Chapter 168 CHAPTER 168:ELARA’S ABDUCTION
It had been a week since Calvin had vanished.
A week of false calm.
A week of unshakable tension masked as normalcy.
Wayne and Elara were home, the house feeling almost peaceful for the first time in months. The bodyguards had relaxed slightly. Cameras rolled as usual, but no alerts. No messages. No strange movements.
Elara, heavily pregnant now, was sitting in the living room, her hand resting gently on her growing belly.
“I feel… normal today,” she said softly, smiling faintly. “Maybe we can try to enjoy ourselves for once.”
Wayne glanced at her, his eyes shadowed but soft.
“Good. You deserve that,” he said, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
They had planned a short trip out of the city—a vacation of sorts. Nothing elaborate. Just to breathe, to escape the suffocating tension that Calvin had left in the air.
The drive to the airport was smooth, Elara leaning against Wayne in the passenger seat, her head resting lightly on his shoulder. She felt relaxed for the first time in days.
Wayne checked in for their flight, handing over passports and tickets. Everything seemed ordinary. He glanced at the security personnel at the gate, scanning the area, as he always did. Protective instincts never turned off, no matter the situation.
“Almost done,” he murmured to Elara, smiling down at her.
She laughed lightly, the sound soft and gentle.
“See? Nothing to worry about. Just a little trip, just the two of us.”
Wayne smiled faintly, but his gut twisted. He always had this niggling instinct always did. Something about this week felt too quiet.
And then, in the blink of an eye, the world shattered.
Elara had just stood up to stretch while Wayne double-checked their boarding passes.
She didn’t even hear it at first the click of a small, precise device at her back.
A sharp tug.
A hand pressed against her mouth.
“Easy,” a voice whispered.
Her blood ran cold. She tried to scream, but the hand muffled her cries.
The bodyguards near the gate were distracted by another commotion a decoy.
Before anyone could react, she was pulled into a waiting van parked at a hidden service entrance.
The doors slammed shut.
The engine roared.
And she was gone.
Wayne turned, finally noticing her absence.
“Elara?” His voice sliced through the terminal.
Daniel and the security team immediately snapped into action, eyes scanning frantically.
“She was just here!” Wayne shouted, panic rising in his chest.
“Sir, we’ll check cameras!” one of the guards yelled.
Wayne’s heart raced, blood pumping furiously. His eyes scanned every direction, every potential exit. But the moment had passed.
He didn’t need confirmation from footage. His gut told him what had happened.
“Elara’s been taken!” he roared, voice echoing across the terminal.
People turned to look. Security tried to calm the crowd.
Wayne didn’t notice.
His fingers clenched into fists.
“She’s pregnant,” he barked at Daniel. “Our baby ...she’s pregnant!”
Daniel’s face paled. “We’ll call the authorities!”
Wayne didn’t wait. He moved toward the nearest exit, scanning the terminal. His mind was calculating, racing.
Where could they have gone?
Who has the skills to evade security this easily?
His stomach tightened. Calvin.
It had to be Calvin.
“He’s doing this,” Wayne said through gritted teeth. “He’s hiding, planning… and now he’s escalated. He knows exactly how to hit me where it hurts the most.”
Daniel and the team nodded quickly, pulling up security feeds.
The cameras confirmed Wayne’s worst fears:
Elara had vanished from the main terminal area. There were blurred images of a van pulling into a service entrance—its license plate obscured, no cameras nearby to track its departure.
Wayne’s jaw tightened.
“Activate all units in the city!” he barked. “Roadblocks! CCTV tracking! Whoever spots that van immediately report! I don’t care who’s involved!”
“Sir should we call the police?” Daniel asked.
“They’re already on it,” Wayne growled. “I don’t care about procedure right now. I care about my wife and child. That’s all that matters!”
He collapsed into a chair for a split second, taking a deep breath.
Her voice echoed in his mind: “This baby… I’m not fragile.”
But Wayne knew better.
She wasn’t fragile, but she was vulnerable. He couldn’t afford mistakes.
His thoughts went back to Calvin every manipulative word, every veiled threat, every dangerous game.
This wasn’t just obsession anymore.
This wasn’t a simple message.
Calvin had crossed the line.
He had abducted a heavily pregnant woman.
Wayne’s chest tightened as adrenaline coursed through his veins.
He was going to find her.
And Calvin would regret every decision he had made.
Wayne barked orders, the sound cutting through panic like a knife.
“Notify every highway patrol! Set up roadblocks! Get every private investigator in the network scanning for a van with a blacked-out plate! No corners left unchecked!”
Daniel was already on his phone, relaying information.
Wayne grabbed his own phone, calling the police department.
“This is Wayne Brooks,” he said, voice controlled but sharp. “My wife has been abducted. She’s seven months pregnant. You have to treat this as a high-priority case life-threatening. Now.”
He hung up, eyes darting around the terminal. Every person moving, every car driving, every van leaving it was a potential lead.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Elara…
He remembered her laughing that morning. Her hands on her belly. Her voice soft. Her warmth.
And now… gone.
His fists clenched.
He wouldn’t let her down.
Not now.
Not ever.
Within minutes, Wayne’s private security network activated. Cameras from nearby roads began scanning. Traffic feeds were pulled. Drones were deployed to track any unusual movement.
Roadblocks were set at major intersections.
Every private investigator and asset he had in the city was on high alert.
Wayne’s mind didn’t stop.
He visualized every possibility.
Where Calvin could hide.
Where he could move next.
Where he might try to negotiate or leave a trail.
But he also knew: Calvin wasn’t just taking Elara to scare him.
He was trying to manipulate. To control.
To hurt Wayne where it would leave a permanent mark.
Wayne’s eyes burned with focus.
I won’t let you touch her.
I won’t let you touch our child.
As he drove out of the airport in his backup vehicle, sirens wailing behind him, Wayne’s mind was sharp.
Every detail mattered.
Every second counted.
He gritted his teeth, his knuckles white on the wheel.
This was no longer just a threat.
This was war.
And Calvin had just fired the first shot.
Wayne wouldn’t rest until his pregnant wife was safely back in his arms.
Not alive. Not whole.
Back.