254

254
  Chapter 254
  Olivia 
  ~•~
  After finding out that Riley’s car had been at the gas station for over two days, the detectives told us to hold on as they requested access to the CCTV from the first day. 
  Alexander tried his best to comfort me but I couldn’t stop crying. Riley wouldn’t just dump her car at a random gas station. The situation was even worse than I had imagined. 
  I couldn’t help but wonder how my baby was feeling. I couldn’t help but wonder where she was. I prayed silently that she was okay and we would find her soon. 
  Amanda, Maya, Rowan, and Jason were blowing up my phone but I couldn’t bring myself to respond to any of them. I didn’t want to believe that my daughter was missing, so I didn’t want to have to tell them that she was actually missing. 
  After what felt like an eternity, the detective came outside again. “Come in.” He gestured for us to come into his office with him. 
  When we got inside, he showed us footage playing on his computer. My hands flew to my mouth as I watched some men forcefully take Riley into their van. 
  They even drugged her with something that looked like a gas and she was too weak to fight for herself. The men were masked and nobody was even around to help her.
  I couldn’t breathe properly anymore and everywhere became dizzy. 
  “Oh my goodness, Riley is actually missing!” Alexander muttered under his breath. “Oh my goodness!” He added, his voice slightly shaky. 
  Who knows where they must’ve taken her? Or what they had done to her? 
  I scoffed in disbelief. “They’ve taken my baby.” I choked out, the words catching my throat. I was still in shock. I never imagined something like that would ever happen. 
  “Have a seat.” Alexander gestured for me to go outside and sit where we had been waiting earlier. “We’ll find Riley, you need some rest.” 
  My lips parted and I blinked. How did he expect me to rest when I just saw that CCTV footage? What kind of a mother would I be if I was resting while my only daughter was missing? 
  No, she wasn’t missing! 
  Riley had been kidnapped. 
  How did they even find her? How long have they been planning it for? My head was spinning as different thoughts ran through my head. 
  What if they had killed her already? What did they want?
  “Olivia, please just sit outside,” Alexander added. 
  I shook my head firmly. “No, I can’t sit outside. I need to find my daughter.” I replied, taking out a deep breath to calm my nerves. 
  The detective who had been silent for a while finally spoke. “I promise you, we will find her.” He assured me. “We got a glimpse of the plate number and we’ll track her phone too.” 
  “You’ll find her today?” I asked. 
  The detective nodded. “Yes.” 
  He sounded like he was so sure about it. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to be optimistic. But from what I had seen on the footage, I wasn’t so sure. 
  Alexander took my hands and led me to the door. “They’ve taken Riley.” The tears that I had been trying to hold back started flowing down my face. 
  Alexander let out a wistful sigh. “I’m so sorry. I’ll find her and whoever took her will pay dearly!” Alexander affirmed, his voice firm. 
  I wiped off my tears with the back of my hands. “But who would have taken her?” I asked Alexander like he knew the answer to my question. 
  Alexander shrugged his shoulders, letting out a weak sigh. “I don’t know, Olivia.” He replied, his voice barely above a whisper. “But we will find out soon.” 
  After Alexander made sure I would be alone outside, he kissed me on the forehead before heading back into the detective’s office. 
  As he left, my mind wandered back to Riley. 
  What was she doing? How was she feeling? Where was she? All these while, I thought she left on her free will, but I was wrong. My baby was taken away from me. 
  I had no idea who it could be. 
  It didn’t seem like a random kidnapping. It looked like she was a target and they had been planning to do it for a while. 
  What did they want? Was it ransom money? Why hadn’t they called already to demand the payment? My head was spinning as different unanswered questions ran through my head. 
  I pulled out my phone from my phone and called Rowan. 
  “Rowan, make sure you and Jason are safe,” I said as he answered the phone. “Nobody should leave the house today.” 
  “Why? What is going on?” Rowan’s confused voice echoed from the other end of the line. 
  “Someone took Riley. Riley has been kidnapped.” My heart raced in my chest as I mentioned it. “What if the person is still out there and trying to take you and Jason?” 
  “What?” Jason gasped in shock. “Who took Riley?” His frantic tone came through clearly over the phone as he asked. 
  I let out a defeated sigh. “I don’t know, Rowan.” 
  Rowan listened attentively as I explained to him what I saw on the CCTV footage from the gas station. 
  “So they took her after she was done talking to me.” He said with a dry chuckle. “Riley called to ask me for some gas money.” 
  He had mentioned that before when we were still wondering where she must’ve gone. I felt really terrible because, at some point, I thought she lied to me. 
  She had promised to come back home but didn’t show up and I was upset. I was mad at her, oblivious to the fact that she was in danger. 
  “But don’t worry, we’ll find her soon,” I assured Rowan. In reality, I was trying to assure myself. I was trying to convince myself that Riley was okay and nothing bad had happened to her. 
  I could only hope that I was right. 
  I couldn’t imagine my life without Riley.