CHAPTER 65

Never in her thirty-something years could she imagine she'd one day be kidnapped. She had handled so many kidnapping cases, had seen firsthand how nasty things could go. She had seen cases where kidnappers request a ransom and still murder their victim. Adriana had seen it all: the drama, the ordeal, the trauma inflicted on both victims of the kidnapping and their families. But she had never once thought she could one day be in such a situation.

As the car drove, she tried to follow the turning taken. The rights and lefts that would be taken before the final destination. That way, escaping would be a lot easier. She wondered if they were going outside Miami. The driver took another left, bringing the total to three. They were still in Miami, but towards the remote side. Suddenly, the man sitting beside her started to complain to the driver to drive faster and change the route. Focusing on their discussion became more important than she lost track of the turns the driver had taken. The conversation ended without her picking any word and she couldn't point exactly where they were anymore. Lost on both counts, she did what she could do, wait and hope help comes.

Finally, the car stopped. Adriana heard the driver get out while the man who had been sitting with her grumbled as he stepped out of the car. He left her sitting in the car and walked away. It was because the man driving had told him not to take her. The driver himself got down and came towards her. He grabbed her, and took her hand gently while walking her inside. Every time she stumbled, he calmly helped her up. She didn't understand why he was gentle. Somehow, too, he stayed aloof, avoiding any form of physical contact with her skin.

He was not hostile like his partner. They were both criminals of course. But he was the better one. With her brain quickly picking up an escape route, she figured he could be her pass if she played the game well. She let him take her in willingly, hoping he'd see her cooperating and they could talk, somehow. Once inside, the man let her in and closed the door. Adriana found herself all alone in the room where she was locked. Though she couldn't see anything, she could sense it. With her hands, she patted the walls down and finally settled on the floor.

Once seated, she thought about her twins, "What time is it now?" She whispered. 'They should be back from school." The sad part was that, because she had a hearing today, she had told her mother to pick them up. Of course, if she hadn't, their teachers would have called her family when she's running late. And it would have triggered an immediate search party. Now, her absence wouldn't be felt since she had asked someone else to pick them up.

Sadly, she leaned on the wall, imagining life for her kids without her. Hopefully, it wouldn't get to that, she thought. The door opened and she tensed when someone dragged in a chair. Adriana could sense this wasn't the driver. It was the man who sat with her all through the ride down here. This man wasn't as nice as that driver. He was hostile and easily angered. Maybe she could use that to her advantage. What do I know? She asked herself. There are two men involved... She knew two men had abducted her. If she was to leave, she had two men to tackle. If only she could fight them

She waited patiently for the man to say something, anything. He said nothing. Instead, he sat down, staring at her, she supposes. Doing what? She couldn't figure out what he was trying to do by that. She waited too. Eventually, she asked, "What exactly do you want from me?" That sounded funny to the man, who laughed and laughed and wouldn't stop. When he did stop, he stood up and she cringed back.

"I think the better question is, what will I do for you?"

********

"Welcome." Mrs. Sullivan greeted Evangeline and her team as they walked in. "Please sit." She said. She had come to the meeting with her manager, PA, and another staff. It was a circular setting. They were seated in a semi-circle. Evan and team occupied the remaining half of the circle.

After Evangeline's call, Mrs. Sullivan summoned her staff to ask what had happened with the proposals. She was aware that five companies had submitted their quotes for the deal. But only three made it to her table. When Evan reached out, she had been forced to check up on the last bidder, who couldn't be reached. Her teammates stared at her, unable to say anything. The manager eyed his team suspiciously but said nothing.

Needless to say, she knew something was wrong somewhere. A full blown investigation would hold, but with Evan meeting her shortly, she waited to hear from this client first. She smiled at the young woman as she sat down sweetly. Mrs. Sullivan sensed she was pregnant but made no mention of it. As a mother herself, she couldn't help but admire the lady's smartness, given her condition. She signaled to a waiter and ordered for the newcomers.

"Your order, please."

