Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Nine
When Markus ended the call, Aht was already watching him.
"What’s going on?" he asked.
Markus lowered the phone slowly. "It was Cole."
"And?"
Markus hesitated for a second. "He said... he couldn’t reach her. He’s fearing Asli isn’t ho yet."
Aht’s brows drew together imdiately.
"Couldn’t reach her and not ho?" he repeated. "What do you an she’s not ho?"
Markus shrugged lightly. "That’s what he said. He tried calling her too."
Aht felt sothing shift inside him, sothing quiet and cold that settled in his chest.
"Where would she go?" he muttered.
He reached into his pocket for his phone, already dialing in his head...
Nothing. His hand searched again. Then he froze. Where was his phone? Arh! It must be in the field.
His phone had slipped from his hand when the warning call ca through and Asli’s car drove into the Villa during the call.
He hadn’t had ti to go back for it. Aht swore softly under his breath.
"Why didn’t Cole co with her?" he asked suddenly.
Markus leaned against the table. "Asli gave him sothing to do. Said it would keep the back up team away from the fight."
That only made the uneasiness worse. Aht turned sharply.
"Call the n cleaning the field," he ordered. "Tell them to find my phone imdiately."
Markus stared at him. "Aht..."
"Now." There was sothing in his voice that made Markus grab his phone without another word.
While he spoke to the n, Aht paced the room. Back and forth. His mind refused to stay quiet. Asli was a grown-up and could be anywhere she wanted. However, he knew she’d be heading ho imdiately after leaving his Villa. Her father had asked her toher to go ho imdiately.
Markus ended the call and watched him.
"You need to calm down," he said.
Aht stopped pacing and looked at him.
"I can’t," he replied honestly. "Even if I wanted to."
Markus sighed. "What are you thinking?"
Aht dragged a hand through his hair.
"What if Demir planned sothing?" he said. "His right-hand man wasn’t even here. Cole wasn’t here either. And now Asli..." He exhaled sharply.
"What is going on?"
Minutes later, the door opened and one of the n hurried in with a phone in his hand. "We found it, boss."
Aht grabbed it imdiately. His heart sank as he checked the screen. It was shattered. He pressed the power button. Nothing happened. The phone was completely off.
Aht swore under his breath.
"Relax, man," Markus said. "Asli isn’t so weakling. She’s Asli."
Aht looked at him. "I know," he said quickly. "But she’s carrying my child now. This whole thing is new to her. What if..."
"What if she takes it out?" Markus cut in. The irritation on his face was obvious. "Which would honestly be the smartest thing to do," he added bluntly. "You idiot."
Aht glared at him. "Not now." Aht knew his cousin wasn’t happy about him getting her pregnant.
Markus rolled his eyes but lifted his phone again.
"No. There’s no way she’d do that," he said. "I know. We’ve grown past. Besides she’s soone who would rather die than be called irresponsible." Aht agreed.
Then Markus dialed another number.
When the call connected, his tone changed instantly.
"I want today’s security footage sent to ," he ordered. "Everything after the fight. I want to see where the cars went after leaving the Villa. Now."
He hung up.
Aht rubbed his forehead. "Why didn’t I think of that?"
Markus snorted." Hm." He sat down and opened the laptop. "We need answers quickly," he said. "You saw the fear in mother’s eyes. Your father was furious too. Whatever happened in the past must have left a great impact on them. Until we correct the past, they’ll never accept her."
Aht nodded quietly. "And you’re angry too," he said.
Markus didn’t even try to deny it. "You know why I’m angry," he replied. "If her father finds out, she’s more than dead." His voice lowered. "And if we don’t end his rule, he’ll always be powerful enough to harm her."
Aht’s jaw tightened.
"And you know she’ll never leave her family and join us," Markus continued. "Even if she decides to, your parents would never agree."
Every word was true.
But Aht didn’t want to hear any of it. Life without Asli didn’t make sense anymore. But that was a battle for another day. One problem at a
ti.
A notification sound interrupted them. Both n moved at the sa ti.
Markus opened the file and the footage appeared on the screen. They played it on fast speed. Cars. n running. The chaos of the fight.
Then...
"Asli’s car," Markus said.
They slowed the video when they noticed the car had stopped. Another car pulled behind it. One from their own Villa garage and a man stepped out. But he kept his face turned away from the caras completely.
Both n leaned forward.
"Pause," Aht said.
