Chapter 15

Skylar’s P.O.V.

I knelt beside the wooden chair that I just fell off. The duct tape over my mouth was almost choking the hell out of me. I moved my hand back and tried to head over to the blade that was placed across from me.

My hands were tied behind me, with my legs right below them as I was kneeling. Suddenly, the door cracked open and he entered inside. My eyes widened a bit before I stumbled back.

The anger was evident in his face as he eyed me with sheer annoyance in his face. For the first time in a while, I was scared of his looks. He looked dangerous like he was capable of doing anything and I'm completely helpless. Tears almost pricked in my eyes at the sight of him. He crouched down before me as he plucked the duct tape off my mouth.

“How’s my girl doing?” He asked, a crooked smile forming across his face.

I looked back at the man and cringed at his face. “Doing better than your daughter.”

Luke stared at me angrily. I left the hotel room early this morning only to find myself kidnapped by a bunch of business rivals of my husband’s. Luke was Lindsey’s father, who was supposedly having a deal of marrying his daughter off to Ethan. But since Lindsey ran away right before the wedding and Ethan forced me to fill her shoes, Luke promised us he would come for revenge.

Right then, I remembered his words away from the altar.

I’ll come for you.

I didn’t pay heed to his warning back then because I already had so many things to worry about. Moreover, I thought Ethan took good care of him after the wedding. Nevertheless, he came back for me.

“For someone whose life is at stake, you do have a smart mouth.” He said.

“What can I say? Those who fear death are already dead. Famous last words.”

“Does your husband care about you going missing?” He asked.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Does your daughter care about you going behind the bars in a few hours?”

His anger ticked. “That confident about your husband?”

I gave him a tight smile. “Yes.”

He got up and pulled the chair towards himself and sat down before me.

“Let’s give him a call, shall we?” He said, giving me a wicked smile yet again.

***

Ethan’s P.O.V.

I got out of the hotel cellar when my phone rang in my pockets. I grabbed it from the inside and took the call.

“Who’s it?” I asked in a hurry.

“How are you doing, cousin?” Jake’s voice rang in my ears. “Did the news reach you?”

I gritted my teeth in anger. “I’m not even surprised. How can you fall so low on your part?”

“Well, you got me arrested. Who puts their family behind the bars for some chick who’s going to be in your life only for the next few months or perhaps, years.?” He said.

“Skylar is my family. At least for the next few months. So don't you dare go there right now.” I said.

He chuckled in response. “Well, you know you can’t trust her completely. She did get me out of the jail.”

I gripped the phone in anger. “And such ungrateful piece of shit you are.”

He laughed again. “Ungrateful? What are you talking about, brother? I’m going to make sure to have her in safe hands.”

“Yes, like being with you is the safest place she could be in,” I said.

“Hold on there. Are you sure you’re in your senses? Why do I feel like you’re thinking she’s with me?”

My jaw tightened. “It’s not the time for games, Jake. I know you kidnapped her. What the hell do you want from me?”

“Wait a second.” He said, his voice going serious. “Ethan, where the hell is Skylar?”

“Shouldn’t you be knowing that already?”

“I didn’t kidnap her for fuck’s sake!” He said. “Ethan, I’m dead serious. I do not know where she is.”

I frowned at him. “Jake, you-”

“Someone else kidnapped her.” He said. “Fuck it, you got the wrong information.”

Just then, my phone rang again. It was coming from some unknown number. I put Jake’s call on hold and received the call.

“Who is it?” I asked, my voice remaining calm.

“Ethan.” I heard his voice. My eyes widened in surprise.

“Luke,” I said, in anger. “Is that you?”

“I’m glad you still remember me, son.” He said. “Although I’m rather disappointed your wife here didn’t remember me until I got to the details.”

I widened my eyes when reality sank into me. So he was the one behind all this. I should have guessed better.