Evangeline was surprised that the woman was a young lady like herself, almost like her age mate. She quietly gauges her while pretending to run through their proposal with her team. She asked Audrey if the manager was the man seated beside the CEO or her husband. When she confirmed it was the manager, Evan knew that it was it. She could deal with him by simply reporting him to his boss.

When asked about her order, she asked for water and something to snack on. Audrey and Toby gave their orders and they waited patiently for it.

Once served, Mrs. Sullivan asked, "Shall we begin?"

"Yes, please." Evan replied. She dropped her water glass and put her two hands on the table. Her eyes shone brightly with the intent of dealing with the manager. And what better way to do that than to have him be handled by his boss? Men like him deserve no high posts. They were the ones making the world unbearable for the less privileged. "The proposal should have been tabled for you, but your manager here kept sending my team back." She looked at the manager who shifted uncomfortably on his seat.

Mrs. Sullivan turned to him "I asked about this, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did.... But, I..."

Forcing a smile, she looked away from the manager and faced Swiss, "I'm sorry about this. I'll see what went wrong. Can we go through it now?

"Yes. Thank you." Evangeline replied. She knew the woman would handle her manager well. With a satisfied smile, she went on to present her proposal. The woman kept nodding as she explained what she hoped would be the best presentation out of all the proposals. The project was an idea she had once wanted to try out herself. Getting paid for it was all she needed to push things through. She had taken her time planning everything, and if all goes well, the deal should be hers.

This was the reason she had been following up on the project. Actually, fifteen companies had put in for the job. When she made it to the first five, it was a relief that the idea was worth running with. Hearing nothing afterwards had been disturbing. And she had been mounting pressure on her PA, unaware that the manager was holding back her quotes.

Done with her presentation, she leaned back in her chair and took a sip of water.

"I'll go through this again and get back to you, if that's okay." Said Mrs. Sullivan, "I must add, though, I'm impressed."

"Thank you." Evan replied sweetly, happy she had made a good impression. Hopefully, the impression would land her the job.

"Your face also looks familiar." She paused, "Are you related to the Swiss law firm, Miami?"

Nodding proudly, she replied, "Yes." If there was ever a time she felt proud of her family. This was it.

"I see now." She smiled, "Your father, Robert." She smiled at Evan, "I take it he's your dad?" She nodded and Mrs. Sullivan continued, "He's our family lawyer. At least my late father. He's helped me handle some cases, twice or so. My dad recommended him." She eyed Evan suspiciously, "He's a good man."

"That's good to know."

"Well, I'll go through and get back ASAP."

Evan thanked her and added, "Its okay."

Both women shook hands and Mrs. Sullivan stood to leave, so did the manager and the two others. Evangeline stood too and walked them out. Once gone, she beckons to Audrey, and they leave too.

CHAPTER 66

Later that evening, after calling their first daughter several times without getting through, Robert and his wife became worried. It was unlike Adriana to go off-grid without informing anyone. Moreover, she had left her kids unattended. Something her mother claimed had never happened in the six years Adriana had had her kids. The children had waited tirelessly and had gone to bed without seeing her.

It was getting late, and she still hadn't seen. Robert called his security team. The men quickly set up their tools at the Swiss's residence. Adriana had been last seen in the courtroom. The security detail told to guard her was sure she had stayed till the end of the case. Of course, she would. She was the lawyer on the case.

"And how did you lose her then?" The chief security asked, looking very angry

"She went out through the back door. I thought she didn't want to be seen by the press. So I followed her. But when I got there, she was gone. So, I assumed she just needed some privacy."

"That's a stupid assumption. And you couldn't even call this in." He accused his staff. To the others on the system, he said, "We placed a chip in every of the Swiss. Track hers."

*******

Robert watched as the men set up hurriedly. Thankfully, at the last meeting they held, something like this happening had been foreseen, and the men had asked that they track their phones. But everyone knows the phone could be traced. The phone was the first thing the kidnappers would discard. They had instead chosen the less suspicious path; inserting the chip in their hands. It took his team a little longer than he anticipated to set up. Soon as they were done, they found her chip and location.

