Chapter 149 THE CALL.
LUCIEN’S POINT OF VIEW.
‘What the hell do you want?” I said through gritted teeth as I stared at the number on my phone screen. The sound of his laughing hits the speaker, and in that moment, I wished I could grab him through the phone.
“I want a way we can all win, son. And guess what?” He whispered. “I already have a fantastic idea.” Before I could ask what he meant, the television on the other side of the room blared to life, followed by the sound of his voice coming through its speakers.
“Finally, I can see inside Valerian’s house.” Another voice interjected, and we all turned to see who the hell it was. From the corner of my eye, I could see the officers grab Roxanne, as well as their equipment, and walk out of their line of sight.
“Valour.” Valerian gasped at the sight of the man on the screen. He looked exactly like him, only younger. “You bastard, what the hell are you doing?”
“I do not think it's wise to speak to me like that, not when I have your precious daughter with me,” he chuckled, and at the mention of any reference to Sloane, it was as if my body received life again.
“You know where Sloane is?” I asked, and to my horror, he chuckled.
“Ah, you must be Lucien…I’ve heard a lot about you. But you’re not my target; my darling brother and his wife are.” He said, but all I could do was let my eyes flit around in search of Sloane. But all I could see were drums and shipping equipment.
“What do you want, Valour….what do we have to do to get our daughter back?” Valerian asked, and before Valour could respond, my father’s voice interrupted.
“We want everything.” He whispered evilly, a maniacal laughter following his crazy talk.
“What do you mean?”
“Stupid…you were always so stupid. I don't know what the hell mom and dad saw in you, Valerian. We mean we want the company, the money, the properties….every fucking thing.” Valour yelled with a weird smile. I grimaced at the sight of the scar on his face. The ugly thing ran across his cheeks and stopped at his neck, giving him a terrifying look.
“You must be insane,” Valerian responded, and I glared at him, because I knew I would give anybody anything as long as it meant Sloane would be back here. My family had more than enough money to last us at least eight centuries, even after I give my father what he fucking wants.
It was why we were so unbeatable, because the world, and my dad, thought they had an inkling of just how rich we were. But they never did, and they would never know. True wealth lies in silence, and my ancestors took immense pride in being the shock factor.
“Deal, when do you want it?” I said, stepping up so I was right in the centre.
“Oh, perfect!” Valour clapped, as he chuckled. “Young Master Ravenscroft is ready to drop everything for his girl. That’s admirable.’ He said, before his eyes went back on Valerian. “But I am not after your money; Eldric is. What I want is Valerian’s, something that should have been mine years ago.”
“You expect me to give you all that; fine. But how sure am I that we will get our Sloane back after doing that?” he asked, his eyes narrowed, and all of a sudden, Sloane’s mom withdrew herself from his hold.
“Are you out of your mind?” his wife whispered, her eyes running across his face in shock and hurt. Shr turned away from him and looked at the screen. “We will be at the location of your choosing with all you need. I will sign it personally if need be, and so will Valerian.” She said, her tear-stained cheeks, coupled with her raged hair, pale lips, and swollen eyes, really tying the extent of her despair.
“Oh, honey.” Valour mocked, and she flinched at the remark. “If only you’d chosen me, Sloane would be our kid, and none of this would have happened. But you had to pick Valerian… you had to betray me, and be a fucking whore.” His eyes suddenly lost the playful glint and were replaced with something dreadfully sinister.
“We were never together, Valour.” She whispered, as if it took the last of her strength to do so.
“It doesn’t fucking matter!” Valour yelled, slamming his hands onto a desk. “You should never have even fucking looked at him. You should have known that I would ask for your hand. It was what a normal human would do.” He hissed, and suddenly shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t care. “It doesn’t matter anyway. You will pay for everything now.
Meet us at the location Eldric will send to the young master with the signed documents, or else…” he trailed off, and suddenly, I heard a scream, followed by a grunt, and a hiss.
Sloane.
No.
My father appeared on the screen with my girl in his arms, his grip tight on her hair as she struggled against him. My eyes took in the red bruise littered across her jaw, and I swear, in that moment, I knew; I would be the one to fucking kill him.
My promise be fucking damned. He would pay for every bruise, even if it was the last thing I did.
Sloane’s mother gasped and inhaled a sharp breath from beside me, her hand slapped over her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks again.
“I’m glad we can all see what’s at stake here,” Valour said with a smile….I wanted to fucking wipe it off that lizard face of his. “Now, don’t be late; or else….”
He trailed off with another maniacal laugh, and suddenly, the screen cut off.
“Fuck.” Ace whispered, but I could barely hear anything. All I did was make the necessary texts to facilitate the transfer of ownership, because the properties and the wealth didn't matter if I didn’t have Sloane by my side.
Only she mattered.
“Mr Ravenscroft.” The police chief said, diverting my attention from my texting, so I stared at him. “I have a plan that will ensure we get Sloane out of there in less than ten minutes. And you won't have to give him a dime. Because this is risky, we have no idea what he’ll do once he gets what he demands. Will he release her, or will he harm both of you?
Our best choice is seeking a way through this so nobody gets hurt.”
“Fine,” I replied with an exasperated sigh. “What do you have in mind?”