn’t see Sawyer.
The helicopter lowered the rescue basket. They placed Tara carefully and wrapped her in a foil blanket, securing her. Before she was lifted, I saw her hand move.
She was alive. I sighed in relief. My shoulders were shaking as I cried in silence, but I still felt the rage boiling in my body. Sawyer wasn’t found. It could mean he was alive. 
The crowd quickly spread out, away from the bridge.
“Let’s go, sir. I’ll call Damian to get the address where the helicopter takes her.”
I looked at the water one more time before I left and followed Nites. This time, I let him take the wheel. 
“What about Valentine and Lynx?”
He drove us away. “They ride with the coast guards. They’ll be fine. This is Lynx’s scene, and Valentine is a former Special Warfare, not as expert as the Navy with water, but he’s trained to swim.”
My phone vibrated. I quickly answered the call the moment Damian’s name appeared on the screen. 
“Where did they take Tara?”
“Reginalt Royal Hospital. You’re not that far. I’m on my way. See you there.”
“Wait. How’s Sylvian?”
“Critical. He lost a lot of blood, and he’s in the operating room right now. I found something interesting, but I can’t talk to you on the phone. I’m driving.”
“See you there.” I hung up the call. “Take us to—”
“That hospital?”
I looked at one of the tallest buildings I could see behind the windshield with the big name lit up in red and white. “Yeah, that one.”
My phone vibrated again. This time, it was from an unknown number. “Who the fuck is calling me?”