"She's still in Miami." The CS announced.

"When do we go in?"

"We need reinforcement first. I'll send my men to scout the area, know how many men are involved, and what to do."

"We don't have the luxury of time. They could harm her." Mrs. Swiss said, walking into the room. She had just put the kids to bed and was every bit as worried as her husband. Her daughter's life could be in danger right now. Every second counted for something. "I say you go all in, now. Go harmed."

"But..." The CS was saying.

"She's right." Robert butt in, "Nothing must happen to that woman. She shouldn't be left unaided. How long have they had her now?"

"If they took her from the courtroom, then it's been some couple of hours."

"Then you know why you need to go in now?"

The CS nodded. He began organizing his men into groups, ready for their mission. Robert stood behind with his wife, watching them. She shivered beside him and he knew she was scared. He held her hand. They had been through worse situations together, yet they survived. He knew they could survive this too.

"We won't lose her." He promised as he walked her towards a seat. Seated, he reminded her of worse situations their daughters had been in. "Remember the day they didn't come back home early from school?"

Mrs. Swiss smiled sadly, "Yes. You were to pick them up and I assumed you had. But you sent me a text to pick them up that you were delayed in court." But she had been so busy, too, and didn't check her phone. Then she got home, and her kids were not with their father. She had been so scared imagining what could have happened. The school should have called if they were in school

"We both got home exhausted only to realize we didn't pick them up." What was scarier was the fact that they had left school. "We knew they couldn't be in school, or the school authority would have called." He added solemnly.

Mrs. Swiss shivered at the memory. It had been one hell of a ride down to school. "We drove haphazardly to the school, still. They...." They had to try. The kids had no phone with which they could be contacted. The school was the only place they could be checked.

"They were not there." Her husband completed the phrase. It was something she couldn't bring herself to say. They had searched everywhere, in tears. His wife was a disaster. She wept uncontrollably, making him search everywhere they could. Even bags. "You made me search everywhere; bags, cups, pin" he laughed, "I almost lost it." He said. She laughed then.

"At the time, you probably couldn't even complain."

"Heck, I wanted to search them, even the pins could be hiding them." They both laughed.

"But in our rush, we forgot to be patient." Mrs. Swiss added solemnly. They had driven past the kids on their way to the school. Adriana had spotted them, and the kids had turned back to go meet their parents.

Robert smiled sadly as he remembered the search had made their day. Had his wife not insisted on checking bags and needles, they would have left the place and missed the kids who had seen them and were heading their way. "When we found them." He shook his head, changing the narrative. They hadn't found the kids; the kids found them. "When they found us in the school, they had been so exhausted."

"Adriana collapsed." Mrs. Swiss added, looking worried. "Robert, she fainted. You think she has the stamina for this?"

"Don't get it wrong, wife." He cautioned, "They were young then."

"But Evan has always been the stronger one. If she's the one in this situation."

"Eleanor." Her husband hushed. "Not that night. Evan wasn't the stronger one then. It was Adriana. She collapsed because she had carried her little sister down that slope."

Mrs. Swiss nodded.

"If she hadn't, who knows what would have happened. Trust me, she's strong that girl. They both her. If anyone can pull this off, she can." Her husband reassured and hugged her.

Mrs. Swiss hoped for all their sakes that Adriana would really come back home.

CHAPTER 67

Adriana repeated what the man had just said. She said it out loud twice, "How can you help me?" she asked. "I don't even know you. How can I want something from you when I have no idea who you are or what you can give me?" Adriana replied to the man, hoping by some divine intervention that he would introduce himself. It wasn't like that could ever happen. Still, one can only hope. She listened to know what he was doing. He didn't move. She sighed, tired of his games. She would just have to wait till he states his mission.

She had handled criminals far worse than this. Getting them to talk was her job. There are so many ways to make them talk. You can act like they don't affect you. It kills some of them and they start blabbing out of anger. There are those who talk loosen them up. For those ones, you just need to hit their conscience and you've nailed them. And there are the really stubborn one who you can't really get to. For them, you simply wait till they are ready to talk. Adriana had a feeling this man belonged to that class. So, wait, she must, until he was ready to talk.

