259

259
  Chapter 259
  Olivia 
  ~•~
  Alexander didn’t hesitate, he started the car engine and reversed as fast as he could. But before he could even start driving, we saw that the black SUVs had already been blocked by a new set of policemen who were already on their way. 
  “That’s strange,” Alexander muttered under his breath as he put the car to a stop. “I have no idea who those people are unless the other officers called for backup.” 
  It was a good thing they came because they were able to stop the men. We watched from a distance as they brought them out of their cars and handcuffed them. 
  Some of the other policemen we had followed earlier finally drove out of the gate and stopped where the black SUVs were blocked. 
  I didn’t see any sign of Riley as they brought out the men from the SUV’s. “Alexander, turn around and drive to the house. What if they left her there?” 
  Alexander responded with a nod and turned the car around. He increased the speed of the car as he drove into the compound. 
  As he parked the car, I opened the door hastily and ran over to meet some of the other policemen who were stationed in from of the building. 
  “Have you found my daughter yet?” I asked, my patience growing thin. 
  “We are still searching for her but I’m afraid some of the men might have escaped.” One of the officers replied, his voice filled with sympathy.  
  Alexander’s voice echoed behind me. “Didn’t you guys call for backup? A new set of officers stopped their cars while they were trying to flee from the scene.” 
  The officer's eyes lit up in shock. “Are you serious? I had no idea.” 
  “There’s no time for chit-chat, let’s go inside and find Riley.” I took Alexander by the arm and walked inside the house. 
  For some weird reason, the interior of the house looked a little bit familiar. But I couldn’t quite figure out where I had seen it. 
  I hadn’t been to the house but I was certain that I had seen it somewhere. Maybe it was from a picture or maybe a movie. I couldn’t remember. 
  We started by searching the ground floor to find Riley. The policemen were also searching. I prayed silently that Riley was somewhere around. 
  It would be bad if we were searching the wrong location and they had actually taken her somewhere else. “Don’t worry, we will find her,” Alexander said when he saw the worried expression registered on my face. 
  I let out a gloomy sigh. “I hope so.” 
  We searched the kitchen, dining, pantry, gym room, laundry room. We had practically searched every corner downstairs but we didn’t see any sign of Riley. 
  Alexander and I went upstairs, even if the policemen assured us that they already covered every corner of the house. We wanted to check for ourselves. 
  We made sure to check every part of the rooms as we went upstairs. My heart skipped a bit when I entered one of the rooms and saw Riley’s clothes. 
  It was easy to identify the clothes because I had gotten it for her by myself. I always loved buying Riley new outfits and she always loved them. 
  ‘You understand my style even better than me.’ Riley’s voice replayed in my head. 
  “What’s going on?” Alexander asked when he saw how startled I looked. 
  I moved closer to the bed and picked up the clothes. “These belong to Riley,” I exclaimed with a dry chuckle. “Riley was here. Riley was right in this house.” 
  Alexander’s eyes grew wide in shock. “Oh my goodness! Then she should be somewhere around. Let’s keep on searching.” 
  I took the clothes with me as we continued our search. By the time we had covered everywhere upstairs, I was exhausted and frustrated. 
  There was still no sign of Riley. 
  Alexander pulled out his phone and called one of the detectives. “Have you guys found her? I saw some of her dirty clothes here.” 
  “Put the phone on speaker.” I requested and Alexander did as I said. I wanted to hear the conversation between him and the detective. 
  “No, we haven’t. But we have the men in our van. We are taking them to the station for questioning.” 
  Before Alexander could respond, I chimed into the conversation. “Ask them to tell you where they kept my daughter first!” 
  “The other officers are still searching, the kidnappers claimed they left Riley in the house as they ran away.” The detective replied and I let out a relieved sigh. “It was a good thing Mr. Craig sent some more officers, or else, we would have lost these men.” 
  “Mr. Craig?” Alexander asked, a puzzled expression registered on his face. “That’s Mason’s father. The boy Riley likes.” Alexander added as he turned to look at me. 
  “I’ll keep you updated, just keep on searching for her.” The detective replied before ending the call. 
  “How did Mr. Craig know where to find her?” Alexander muttered, more to himself than me. 
  “Maybe the boy was worried and asked his father for help. You know he is also influential.” I replied as we walked down the stairs. 
  “Yes, but I didn’t think he would want to help our family after everything that happened.” Alexander continued. “It’s a good thing he sent them, though.” 
  I nodded in agreement. “Yes, but this isn’t the time to talk about it. Let’s find Riley first.” I replied. “I hope those men weren’t lying.” I added, my voice laced with urgency. 
  I was still curious to know who took Riley.
  They didn’t even call for ransom money or anything. Did they just take her for fun? Or do they want to put our family through stress? 
  It didn’t matter anymore. 
  The only thing I could think of was praying that Rikey was still somewhere in the premises.
  I also hoped that she hadn't tried to escape by herself. She would have to walk a long distance before she would see people who would be able to help her. 
  As we got out of the house, I started screaming Riley’s name. Maybe she was hiding because she was scared and would come out when she heard my voice.