Eyes on the road

"Yes, I did send you a voicemail, and you replied with a text asking me to stop bugging you," Anne sighed and she watched as Carl creased his brows in confusion.

"You said a lot of things in that text that still hurts me," she added.

"Anne, I would never say anything to hurt your feelings, especially in a text," Carl said sincerely, looking deep into her silver-grey eyes.

Anne paused, taking a deep breath. In her mind, she knew Carl was right. The text had said things that were completely out of character for him, and it didn't make sense for him to encourage her to focus on her "petty" business when he was her biggest supporter.

The only logical explanation was that someone else had sent the text from Carl's phone, perhaps to make her back off from him. It was the only thing that made sense. Besides, Carl wouldn't come here to save her if he didn't care about her.

"I think someone must have sent you that text using my phone, and then deleted it so I wouldn't know," Carl said, his voice full of concern. "But if you still have the text, why don't you show me on your phone?"

"Oh, of course!" Anne exclaimed, digging into her pocket for her phone. But her hand came back empty. She felt frustrated as she remembered that she had lost her phone when she was attacked. She had no way to prove to Carl that the text was sent by him.

"Shit! I left it at Dr. Ken's!" Anne exclaimed.

Carl's brow furrowed. "What!? What did you say?" he asked, confused and shocked. He felt like his ears were playing tricks on him to hear Dr. Ken's name in her mouth.

"I said I left my phone!" Anne repeated, her voice full of frustration.

"Where?" Carl asked in a husky tone with so much seriousness on his face.

"What's wrong? Why are you so serious all of a sudden?" Anne asked concernedly, feeling a little bit worried.

"Anne, you said you left your phone at a doctor's house," Carl said, his voice tense. "I just wanna confirm the name of the doctor, that's all"

"It's Doctor Ken. Do you know him?" She asked

Carl was stunned. He had to be sure he had heard her correctly. "Doctor Ken? The killer surgeon??"

"um… I.. I guess so. Is that his nickname or what?" Anne was somewhat confused.

However, Carl's mind was racing with so many questions. How could Dr. Ken still be alive? Was it really the same person? Or was this some kind of sick joke?

Although he was a hundred percent sure that the surgeon had died five years ago as a matter of fact, he saw his dead body so who is this Dr. Ken that Anne is speaking of?

Carl took a deep breath. "Anne can you please explain to me how you got to know this Dr. Ken?" he said calmly and Anne nodded.

"After I got that strange text from you, I received an order from Dr. Ken. I went to his house to deliver the pastries he ordered, and he offered me a glass of lemonade. I was so thirsty, but something felt off, so I refused. The next thing, his bodyguard started attacking me and I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I was handcuffed to a surgical bed in his operating room..." Anne inhaled sharply. She subconsciously clenched her fingers into a tight fist as she recalled everything that happened. She had never experienced such terror.

As Anne spoke, Carl noticed the fear in her eyes. He leaned in and placed his hand on her shoulder, his touch warm and reassuring. "it's okay if you don't want to talk about it" he whispered to her.

Anne looked at Carl with tears in her eyes as she remembered how helpless she was when Dr. Ken was forcing himself on her. He kissed her by force and she felt paralyzed, unable to resist or fight back. It was a violation she would never forget.

Carl wiped the tears from her eyes, wishing he could take away her pain. He felt his heart tighten as he saw her crying again, and this time it was because of him. He asked her to explain what happened and it has brought back a painful memory for her. He couldn't imagine what she had been through.

Right now, he couldn't wait to punish those kidnappers and that surgeon. And if it was really Dr. Ken, he'd send him back to hell again.

"I don't know for sure, but I think he kidnapped me to get to you. I think it's you he wants,"  Anne said in a soft, shaky voice. Her eyes filled with worry.

Carl was frozen in place, unsure of what to believe. It was hard to imagine that Dr. Ken could be alive, but if he was, it was clear that he wanted revenge.

No wonder he kidnapped Anne but thank God she escaped.

As Carl sat there in the driver seat of his BMW, a chill went down his spine. He remembered the murder case he had been working on for the past few days. He was still looking for the killer of Abigail Harper, and he remembered what Noah had said about the crime scene. The victim's body had been cut open, and the killer must have been a skilled surgeon.

Suddenly, a horrible thought crossed his mind. Could it have been Dr. Ken? The man he had prosecuted five years ago?

