Chapter 92 KIDNAPPED BY THE EX
POV: PATRICK
I helped some employees exit the shaking building, with parts of it collapsing. Looking outside, I noticed the presence of ambulances and police cars as stretchers were being taken out of the parking lot.
“Elisabeth!” I called out, alarmed, running towards one of the stretchers leaving the building, finding my injured friend. “Greg?”
“Sir, please don't come any closer. We're taking him to the nearest hospital,” a professional, accompanied by the police, warned me.
“I own this building, and this is my friend. Get out of my way!” I clenched my fists, nervous, and approached and held his hand. “Greg? What happened? Where is Elisabeth?”
Removing the oxygen mask from his face and groaning, he looked at me confused, pulling on my shirt. “They took her, Patrick, you need to save her. The chip.” He began to say, then passed out.
“Cardiac arrest! Bring the defibrillator, hurry! Sir, move out of the way!” the paramedic shouted, pushing me aside and rushing towards the ambulance.
“Chip? What chip?” I ran my hands through my hair, nervously advancing towards the ambulance to follow them. “I'm going with him!”
“Only immediate family,” said the paramedic.
“I’m Patrick Morgan, CEO of the burning publishing house behind us. I said I’m going with my friend, and if you don’t keep him alive until we get to the hospital, I will use all my resources to ruin your careers!” I clenched my fists, adopting an unforgiving tone, while the paramedics exchanged looks, confirming my entry, and closed the ambulance doors, which sped away. “Come on, you idiot, you didn’t survive the war to die like this in such a simple ambush.”
“We have a pulse, but it’s weak. Speed up!” the paramedic shouted to the driver, who floored the accelerator, causing the back of the vehicle to shake considerably. “We’ll do everything we can to keep him alive.”
When we arrived at the hospital, Greg had another cardiac arrest. The professionals rushed inside, blocking the door from me. I punched the wall, nervous. Greg couldn’t die. Elisabeth was in the hands of that damned psychopath! But how? How did he manage to attack them? Did he know about her extraction from the building?
“Damn it!” I yelled, feeling my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out, seeing messages from Heloise, which I ignored. “I don’t have time for your nonsense.”
I accessed the security system of the garage, trying to check what happened before the explosion. Greg and Elisabeth seemed to be near the emergency exit door.
“Were they arguing?” I frowned, assessing their reactions, until they started walking towards the car again.
It was a moment of utter chaos. The explosion erupted violently, causing several cameras to fail and stop working. I searched for other cameras that were still operational to follow the scene from different angles while our armored car sped desperately through the parking lot, descending the floors of the building at high speed. They were being chased by many cars and men dressed in black who were relentlessly shooting at the vehicle.
Greg’s car finally reached the lower floor but was hit by another vehicle on the rear side, causing it to spin violently until it flipped over and collided with the building’s wall, in a terrifying and surreal scene.
To my complete surprise, the person who got out of the vehicle that collided with Greg’s was Heloise. She walked calmly towards the overturned car, giving orders to the surrounding men with a disturbing tranquility. I watched as Elisabeth was brutally dragged out of Greg’s car and thrown into the trunk of Heloise’s car.
A shiver ran down my spine when I saw Heloise's men approaching the driver's side of Greg's car, pointing their guns. It was then that I realized they had been hit and fallen, while Greg was crawling out of the vehicle, which was starting to catch fire. Heloise, however, had already left the scene, leaving behind a trail of destruction and confusion. The cameras began to fail, and after that, I could only watch my friend trying to protect himself from the imminent explosion of the burning car.
My phone vibrated with a new message from my ex-wife. I pulled it out after seeing the photos she had sent. Elisabeth was tied to a chair, blindfolded, with her hands and feet bound, and had some abrasions on her forehead near her eyebrows and others on her face. Below the photos were small texts she had sent:
“So fragile, your lover,” she mocked, followed by cruel laughter. “Do you think she can survive in the water longer than Gabriel did?”
“Damn you!” I squeezed the device in my hand, scratching my temples as I paced back and forth, consumed by rage. The phone started ringing, and I answered immediately, not hiding the hostility in my voice. “What do you want, Heloise?”
“Oh, darling, you sound nervous. You know that only worsens your health!” Heloise said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Enough with the games. What do you think you're doing by kidnapping Elisabeth?” I snarled into the phone, furious. “Have you completely lost your mind?”
“Kidnapping? Me? No, my love, I rescued her from that chaos among the armed men and brought her to a safe place.” Heloise laughed on the other end of the line. “She's so safe that it's impossible for you to find her!”
Her voice suddenly turned dry and cold.
“Heloise, if you hurt her.” I threatened, trying to rationalize. Confronting her directly was not wise, given my ex’s unbalanced mind.
“Remember when you used to care about me like this?” she said, with tears in her eyes. “You should have loved me more, Patrick. I was your wife, and you failed me.”
“Stop this charade!” I yelled as the nurses stared at me. “We separated because of your sick mind and your hatred for our son, to the point where you killed him without remorse!”
I panted, feeling my body warmer than usual. “You paid so much attention to that annoying brat, more than to me. It’s not fair!” Heloise shouted back, sounding petulant. “And after I got rid of him, what did you do? Ran to your lover’s arms.” “We ended things long before Elisabeth was a part of my life. Be reasonable at least once, Heloise!” I bit my finger nervously, sighing. I took a deep breath before calming my voice. “Elo. Don’t ruin your life like this. If you still feel anything for me, release her, and we’ll resolve this.” “Elo? It’s been years since you called me that.” Heloise sobbed, as if she were emotional. “Patrick, you know I’ve always loved you.” “Then prove it, Elo. Release Elisabeth, and let’s settle what we should have had years ago.” I closed my eyes, trying to stay calm, even though I wanted to strangle her. “You’re very good at pretending when you want to, aren’t you, dear?” Heloise burst into hysterical laughter. “I know you can’t stand me and blame me for your failure as a father and husband.” “What do you want, then?” I asked directly and coldly. “Why did you call me?” “Now, that’s the man I think about at night,” she said, amused. “Make a retraction to the press, saying that the video you presented was fake—a montage.” “You know they won’t believe it.” I refuted dryly. “That’s your problem, find a way to make them believe it!” She screamed into the phone. “You’ve always been good at getting what you want.” “In return, you’ll release Elisabeth? I need proof you’ll do that.” I straightened up as I saw the police approaching.