The call went dead, and Alia’s hand weakened her hold. The phone clattered loudly on the bedroom floor and she sank her head into her hands, hoping this was all just a bad dream.
As if to mock her further, her phone chid with a new ssage. It was only a single line― an address that was sent from her father’s phone. A broken cry erged from her throat.
"Alia? Is sothing the matter?" There was a brief knock on the bedroom door before Matteo entered. "I heard sothing drop."
That wasn’t all he heard; even with the thick bedroom door muffling most of the sound, his ears could vaguely make out the sound of Alia’s raised voice, all the way from the living room. It caused him to worry. It was rare for Alia to lose her cool when conversing with her father. Had his condition worsened?
Then his eyes caught sight of Alia’s huddled figure on the bed. Warning bells rang in his head as he dropped to his knees and cradled her in his arms.
"Alia? What happened?"
Alia’s face was wet with tears, and she frantically shook her head. It seed like she wanted to speak but she couldn’t form the words. Her breath ca out in huge gaping sobs, her skin paler than paper. Her entire fra was trembling like a leaf caught in a storm, and she barely registered Matteo’s presence in front of her.
"I... I... need to go..." Alia whispered shakily. "My father... I need..."
"Go where Alia?" Matteo asked, keeping his voice low and calm. "Does he need to visit the hospital?"
Alia started to shake her head, but then she froze and began to nod with fervent enthusiasm. She couldn’t tell Matteo the truth. She couldn’t risk her father’s life.
Caleb’s warning was ringing in her ears. If Matteo went with her, the chances of both n ending up with a bullet between their eyes were all too likely. She had never thought Caleb would be capable of such vile acts, but after his attempted assault, Alia
"Yes! Yes, he needs the hospital! I have to go!"
"I’ll drive you there―"
"No need!" Alia scread before quickly shaking her head to salvage the situation. In her panic, her mouth moved faster than her mind. "I an, it’s already so late― I can go alone, it’s fine―"
"Like you said, it’s already so late. What kind of lover do you think I would be to let you go off on your own?" Matteo asked with a raised eyebrow. "More importantly... you’re not planning on going to the hospital at all."
Alia raised her head up to stare at him, her eyes wide with surprise.
Matteo turned to pick up the fallen phone. Alia recognized the phone number as her father’s, which was why she was so happy to pick up the call. But there was no guarantee that the person on the other end of the lines was Michael Kentwood.
True enough, there was a pop-up notification for an unread ssage on Alia’s phone screen. A string of numbers― it was a postal code, sent from her father’s phone.
Why would Michael Kentwood send his daughter an address? Clearly, soone had gotten their hands on his phone.
"Alia, tell the truth. What happened?" Matteo asked, clutching Alia’s hand tightly. Her hand was cold and clammy, as though all the blood had left her extremities. "I can help. We will help you."
"It’s Caleb... He... He..." Alia choked out. "He has my father! He says he’ll kill him if I don’t go and find him alone! Matteo, you have to let go― I can’t lose my Dad!"
"Calm down," Matteo urged, holding Alia by her shoulders as her breaths got more and more erratic. She was having a panic attack, and at this rate, it would only get worse. "Alia, look at . Look."
He gently nudged her a little, forcing her to et his eyes. When she did, he maintained eye contact, leaning his forehead against hers. Imdiately, she sucked in a deep breath.
"That’s right," he said. "Deep breaths, baby. Breathe."
She nodded against him and slowly but surely, Alia’s breathing cald down and returned to its normal state, albeit still a little rugged.
"Caleb..." she trailed off, licking her lips. Her throat felt dry and just croaking out that one single na sent her body on fire in the nastiest ways. "He has my father."
"And he wants you to go to this address," Matteo deduced, glaring hard at the phone.
Alia nodded. "He warned not to have you or Aiden follow. He even knows about Sean."
"He has done his research, hasn’t he," Matteo said with a curdled expression. "I can’t let you go alone."
"And I can’t let my father die!" Alia cried out. She whimpered and cupped her hands over her mouth before breathing in hard. Exhaling loudly, she opened her tightly shut eyes and looked at Matteo again. "Caleb needs to at least think I am there alone. He can’t know that you know."
Matteo pinched his lips tightly together. "I’ll alert the police force," he said. "But I’ll let them know to stay covered. Firstly, we need to find out where this postal code leads."
Without another word, Matteo quickly copy-pasted the postal code that Caleb had sent through Michael Kentwood’s device and input it into a search engine. The first result it displayed quickly had Matteo’s expression darkening even more than before.
"What is it?" Alia asked. "Is it sowhere dangerous?"
"Not exactly," Matteo replied. He swallowed, causing his Adam’s apple to bob up and down as he did so. He then turned and t Alia’s worried gaze. "It’s just that I know the place. Or to be exact, we both do."
"We do?" Alia asked. She furrowed her eyebrows and began to think but nowhere in particular ca to mind. "Where? He can’t possibly have brought him sowhere easily accessible to the public. They would be able to catch him too quickly."
"It’s not anywhere public," Matteo said. "It’s a warehouse near the port."
Alia’s eyes widened.
"Is that..."
"Yes," Matteo nodded gravely. "The very sa."
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