Carl's blood ran cold at the thought, and he felt a sudden surge of anger. He clenched his fists, and his heart pounded in his chest. The only explanation Carl could give himself was that, Dr. Ken was never dead and he's here to take revenge.

Suddenly, Carl heard the sound of an engine behind him. He turned to look in the rearview mirror and he saw five black Lexus cars. They were closing in on him from every side and one of the men behind the wheel was no other than Benjamin, Dr. Ken's hulking bodyguard.

Anne, who was sitting beside Carl in the passenger seat, let out a gasp as she caught sight of Dr. Ken's bodyguard in the rearview mirror. She immediately got scared and her heart was beating rapidly inside her chest.

Were Dr. Ken's men here to take her back to him? Or were they here for Carl, or for both of them? She was terrified and she could barely think straight.

However, Carl had a stern look on his face. "looks like we've got company," he said in a steady voice.

"Put on your seatbelt. It seems the guys who kidnapped you came here to party," Carl said to Anne with a smirk on his face.

Carl looked so confident that it scared Anne the more. She felt paranoid but Carl's boldness gave her a sliver of hope. She took a deep breath and reached for her seatbelt, fastening it around her trembling body.

With a flick of his wrist, Carl stepped on the gas and the car shot forward, tires squealing as it hurtled down the road. The five Lexuses gave chase, but Carl was a skilled driver and he expertly wove through traffic, swerving and dodging oncoming cars with heart-stopping precision.

Anne clung to the door handle, her knuckles white, as she watched the other cars growing closer and closer in the rearview mirror. She could hear their engines revving as they struggled to keep up.

Every minute, Anne stole a glance at Carl's focused profile, his jaw set and his eyes locked on the road ahead. His hands gripped the steering wheel as he swerved and sped through traffic, dodging cars with a precision that was both thrilling and terrifying. Anne couldn't help but wonder how he'd learned to drive like this. Was it some kind of military training, or had he been in some kind of accident?

Anne's heart skipped a beat "Be careful, or you're going to kill us!" she shouted.

"Don't worry, I've got this," Carl assured her.

As he drove, he noticed that the five Lexuses chasing him had become seven.

Carl scoffed with disbelief. This wasn't fair at all.

"There are so many of them!… How did you escape?" he asked her

"I used the pepper spray you gave me," Anne replied.

A smile tugged at the corner of Carl's mouth. He was glad to know that Anne kept the pepper spray he had given her a few weeks ago. Apparently, she must've been a badass to be able to use it to defend herself. He thought.

"I'm proud of you," Carl said, reaching over to pat her hair but Anne ducked away from his hand, rolling her eyes

"Hey!" Carl laughed

"Eyes on the road mister!" she warned.

"Sure," Carl replied and held onto the steering wheel.

His phone started ringing and he felt hesitant to pick up since he was on high speed but he suspected the caller to be Noah since he had been blowing his phone nonstop. Either way, he decided to answer it. Maybe it was an important call.

Without taking his eyes off the road, he used one hand to connect the call to the car speakers.

As soon as he answered the call, Noah's voice crackled through the speakers, "Hello Carl, where are you?" Noah sounded desperate and worried.

Carl looked around, but he had no idea where he was. The cars were still chasing him, their headlights like angry eyes in the rearview mirror. He couldn't seem to get away.

"I don't know man, but I'm in a really tight situation," he said and glanced at Anne, who was already staring at him with a worried expression. She could also hear Noah's hoarse voice through the speakers.

"Are you with Anastasia?" Noah asked and Anne wondered why he was asking of her.

"Yes she's with me" Carl replied and he heard Noah breathe a sigh of relief.

"oh thank God" Noah whispered.

"what's up? You've been calling my phone all day"

"That's because I needed to warn you that you are walking into a trap! The serial killer we've been searching for is Dr. Ken. He intentionally kidnapped Anastasia to lure you into a trap so he can get his revenge. He wants to kill you!!" Noah explained.

Anne looked at Carl with a panicked expression. She was right that Dr. Ken had kidnapped her to get to Carl. A surge of fear coursed through her body. She couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to him. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

However, Carl felt a bit relaxed as he realized that the men were chasing after him and not Anne. But he had no idea that the person he was dealing with was the late Dr. Ken's son and not the killer surgeon himself. He was unaware of the danger that was coming his way.

The men pursuing him were all following Seth Kennedy's orders which was to kill Carl by sundown. They wouldn't stop until he was dead.