Chapter 174
Chapter 174
"Aiden's already off the board."
Edward's voice was level. "No matter how big a scene Bianca makes, Aiden's not coming back from this. The only thing he can do now is clean up his own mess."
Victoria didn't ask anything more.
She leaned back into the sofa and closed her eyes, running through every piece of information from tonight one more time.
Michael and Aiden at each other's throats. The mole exposed. Bianca's self-harm. Tomorrow's net closing at Crescent Harbor warehouse.
Every piece of the puzzle was falling into place.
She opened her eyes and looked at Edward beside her. His profile was quiet in the lamplight, carrying that same steady certainty she'd recognized from the very first day she met him.
She wondered if there was anything this man couldn't do.
She honestly couldn't think of a single thing.
For as long as she'd known him, Edward had never missed a step.
He was practically superhuman.
---
The next morning, Victoria woke early.
Dawn had barely broken. Birdsong filtered through the glass, thin and scattered.
By the time she'd washed up and come downstairs, Edward was already at the front door lacing his shoes.
"This early?"
She stood at the foot of the stairs watching him.
"Crescent Harbor's a long drive. Better to get a head start."
Edward straightened up and glanced at her. "Don't go to the studio today. Stay home."
Victoria hesitated. "I'd rather wait for news at the office."
"You can wait here just the same."
He walked over and stood in front of her. "Lily's here. Yara's here. The second I have news, you'll know."
Victoria looked at him. The words "I'm worried" rose to her lips, but she swallowed them. Saying it wouldn't change anything.
She nodded. "Be careful."
"I will."
He turned and walked out.
The door clicked shut behind him with a soft, final sound. Victoria stood in the entryway for a few seconds, then turned back to the living room.
---
She couldn't focus on anything all morning.
Yara sat on the living room floor working on a puzzle. Lily was in the kitchen preparing lunch.
Everything felt perfectly ordinary.
But Victoria sat on the sofa flipping through a book without absorbing a single word.
Her phone rested on her knee. Every time the screen lit up, she glanced down. Every time, it was just a notification.
She texted Edward.
[There yet?]
Ten minutes passed before the reply came.
[Yes.]
One word. Clean and sharp. She stared at those three letters for a long time, then turned the phone face-down on her knee.
She barely touched lunch. Yara ran over holding a puzzle piece. "Mommy, where does this one go?"
Victoria looked and recognized it—the rooftop piece Edward had taught Yara to find last time. She pressed it into the gap for her.
The little girl lit up. "Thank you, Mommy!"
She turned and scampered back to her puzzle.
Victoria sat at the dining table, finished the last of her soup, and checked her phone again.
Still nothing.
---
By two o'clock, she couldn't sit still any longer.
She called Chase. It rang several times before he picked up. The background noise on his end sounded hollow and open. "Ms. Spencer? I'm on-site. Mr. Windsor is in the middle of negotiations—he can't take calls right now."
Victoria's fingers tightened around her phone. "What's the situation? Is anyone hurt?"
"No. Mr. Windsor didn't go in. Police vehicles are in position. We're still waiting on a call from the other side."
Chase kept his voice low. "I'll update you with details once Mr. Windsor wraps up. Signal's spotty here—I may need to hang up."
The line went dead. Victoria stared at the screen for several seconds. The unease in her chest sharpened into something she could almost taste.
Like something suspended in midair, refusing to land.
She put the phone away, stood up, and went to the study for her jacket and bag.
Lily poked her head out of the kitchen. "Ms. Spencer, are you heading out?"
Victoria pulled on her jacket as she answered. "Going to the office. I'll be back later."
Yara looked up from the living room floor. Victoria walked over, crouched down, and smoothed her daughter's hair. "Mommy's going out for a bit. Be good and stay here, okay?"
Yara nodded, a yellow puzzle piece clutched in her small hand, and went back to matching it against the board.
Victoria looked at her for a moment. Then she stood and walked out the door.
---
She was waiting at the community gate for a car, still calculating whether she could get more updates from the security team.
The street was quiet. Afternoon light stretched her shadow long and thin behind her.
She glanced at her phone. Nothing new. She slid it back into her jacket pocket.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a white van parked nearby on the curb. The engine was still running, a thin wisp of exhaust curling from the tailpipe.
She didn't think much of it. She shifted half a step toward the other end of the curb and looked up the road for a cab.
Footsteps behind her. Sudden. Close.
Before she could turn, a hand clamped over her nose and mouth from behind. The fabric reeked—sharp and chemical, carrying that distinct bitter tang of a sedative.
She thrashed instinctively, arm swinging up to shove the person away, but the grip was iron. Another arm snaked around her waist and locked her in place.
Consciousness slipped faster than she'd thought possible.
She heard a muffled sound escape her own throat. Then the world turned dark gray, swayed twice, and went black.
---
When awareness returned, her mind was still scrambled.
Victoria was jolted awake by the bumping of the road.
The vehicle lurched over uneven pavement. She was propped against something—she couldn't tell what—and she couldn't move her hands or feet.
Her wrists were bound behind her back. Her ankles were tied together. A wad of cloth was stuffed in her mouth, packed tight.
She kept her eyes shut and didn't move. Her body lay on the floor of the van's cargo area, her cheek pressed against rough carpet.
When the van turned, her shoulder slammed into the base of a seat. Dull pain radiated across her shoulder blade.
The air inside smelled of cigarette smoke and motor oil.
Victoria kept her eyes closed, maintaining the limp posture of unconsciousness, and strained to listen.
Two voices came from the front seats, both low, but the van was small enough that fragments reached her.
"...Has the guy on the phone arrived yet?"
"He said to call once we get there. He wants Edward to answer personally."
"When are they giving a response?"
The passenger glanced back, voice dropping even lower. "He said within twenty minutes."
---
The van drove for about ten more minutes before stopping.
The rear doors were yanked open. A hand reached in, seized her upper arm, and dragged her out.
Victoria stopped pretending. She forced her eyes open.
She was inside an abandoned factory. The light was dim, filtering down in dusty columns through shattered windows high above.
They dragged her forward. Her body scraped across the concrete floor with a gritty, rasping sound.