Markus froze the fra. Their chests tightened. The man handed sothing through the window. It was a bottle of water.
And sothing like a cloth. Sothing like a handkerchief.
Then he bowed slightly.
Asli drove away. Silence filled the room for a quick second.
"Who is he?" Markus asked slowly.
Aht shook his head. "I have no idea."
He stared harder at the screen.
"The car is ours," he said. "Which ans the man is one of ours."
Markus leaned back. "And the fact that he avoided every cara ans he knew exactly where they were."
Aht’s jaw clenched. "Yes."
"Then why avoid them?" Markus asked.
Aht thought for a mont. "Maybe he’s her spy inside the Villa," he said slowly. "He didn’t want us to know he was helping her."
Markus looked unconvinced.
"They still think we’re enemies," Aht added. "See how he bowed to her. That is loyalty to her."
But even as he said it, the explanation didn’t sit well with him.
"Look," Markus suddenly said.
They watched the footage again. Asli’s car moved forward. Then stopped.
Then moved again. Then stopped once more.
They replayed it. Again and again.
"She kept stopping," Markus murmured.
Aht stood up.
"You know what," he said. "Call when you find out exactly where she is."
He grabbed his jacket. His impatience was taking control of his steps. Markus looked at him like he’d lost his mind.
"First of all, on which phone?" he said. "Secondly, we can’t..."
"No," Aht cut him off. "I can’t wait."
Markus gestured at the screen.
"This footage is hours old," he said. "Calm down. I doubt she’s still around this area.."
Aht didn’t move.
"I told you," Markus continued, softer now. "Asli is exactly who she says she is. She can handle herself."
He tapped the screen.
"Let’s find where she went. Then we go together."
Aht exhaled slowly. "You’re right."
They turned back to the laptop. Then Markus frowned. "The footage stopped."
Aht turned sharply. "What do you an it stopped?"
"I don’t know," Markus muttered. "Let check the map."
He pulled up the route on another screen.
"There’s a café... a bookstore... a hospital... and a bank along that road."
Aht shook his head imdiately. "Asli wouldn’t go to any of those places." He leaned closer to the screen. "What’s beyond that route?"
Markus checked. "A school... a residential area... and a few unregistered properties."
Aht straightened instantly.
"She might go to the unregistered properties. I’m certain of that."
He grabbed his coat.
"Let’s go."
Markus didn’t argue this ti. He shut the laptop, grabbed the car keys, and the two of them were out of the room within seconds.
They passed by the busy n who cleaned up. Markus pulled out of the Villa gates faster than the guards were ready for, tires screeching slightly against the pavent.
Neither of them said anything. The silence inside the car was heavy, filled with thoughts neither man wanted to voice. Aht knew Markus was still angry but who cared?
Halfway down the road, Markus’s phone rang.
It was Cole.
Markus imdiately answered and switched it to speaker.
"Cole."
"Listen," Cole interrupted quickly. His voice was low. Hushed. Like he didn’t want anyone around him to hear.
"Don’t ask questions right now. Just co to the location I’m sending you."
Markus frowned. "What’s going on?"
"You’ll see when you get here." Then Cole added quietly, "Co now."
The line went dead.
Aht and Markus exchanged a look.
A second later Markus’s phone pinged. The location arrived.
Markus opened it and his brows pulled together.
Aht leaned closer to look.
"...The hospital?" Aht said slowly. The sa hospital he had just dismissed.
Markus didn’t say anything. He just pressed harder on the accelerator. The car shot forward like a bullet.
Aht braced a hand against the dashboard as Markus drove like a madman through the streets, ignoring every speed limit.
It could be anything. An accident. Definitely, it was soone she ca to visit. Being at a recognized hospital was a random stop and neither of them knew what the reason was.
Sothing in their chests said this wasn’t a normal thing. And the closer they got to the hospital, the heavier that feeling beca. Aht tried everything to control himself.
Markus pulled into the hospital parking area so fast that the car barely stopped before both of them were already jumping out.
They rushed inside.
The sterile sll of antiseptic hit them imdiately as they pushed through the hospital doors. Their eyes scanned the reception area and then they saw her.
Asli stood in the corridor, facing a doctor. Her posture was rigid. The doctor looked equally tense.
"...I’m telling you, that’s not an option," the doctor was saying firmly.
Asli’s voice ca back just as sharp.
"You don’t get to decide that for ."
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