Chapter 88 Pulled In Opposite Directions
Rowan's heart raced at the mention of Amanda being kidnapped again. Anger took over him, "Amanda was kidnapped? Under your watch? I thought you were a detective" he yelled.
"I am still a detective," Wills snapped.
"Then you should have done your job well." Rowan continued to yell. "It is your responsibility to keep her safe and now you tell me right under your nose, she was kidnapped. You should have let her come with me"
Wills sighed in frustration "This is really not the time for this. I need to find Amanda and I need your help"
Already dressing up, Rowan quickly composed himself and spoke firmly to Wills, "Fine. Let's find Amanda first, but I promise you, I won't let this slide."
"Stop threatening me and tell me how you can help" Wills snapped again.
"I want to assume you have alerted your department," Rowan said, trying to remain calm.
"Her mother just did. So they should be on their way now" Wills responded.
"Good. Did you check the entire house? Any clue?" Rowan asked again. He is now fully dressed and walking out of his room.
Wills, Still shaken, responded, "Yes, I did. I found her bracelet but there was something else. The hand chain had blood on it."
"Somebody is hurt. That is certain" Rowan said. His mind raced, recognizing the severity of the situation. "And her phone?"
"I haven't checked. It didn't occur to me. You were the first person I called." Wills responded.
"Listen carefully. We need to act fast. And sentiments apart, if you really want to be useful with the situation, I need that detective brain of yours." Rowan said firmly.
"Pull yourself together. Check for any signs, clues or anything unusual. I will get my security team and see if we can track her phone."
Wills nodded even though Rowan could not see him. Rowan understood his silence as agreement and he dropped the call.
In the morning, Rowan's team were able to trace her phone to a location. "City hill! That was her last known location before her phone went off." Rowan said to Wills on the phone.
"That's about how many minutes ago?" Wills asked.
"Around 45 mins." He answered.
"That's about the last time I called and the only time her number was reachable. They must have tossed the phone away when my call came in. Which means Amanda might still be alive" Wills speculated. "They should be somewhere around there." He added.
"That confirms my fear. We are dealing with a different criminal" Rowan sighed.
We are headed there right now. You can inform your colleagues." Rowan said before he got off the phone again.
Immediately he dropped the call, he started addressing his men and hadn't done that for too long when a call came in from his mother. At first he ignored it but the call became persistent.
"Mom! Please, this is not the time…" he was cut short by his mother's tone.
"Son, your dad is not well." Madam Xi said softly.
Rowan became calm immediately. "How long? Is it serious?"
"Since yesterday morning. The doctor is home with us and is attending to him. So far, he has been responding to treatment."
"Mom, why are you just telling me now? Rowan snapped.
"Because It is something I can handle. You don't want me running into that your unorganized space for help, do you?" Madam Xi protested.
"Why are you telling me now then? You can't handle it yourself anymore?" Rowan said, fuming and transferring the aggression he had built to his mother.
"Don't snap at me" His mother snapped. "I called because I want you to check on your brother."
"Why? Is he sick too?" Rowan asked, sarcastically.
"No, I think he is drunk" Madam Xi assumed.
"Drunk? And you want me to check up on him? No way." Rowan said, uninterested.
"Listen to me, I would be kicking his ass already if your father isn't on a sick bed right now. Can you do that for me?" Madam Xi asked authoritatively.
"He is your baby not mine." Rowan said, growing impatient. "Mom, I have to go. Am in the middle of something serious."
"Rowan!" Madam Xi snapped, then her voice suddenly became very low as if she didn't want anybody to hear her.
"Something is going on." She started. "The police came by. They thought Wilson came to my house. They claimed he was a perpetrator of road rage. They tried to stop him but he fled off. The person he injured is still at the hospital."
She sighed then continued, "You need to see Wilson. He is out of his mind. Can you please find him before he does something terrible in that drunken state." Madam Xi pleaded.
Rowan was silent, trying to absorb the information. He was torn between going after Amanda and checking in on Wilson.
"Okay mom, I will check on him" he said and ended the call. He turned to his team, "go ahead, the police should be on their way too. I need to attend to something but I will join you as soon as I can"
"Got it," the team leader announced"
"Good" Rowan hurriedly made his way to Wills' house, his mind juggling the urgency of Amanda's kidnap and how he would deal with Wilson's reckless behavior
When he got to his residence, everywhere was quiet and he entered the house with his gatekeeper, nowhere to be found.
"Where the hell is everybody?" He asked himself as he went further into the house.
Rowan's footsteps echoed through the eerily quiet house. The absence of any sign of life heightened his sense of urgency.
"Where could he be?" Rowan muttered to himself, growing impatient. He observed the disarray in the living room, as if there had been a hurried departure.
"What are you up to little brother boy" he said, looking around the room for clues. He noticed a scarf on the couch. "I have seen this before," he muttered.
When he didn't find anything else, he decided to leave. However, on his way out, his eyes caught a piece of paper on the coffee table.
He picked it up. Scribbled on it was an address. "I have heard this today, '' he said, trying to remember where he heard it from.
A call came in from his team leader. He picked it hurriedly, hoping for good news. "Did you find her?"
"No, there is no sign of her. But we found the phone." The leader answered.
Disappointed, Rowan sighed. "Alright. Can you check this address for me?" He called the address on the piece of paper.
"That should be Wills's house in the countryside. The exact place Amanda was kidnapped." He answered.
"That is not possible." Rowan exclaimed softly.
"I am certain sir. We got that information while we were trying to track Miss Amanda's phone" he affirmed.
Rowan's jaw dropped and he lost his composure. "Sir! Sir!" His security man called out to him when he didn't respond.
"Give me a minute." Rowan said and he dropped the call. "There is no way Wilson has anything to do with Amanda's kidnap"