Chapter 236 Chapter 236

Chapter 236 Chapter 236

The news spread fast.
By the time the police finished taking Rose’s statement, the whole street was full of neighbors and sirens. Adrian could not stand still. He paced like a man on fire, calling anyone who might help. His head felt empty and full at the same time. He had to move. He had to find her.

Detective Henry arrived quickly. He was calm, the kind of calm that made others less crazy. He put a hand on Adrian’s shoulder. “Tell me everything again, slowly,” he said.

Adrian told the story in a broken voice. He told Henry about the van, the masks, the way Savannah screamed. He told him about the strange call that said, “We have your wife.” Henry listened, taking notes, eyes sharp.

“We’ll run CCTV from the area,” Henry said. “We’ll check the route, the traffic cameras, any plate, any van. We’ll put out an alert to nearby units. We’ll get men on the road. We have to move fast.”

Adrian nodded like a man who agreed with anything. He wanted to do more than nod. He wanted to hunt. He wanted to tear the city apart until he found her.

While the officers were filling forms, a car pulled up outside. Nathaniel stepped down, face pale but hard. He had heard the news from a friend in the media. He pushed through the crowd and came straight to Adrian.

“Where is she?” he asked, voice sharp. There was no softness in it. Only worry and anger.

Adrian looked at Nathaniel for a long time. So many things lay between them — pain, history, words that could not be taken back. But their past did not matter now. Savannah mattered.

“She’s taken,” Adrian said cold. “They called. They said they have her. We’re tracking them now.”

Nathaniel’s face changed. For a second the old man — the cold pride he had been — broke into small pieces. He moved closer and grabbed Adrian’s arm. “Tell me what you need. I’ll help. I’ll do anything,” he said. His voice had a cracked edge. “She’s my son’s mother. I can’t just stand.”

Adrian stared at him. He had anger. He had questions. But he could not refuse help. He nodded. “We need leads. We need the van plate. Anything. Help us look.”

The police gave them footage from the nearest traffic camera. The van was small on the screen, a dark shape moving fast. The plate was blurred. But the men nearby thought they saw a sticker on the back window, a small logo. It was something to follow.

Detective Henry called his tech team. “Enhance the camera. Check the tolls. Call the highway patrol. Send the description to all units.” He worked like a clock, precise and fast.

They found a witness who had stopped to buy water at a shop near the route. The man said he saw the van and the women fighting for breath inside. He gave a hurried description of the men and the route. It was enough to point a finger.

Adrian and Nathaniel moved from station to station, handing out photos, talking to drivers, begging for more eyes. They stopped at every checkpoint. The city seemed huge and small at the same time — huge because it swallowed people, small because one van could be seen by many.

Meanwhile, Savannah woke up tied to a chair in a dark room. Her head throbbed. Her throat hurt from crying. The blindfold had been removed for a moment and she saw a small, dirty window high on the wall. No sun came in. A cold lamp flickered.

She pulled at the ropes but her hands were raw. One of the men had left the room after speaking in a low voice with someone on the phone. The voice had said, “Keep her safe. Wait for orders.” Orders from someone far and cruel.

She leaned back and closed her eyes. Her breath came quick. She touched her belly through the soft cloth of her dress. The baby moved small and wildly as if it knew its mother was scared. Savannah pressed her palm to her belly and whispered over and over, “Please be safe. Please be safe.”

Outside, in the hideout, Clara sat on the floor with blood on her arm. She had been hurt earlier — a cut when she tried to stop a man from beating Savannah. Her face was pale and worn. For the first time in weeks, regret hit her like a stone that would not roll.

“Why did I do this?” she murmured, staring at the ground. The room smelled of dust and old food. The other men were talking in whispers, planning the hours ahead, arguing about money and escape routes.

Clara touched her wound and winced. She had joined this dark plan because she wanted revenge. But seeing Savannah tied and pleading had opened a hole in her chest she couldn’t close. “We’re wrong,” she said quietly. “This is wrong.”

One man laughed bitterly. “You came for revenge, not pity.” He spat on the floor. “You wanted him. But we all want money. Shut up now.”