While waiting, she found a way to keep herself busy and started humming. The man became restless. She could tell the song she hummed affected him, but he was stubbornly refusing to talk. She started humming louder. And just when he was having it no more, the door was shaken. Adriana felt like slapping the intruder.

There was another rough knock on the door. The man opened the door and said "Look who comes to check on his mate."

Mate? Whose mate? The men stepped out and engaged in a heated argument. Adriana strained her ears to catch what they were saying, but they were awfully low about it.

One of the men stepped in again. She could sense it was the same hostile one. She cringed back and waited for him to do whatever. While waiting, she engaged herself in a mind game and lost interest right after. She had been humming when he got upset before the interruption. But she wasn't in mood to get him upset anymore. Something about what the men had said bothered her. Mate? What was that! She figured she should focus on something else. Or someone else. Noah Monterey for instance. Why wouldn't he try to reach out?

"It seems your family made more enemies than you can count." The man said.

Finally, he speaks... He was ready to talk now. Perhaps she could gather some information about her kidnappers that could help her escape and deal with them too. "I don't know what you mean." she replied coolly.

"Gaby!" A familiar voice called, warning the other man. Adriana knew immediately that it was the driver. Why did his voice sound so familiar? His name is Gaby. Like Gabriel, Gab, Gad?

"Look, we need answers." The man who had been called Gaby responded but continued to face her. She couldn't see him. They didn't lose her hood yet, but the mouth tape had been removed.

"What answers?" She asked.

"Like who is after your family so we can know what we're up against?"

Before she could answer, there was a tussle. One man was able to pull the other out and locked the door. She tensed as he walked closer to her but relaxed. It was the driver. Somehow, she felt she could trust this one. The man removed her hood and it took a while to adjust to the brightness. Noah? It was Noah all along.

"What's the meaning of all this, Noah?" She asked angrily.

Noah sat down beside her. "I'm sorry I went through all these to get you to talk. I just want to talk." he said and she looked at him like he was insane.

"You want to talk? Fine, talk." She said to him. She thought about her parents who would be organizing the security team to come find her now. She thought of telling him to call the so they could stand down. But maybe not yet. He couldn't be trusted. It would be okay if the men got here and drag his betraying ass somewhere.

"I couldn't get you to reason with me." He pleaded that she tried to get a hold of herself.

Adriana couldn't believe her eyes. Was this really the man she had married? She couldn't still make herself believe that she had fallen for his crap. "So you kidnapped me?" She stared at him. "Are you insane?"

"Adriana, it was the only way to get you to listen. I needed you alone and cooperative." He said looking stressed. "Please."

She wasn't about to fall for this again, was she? "There are better ways to do this." She eyed him warily, "Let me go." She said.

"I tried to get you to. When I called, you passed the phone to the kids. You wouldn't even say hello."

Was he intentionally trying to get her worked up? If so, he was doing a good job of it. How could he expect her to say hello when he hadn't call for two weeks after she asked him to leave. If not for her, couldn't he have checked on the twins? Angrily, she asked, "You somehow found a way to reach out to my dad, but not me, not us. Noah, not even the kids."

"I didn't know if you'd want to speak with me." He said, "I did as you said, I stayed away."

"Really, Noah?" She stood up. "You stay there to give me this crap."

"Calm down" he coaxed.

"Don't you patronize me here" she warned, "Look, you need to let me go"

"See what I mean?" he said referring to her obvious emotions. "You'd barely give me any audience."

Probably because you don't deserve it. "Did you consider what this would do to our kids? And my parents?" Speaking of which, she needed to call them and let them know she was okay. "I need to call them." She told him.

"Why?"

"Is this a kidnapping?"

"No." He was vehement.

"Then they need to know I'm okay." He looked at her strangely. "Because I'm being tracked, dummy." She showed him the spot where the chip had been surgically inserted. "And I need to speak with my kids." She told him.