Right after I got married to Skylar, Luke warned me about how he was going to get back at us for betraying him. But in my defense, it was his daughter who betrayed me. She ran away from the wedding and I had no choice but to marry Skylar. It wasn’t my fault that things had taken a weird turn for all of us.

And when he warned about getting back at Skylar, I made sure he couldn’t do anything to her career as I destroyed every evidence of my planned marriage to his daughter. But I never took him to do this to her. To abduct her and put her life at stake. How could he do this? What I did is not something that deserves this.

I might have done something to him, but it has nothing to do with Skylar. She was merely doing what I forced her to. She did not deserve this. I hate the fact that he has her and I’m able to do nothing about it!

“Luke, where is Skylar?” I asked him.

He gave me a bitter laugh. “Do you think I abducted her just so I could give her back to you?”

I closed my eyes and gripped the phone in anger to sustain myself from speaking anything wrong. “What do you need, Luke?”

“Now, you’re coming to the point, son.” He said. “Do you remember the things I’ve been wanting from the wedding?”

“Yes,” he said. “You’ll get whatever you want but just tell me where I can find her!”

“Easy there.” He said. “I’m not done with you yet.”

I sighed and waited for him to continue.

“I need you to get down from being the CEO.”

My words were cut off at the edge of the tongue as I heard his words. This man really seemed to be not knowing where he was heading. How can he want me to get down from being the CEO of my company?

“Did you hear yourself, Luke?” I asked him again. “How did you think I’d ever do that?”

“You know well what I am capable of doing to her, Ethan.” He said. “She’ll be dead in a second and you wouldn’t even be able to do anything about it.”

I stopped myself from speaking any further when he warned me. His words have stirred a foreign emotion in me that I barely experienced ever in my life. Fear.

I was apprehensive about what he was capable of. He wasn’t the kind of human who would have any guilt of killing someone. He loathed Skylar as he thought she was the reason why his business wasn’t getting our support. Now, he is very much capable of killing her and going to jail if that’s how his revenge is taken from me.

But unlike him, I was not driven by any false motives like that. Business and money were secondary to me.

Skylar was in a trouble she wasn’t even responsible for. That made me feel extremely guilty. I was angry at myself for even letting it come so far. I should have taken good care of him before things went out of hand. How was I going to handle this now? How was I going to get through with this and bring her home safe?

“I’ll give you an hour to decide.” He spoke, bringing me back to the moment.

“And if I don’t get what I want, then it’s a funeral for your wife tomorrow.”

He cut the call and I sighed in defeat. I sat down on the parapet wall along the side of the road and clutched my head with my palms. This is the first time I was feeling so helpless in the last seven years. This moment reminded me of the time Skylar was leaving me and I could do nothing to stop her from breaking up with me.

She was just going away, reluctant to believe anything that I was saying. And right now, having her away from me reminded me of her importance in my life again. Nothing in my life mattered to me anymore. Not even my company.

I’d give it all up in one second for her. She doesn’t get to suffer because of me. I’m going to find her as soon as I can.

My phone gave a bing, indicating that the call was ended. I frowned in surprise. How is Jake a part of this call?

And then, realization dawned upon me. I might have added him accidentally, making it a conference call. I sighed and pushed the phone into my pant pocket.

I rubbed my face with my hands and looked over at my car. There was only one thing that could ensure Skylar’s safety at the moment.

Luke will not make any amends to his demands and nor will he stop before getting what he wants. His anger towards me is pent up and there is absolutely no point in trying to convince him to not compel me to do something stupid.

So that basically left me with only one option.

Giving up my company.

If that was how I was going to save her - then be it. It’s the question of her life. And nothing was more important to me.

I pulled out my phone and sent a bunch of emails to our office in London. I asked them to get everything ready for me. I also added a message for them to not let this spread across the board members and my father.

I then left a text to Owen describing the various events that took place in my life in the last one hour. I didn’t wait for his reply as I got up from where I was sitting.

I got into my car and headed to the office to resign from being the CEO.

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