But Alia could only bite her tongue. Caleb lood behind her as she walked slowly out of the coffee shop and back into his car. Her eye caught the barista, and she wordlessly tried to beg for help, but it was useless.
The woman only smiled and said ’thanks for coming’ in a cheerful voice, before turning back to clean the tables.
Caleb chuckled darkly. "No one will save you now." He led her to the backseat of his car.
Alia’s heart sank; the windows were tinted, so no one would be able to see anything even if she signed for help. Now, her only hope was that Caleb was driving, so that she would be able to spend ti away from him to think of a solution.
But that was not to be. To her horror, there was already a chauffeur in the car, so Caleb was in the back seat next to her.
"You’ve thought a lot about this," Alia said faintly, as she was ushered into the car. The mont the door slamd shut, Caleb leaned over to slap a pair of handcuffs on her wrists. "You were carrying this in public?"
"Surprised?" Caleb raised an eyebrow. "I am capable of being forward-thinking. Since you’re so cooperative, I might as well let you see what else I’m carrying."
He lifted up his suit jacket to reveal the holster of a gun, tucked into his belt.
"You... you cannot be serious..." Alia’s blood ran cold. Caleb was ard?!
"Jeeves, drive," Caleb ordered easily.
While he ignored Alia’s words, he couldn’t deny that her fear was a good appetizer for what was to co. After all the indignities and humiliation she put him through, she deserved to suffer, just so that she could rember who was in charge.
"Yes, Master," Jeeves responded obediently, and Alia watched helplessly as the car began to drive further away from the coffee shop.
Alia tried to et the chauffeur’s eyes, hoping that he would see sense and deny his insane employer, but it was futile. He continued to drive smoothly and silently.
The ride was interrupted by a phone call. Alia hoped soone was calling her, but instead, they were calling for Caleb.
Caleb looked at his phone and sighed. "Kelsie is really being annoying."
"Aren’t you going to pick up the call?" Alia asked, just to be contrary.
Perhaps Kelsie already knew Caleb was going off the rails, so she wanted to warn Alia with her cryptic ssage. Either way, she needed him to respond to her call so she could scream for help.
"Isn’t she your beloved fiancée who you dumped for without any regrets and hesitation?" Alia added bitterly.
"How can I talk to other won, when my wife is right next to ?" Caleb asked rhetorically.
He cuddled closer to Alia, while she plastered herself as close as possible to the edge of the car door. Unfortunately, the doors were locked, and she had no way to jump out from the car to escape.
"You threw away the first chance you got," Alia said, trying to calm down. "Let’s not beautify your feelings of infidelity."
"I have changed my ways. Now, the only woman in my heart is you," Caleb said. He hung up on Kelsie decisively, and Alia’s hopes sank into the ocean. However, Kelsie Friesent was nothing if not persistent, so she kept on calling.
Alia never thought she would be so grateful for Kelsie’s perseverance and dented possessiveness, but the circumstances were so dire that a lifebuoy coated with poison was better than drowning in the ocean. In fact, she hoped Kelsie would send an entire hit squad after Caleb.
Eventually, Caleb caved out of sheer irritation. However, he drew out his gun and pointed it at Alia, wordlessly warning her to shut her mouth.
"What do you want, Kelsie?" Caleb barked out in irritation.
Kelsie’s voice was so loud that Alia could hear it even without being put on speaker.
"Is this how you should speak to your girlfriend?" Kelsie demanded angrily. "After ignoring for two weeks, you should be thankful that I’m even calling you! Where are you now? Have you forgotten that you’re supposed to et and my father for dinner?"
"Kelsie, I’m at work. I don’t need to report to you," Caleb said with gritted teeth. "I’m very busy."
"Rubbish! I called your company, and they told you left the office an hour ago. Are you cheating on , Caleb Walton? You have so nerve!" Kelsie screeched.
Alia hoped she destroyed Caleb’s eardrums. He deserved that much.
