Chapter 347 A Signal

Chapter 347 A Signal
Meanwhile, back at Ryan's house, the atmosphere in the sitting room had become tense and heavy, almost as though everyone in the room was afraid to breathe too loudly, because despite the fact that Derek had been rescued, they were still painfully aware that the most important part of their mission remained unfinished.

Derek, Ryan, Amelia, Mrs. Cole, and the security personnel were all gathered together, while several of the security men had already returned to work, their laptops open in front of them as they continued checking every possible lead and attempting to track Rebecca's phone.

Mrs. Cole had already narrated everything she knew about Adrian, his obsession with Rebecca, the things he had said, and the information she had received from Henry all over again, making sure that nothing was left out that could possibly help them understand where Adrian might have taken Rebecca.

Derek sat quietly throughout most of the explanation, but anyone looking at him could see the anger building inside him.

His jaw was clenched tightly, his hands rested heavily on his thighs, and his eyes remained fixed on the floor as he tried to process everything he had just heard, but beneath the anger was something even stronger, guilt, because he couldn't help but continue blaming himself, his stupidity had cost them again, and even after he had promised Rebecca that he wouldn't allow any harm to come to either her or their child, he had failed woefully.

After several minutes of self-loathing, he finally lifted his head and looked directly at Mrs. Cole.

"So what you're saying is that Adrian kidnapped my wife because he had this delusional fantasy of marrying her?" he asked, his voice barely concealing how angry he was.

Mrs. Cole lowered her eyes in shame before slowly nodding.

"Yes."

Derek stared at her for several seconds, his expression becoming harder.

"And you knew about his obsession and didn't bother to come and tell us before now?" he asked again, his voice quieter this time, but the anger behind it was impossible to miss.

"I knew that something was wrong," Mrs. Cole admitted quietly. "I warned him, Mr. Hemsworth, I tried to make him understand that what he was doing was wrong, but Adrian didn't listen to me, and I honestly didn't believe he would go this far, I thought he was simply obsessed with her and that eventually he would get tired of whatever fantasy he had created in his head and leave her alone."

Derek said nothing, his mind was already somewhere else, remembering every moment Adrian had spent around Rebecca.

He remembered how quickly Adrian had become close to her whenever he and Rebecca had problems, and how he had always seemed to appear whenever she needed someone, he remembered how Adrian had seemed like the hero when Rebecca had almost gotten shot, and now that he thought about it, he couldn't stop wondering whether the shooting had been part of Adrian's plan all along, whether he had somehow arranged it with Celia so that he could put himself in Rebecca's life and gain her trust.

The more he thought about it, the more he hated himself for foolishly allowing everything to happen.

He had seen the signs, maybe not clearly, maybe not enough to understand what Adrian was capable of, but the signs had been there, and if only he had investigated Adrian's background properly, if only he had questioned why Adrian was always around Rebecca, if only he had made his position clear instead of trying to accommodate Rebecca's feelings and allowing Adrian to remain close to her, maybe none of this would have happened.

Maybe Rebecca would still be beside him, maybe their child would be safe, and maybe he would not be sitting there injured and helpless, wondering whether the woman he loved was frightened somewhere.

He slowly closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to push the guilt aside because he knew that blaming himself wasn't going to bring Rebecca back, and right now, she needed him to think clearly.

He slowly lifted his head again, his expression hardening with determination, he needed to get his head straight. Rebecca needed him, their child needed their father and he wouldn't stop until he had found them both and dealt with the people who were tormenting them.

"Did Adrian's friend tell you anything else?" he asked Mrs. Cole, his voice now controlled despite the anger still burning inside him. "Anything about where he could have taken Rebecca, where he usually stayed, places he visited, people he knew, anyone he trusted, anything at all that could help us find him?"

Mrs. Cole shook her head slowly, guilt and regret evident on her face.

"No, Mr. Hemsworth, he didn't tell me anything else, and when I asked him about Adrian's location, he said he genuinely didn't know where Adrian was, he said Adrian had always been secretive about where he went and who he met." She replied, slowly.

Derek leaned back slightly, frustration visible on his face.

"So we have nothing," he muttered almost to himself, his voice heavy with frustration.

Ryan heard him and immediately looked toward him.

"We have something, Derek, we know her phone might still be with them, and once we get the signal, we will get her back home," he assured him softly, trying to give him something to hold on to.

Derek looked at him but didn't respond immediately, because deep down, he was afraid of getting his hopes up only to have them crushed again.

Before anyone could say anything else, one of the security men suddenly lifted his head from his laptop.

"Sir."

Everyone in the room immediately turned toward him, and the man quickly straightened in his chair before looking back at the screen.

"We have a signal," he said, letting out a relieved sigh, the exhaustion clearly visible on his face.

Derek immediately straightened.

"What signal?" he asked hurriedly, his entire attention now focused on the security man.

The man looked at the screen again, his fingers moving quickly across the keyboard as he checked the information appearing before him.

"Mrs. Hemsworth's phone."

The room went completely silent and for a moment, nobody moved. Derek's heart began pounding violently in his chest, hope and fear crashing into each other inside him.

"You found it?" he asked again, almost as though he was afraid he had misunderstood.

The security man nodded.

"Yes, sir, we're picking up a signal from Mrs. Hemsworth's phone."

He immediately stood, ignoring the sharp pain that shot through his injured body, and hurried toward the computer.

"Where?" he demanded, his voice filled with urgency. "Where is she?"

The security man stared at the screen, his expression becoming more serious as he continued working.

"We're working on the exact location now, sir, but the signal is active."

Derek stared at the screen, barely blinking.

"How long?" he asked.

"Give us a few minutes, sir, we're trying to narrow it down, but the signal is strong enough for us to work with."

"Then work faster," Derek said, his voice low but filled with restrained desperation. "Please, just find her."

The security men immediately returned their attention to their laptops, working faster than before, their fingers moving rapidly across the keyboards as they tried to narrow down Rebecca's location.

Ryan stood beside Derek, watching the screen carefully, while Amelia remained seated on the chair with her hands clasped tightly together, her fingers trembling slightly as she silently prayed that the signal would lead them directly to Rebecca.

Mrs. Cole, on her part, had tears streaming down her face, and she placed a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound of her sobs.

Derek remained standing there, staring at the screen as though his entire life depended on the tiny signal moving across it.

At the moment, he didn't care about his injuries anymore, he didn't care about the exhaustion nor about the doctor's advice.

Because somewhere out there was Rebecca, somewhere out there was the woman he loved, carrying their child, and for the first time since she had been taken, they finally had a trail.