Clara couldn’t shut up. Her voice shook. “She’s carrying a child. We can’t hurt a baby. We promised no blood. This is not what I signed up for.”

A low voice answered from the corner — it was Cassandra. She stood with a smile that was broken. “You’re soft now? You signed the bag, Clara. We pay for results, not feelings.”

Clara’s eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t know she was pregnant,” she said. “If I did, I would never… I can’t let a child suffer.”

Cassandra stepped forward and grabbed Clara by the collar. “You will do what I say. Or I will make sure you pay.” Her voice was ice. Her hands were hard.

Clara pushed her away. “I can’t. Not like this.” She moved toward the door but the men blocked her. “You’ll have to drag me out,” she said.

Cassandra watched Clara with hatred and something like fear. She knew the plan could break at any moment if one person changed. She also knew her own fire — she had lost too much and wanted to burn the world. “Keep her quiet,” Cassandra ordered the men. “And call headquarters. Tell them we got her.”

Back at the police station, a small break came through. The traffic team found a van with a matching sticker abandoned near an old warehouse on the highway. A witness remembered seeing men unload items there late at night. The tech guys were on the way.

Adrian felt something cold lift in his chest. “Tell me where. Now,” he said to the officer.

“Warehouse on Holt Road,” the officer replied. “We’re moving in.”

Nathaniel’s face hardened. He had followed a path of regret and pain to get here. He wanted to protect now. He wanted to see her alive. His feet moved faster than his heart maybe could keep pace.

They drove fast. The men in the police cars were ready. Helmets, vests, whistles. They came down to the warehouse like thunder.

Inside the hideout, Savannah’s voice was quiet but strong. She sang a small hymn she remembered from childhood. The sound echoed like a candle in the dark, small and brave. Clara heard the singing and covered her face with her hands. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to the air. “I’m so sorry.”

The policemen reached the warehouse. They moved slow, following clean orders. Detective Henry was steady. He had a plan and a team. He walked up and signaled. “Breach on my mark.”

Adrian stood at the edge of the door, his heart about to burst. Nathaniel stood beside him, hands clenched. They both felt small and big at the same time.

“Now,” Henry said.

The door crashed open. Lights flooded in. Men shouted. In the chaos, someone fired a shot. The sound rang and swallowed the small song. For a second, time turned slow.

Adrian ran forward, shouting Savannah’s name. He pushed through the smoke and the men. Then he saw her — tied to a chair, her eyes wide, her face wet with salt tears. Her mouth moved, calling his name like a prayer.

He dropped to his knees and grabbed her, cutting the ropes with his teeth from a small panic blade handed by an officer. He kissed her face and cried without shame. “Savannah! Thank God. Thank God.”

She clung to him like a lifeline. “Adrian,” she sobbed, “I thought— I thought I’d lose everything.”

He held her and whispered, “No. Never. You’re here. You’re safe.” He felt the baby move and pressed his face to her belly. “You’re safe, little one. Daddy is here.”

Cassandra struggled and cursed, trying to pull men with her, but the police were strong. Clara collapsed on the floor, sobbing. She let the truth fall out in small words. She said how she’d been used, how she’d wanted revenge but not this.

The officers cuffed some men, took statements, and led Cassandra away. She screamed curses until she was pushed into the car. Her eyes found Savannah one last time, full of rage and sorrow.

Later, at the hospital, detectives worked through the night with questions and notes. The men were booked. Clara sat with a blanket around her shoulders and looked hollow. She had bought pain for herself and others.

Adrian stayed by Savannah’s side. Nathaniel sat a small distance away, hands folded, eyes raw. For the first time, the men who had been broken by love sat together not to fight, but to heal.

Savannah held Adrian’s hand and let the tears fall. She had been taken, yes, but she was back. She was safe. The baby kicked softly, a small drum that meant life would go on.

They had found her. But the cost had been high. The city would talk. The news would spread. The trial and the pain would come. But for now, in the cold hospital light, one woman slept in a bed and two men watched over her and their son waited with Aunty Lisa, and the long night slowly began to break into a new kind of morning.