"How can you say that? Do you have any proof?" Caleb retorted angrily.
"I just know! You’re not over Alia Hawthorne, aren’t you? Well, give it up, because she’s never going to be yours!"
Caleb chuckled darkly. "Oh, that’s what you think. Kelsie, we’re over. I’ve been tired of you for a very long ti. If not for your father, I wouldn’t bother with you―"
Alia, sensing no better opportunity to announce her presence than by interrupting Kelsie’s monologue, sucked in a deep breath.
"Are you jealous, Kelsie? I’m tied to him now! Send the police after if you dare!" Alia scread. Hopefully, Kelsie would understand her words.
Caleb snarled and cut off the call, slamming Alia against the car door with enough force that it caused her head to spin.
"You’re being awfully noisy, Millie, but it’s useless. Kelsie would never bother to help you," Caleb said, his voice dangerously low. He whipped out his gun and pointed it straight at her belly. "Let remind you― if you don’t shut up, I might have to use it."
"You wouldn’t dare," Alia said. She had understood enough from the conversation Caleb had with Kelsie. "You need alive, or you will have nothing. Do you think the Hawthorne family would close an eye to my murder? Do you think Matteo will sit by and do nothing?"
Alia smirked.
"Maybe you’d do, since that’s what you would do―"
Caleb slapped her with the holster of her gun, causing her to let out a cry of pain. She tasted blood in her mouth.
"I’d stop talking if I were you," Caleb said. "You’ll be screaming soon enough."
Alia sat in stony silence as the car continued to run, her cheek pulsing with pain. Next to her, Caleb was just as friendly, scowling at his phone. She could hear it vibrating, and she hoped it was Kelsie spamming his phone, demanding him to give an explanation.
Hopefully, Kelsie understood what she ant and called the police.
Soon, they arrived at a warehouse, where several security guards in suits were lying in wait. If this scene happened in a soap opera, Alia would scoff at the cliche, but since she was currently the one experiencing it, she could only stop herself from vomiting on her own shoes in fear. How was she supposed to escape now?
If it was only Caleb, she might be able to knee him in the balls. But with so many other n, her chances of escape were slim.
Caleb dragged her inside, and she saw Leo on the chair, along with a video cara pointed in his direction.
"Thank you Leo for your sacrifice," Caleb said cheerfully, a far cry from Alia’s own terror. "I’ll make sure you get your rewards. n, release him."
"Yes sir." A guard stepped forward and cut the ropes easily with a knife.
Alia could not help but notice that the knife’s edge shone ominously under the lights of the warehouse. They removed his gag and blindfold, and the poor boy nearly injured himself at the sudden light entering his eyes.
"Leo, are you alright?" Alia asked worriedly, before shooting Caleb an enraged look. "How could you hit him so hard? He’s a child!"
Leo’s mouth opened wordlessly as he caught sight of Alia in Caleb’s arms, before staring at the ground. Caleb let out a small, snide laugh.
"Alia, you’re still too easily fooled. Leo here was a willing accomplice. All those bruises you see? He begged to hit him, claiming that it would be more realistic that way. He desperately wanted you to be fooled, since it would benefit him."
"What?" Alia asked in shock. "That’s nonsense! Stop lying!"
"You can just ask Leo whether or not I’m speaking nonsense. Isn’t that right, dear Leo?" Caleb said.
He didn’t wait for Leo to reply before elaborating further.
"Leo here was willing to do anything if it ant getting an internship at my company. After all, he couldn’t stand the fact that his dear classmate Carlo had landed a prestigious internship at X’el and he would have a cushy job in the future, while he was languishing on the streets and kicked out of the orphanage with no plans to speak of. He wanted to get ahead."
Alia’s face turned white as she slowly processed everything that Caleb was saying.
"Since I’m a caring individual, I decided to help him."
"You..." Alia shook her head in disbelief, before turning to Leo. "Is this true? Leo?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)