Chapter Twenty-One

"It sure has been a long time, I missed you, Gabriel. Have you missed me?"

"Boss, who is it?" Julian asks. They have been holed up in Gabriel's apartment since the moment Miss Rose went missing. Gabriel has looked pale and ghastly ever since, doing everything he can to try and track her down, but now a new factor has been added.

"Just tell me where you are, I need to know she is unharmed."

Julian shrinks back at the growl in Gabriel's voice and flare in his eyes.

"Oh, come now. Why would you ever think of me that way? Of course, your little darling is safe and sound, if anything I rescued her, you should be thanking me. I'm really living up to my name, the knight in shining armor, am I right? I suppose you wanted to be the one to save her, I'm willing to let you make it up. Do you remember my little cabin in the woods?"

Gabriel hangs up the phone and swipes the keys off the table. "Let's go."

Julian doesn't hesitate and grabs his coat, rushing after Gabriel out the door.

They drive for what feels like miles until they get to the outskirts of Luxe City, driving far into the forest until they come upon a well-hidden cottage.

"Is this where Miss Rose is being kept?" Julian asks. "Is there anyone else waiting for us inside? We haven't prepared anything for ourselves if there is."

"No need to worry, he won't do anything to us, he's actually expecting us."

As Gabriel says that the front door flings open and standing there is none other than the childhood best friend of Gabriel, Preston Knight. The two of them grew up together in Luxe City before Preston was sent abroad after the downfall of the Knight family; a downfall caused by none other than Gabriel's father, when he was the current CEO of Monroe Hotel and Casino.

The Knight family was trying to establish a casino of their own, but one that caters to the less fortunate and wealthy. It seemed innocent at first, until light came to the fact that it was all for extortion. The easiest way to bankrupt a person is to make them bet everything on making it big. The one chance that everyone believes they will get.

Those who have nothing to lose are more likely to give up everything for one thing.

Money.

When Gabriel's father discovered this, he did everything he could to slander the Knight name, making it impossible for them to find any other company to work with them, or even give them a simple deal. The family was ruined overnight, with Preston's parents splitting and his mother taking him abroad.

"What is your business here? Why were you following me today?"

Preston holds his hands up in defense, but a smile still on his face.

"Relax, it's been a long time, my dear friend. I just got back into M country, and I was on my way to come a visit you really, when I ran into a little bunny caught in the road. I couldn't very well leave her there for the big bad monsters to grab her, could I?"

Gabriel grabs the collar of Prestons' jacket and threatens him against the wall. "You really expect me to believe you, of all people, just happened to be there at the right time, right place? I know you never stopped keeping tabs on me, tell me why you're really here, and what you want with Athena."

Prestons' eyebrows shoot up. "Oh, we're on a first name basis with her. This young lady doesn't happen to be someone special to you, does she?"

Gabriel grits his teeth and hesitates. "What is important in my life is none of your concern. Whatever friendship we had died long ago, when you refused to see your own family's corruption and greed."

This causes Preston to react, his face contorting into anger.

"And you? From a young age, could you see the same corruption and greed in your own father? You've always held yourself so high, but you're just like the rest of us, you and your supposed honorable family."

The unfathomable history between these too can be seen clearly through the dust in the air, kicked up over their decade long debate of which family held more honor over the other. What was once friendly competition quickly turned into family rivalry, with only one coming out on top.

"So, is that what this is about? You're trying to get revenge on me and my family by stealing my technology and bringing down my future endeavors? If so, that has nothing to do with Athena, she shouldn't have been your target but me."

A confused look takes over Preston's face.

"Whoa, hold on. What exactly do you think this is about? I'm not here to kidnap anyone! Are you quite literally insane? I'm upset about what happened but I'm not delirious enough to kidnap a woman in broad daylight, then give myself away right after."

"I don't buy it; everything is too coincidental." Gabriel wants to believe his longtime friend isn't there to do any harm, but he can't ignore the clear red flags of this situation.

"Why don't we start by coming inside and making sure your little bunny is safe, hmm?" Preston asks and gestures inside. Gabriel was so caught up with seeing Preston, he almost forgot about the girl probably cowering inside.

Preston leads him down the hall to the bedroom where Athena has been pacing for what feels like hours, wondering what the hell is taking Gabriel so long to get there.

When he swings open the door, he is expecting to see a crying and huddled Athena. What he gets instead is a beating on the chest and arms as Athena comes barreling toward him.

"What the hell took you so long? We need to find Stella and whoever took her, before it's too late to track them. Have you found anything yet?"

Gabriel can't help but laugh at himself for thinking someone like Athena would be cowering in a situation like this. Time and time again she has shown she can face whatever is thrown at her and can throw it back ten times worse.

"I didn't expect you to care so much about your stepsister, are we not doing this to get back at her?" he asks with a smile.

This catches Preston's curiosity. It seems this woman isn't as simple as she seems. What did she say her name was again?

Athena Rose. That name sounds familiar.

"I might know where they went, I was there long enough to watch the kidnapping unfold but I wasn't aware what was going on, I didn't think to interfere until I saw Miss Rose approached and knocked out," Preston says.

"What happened to the man who was trying to take me? Do you have him?" If Preston was there when the man tried to abduct her, he would have had a clear chance to knock the person out and take him with them, but he wouldn't have thought of that if he didn't know what we were up to, that it was all planned.

A slow smile spreads across his face.

"Didn't I say I have a surprise for you in the basement? Would you like to see it, now that your true knight in shining armor is here?"

Athena gives him a confused look, but Gabriel pulls him out of the room before she has the chance to ask what that was about.

It's obvious they had a long conversation before this. How well do they know each other?

She makes a note to try and ask Julian later, assuming the way Gabriel is treating Preston tells her that they were once friends and are now no longer.

***

After interrogating the man in the basement, they were able to discover the location of the abandoned warehouse where Stella was being held captive under the guise that she was Athena. They're hoping the thugs haven't figured out she isn't the real one yet, the chances of her survival being higher if they haven't.

Athena wouldn't mind seeing the end of Stella, but she can't let it end just yet, there is still a lot more suffering Stella needs to go through before her life can come to an end. She has to pay for everything she has done to the former Athena.

When they get there, the entire place is dark and eerily quiet, like everyone has already up and gone. Gabriel and his men approach the warehouse while Athena is directed to stay safely in the car with Julian, allowing Preston to stand by Gabriel's side. She has been getting a weird feeling about him ever since they met, now is the chance to find out how loyal he is to them, or if he is just here to stir up the past with Gabriel.

Who is to say he isn't the one behind all of this, and is acting innocent to clear suspicion when the time comes to point fingers?

Gabriel returns to the car empty-handed, until Athena sees Preston carrying what looks like a person.

"Is she alright?" Athena jumps out of the car and makes sure Stella is still breathing. She has some bruises on her wrists and legs, and it looks like she might have been slapped around a couple times, but otherwise unharmed.

Hopefully this was a wakeup call to her.

"Do you understand what it's like to be me now?" she whispers to the unconscious girl before she is laid in the back. "Were you able to discover anything?" she turns to Gabriel and asks.

He just shakes his head in defeat. "They cleared out the entire place before we got here, there isn't anything we can use as evidence or a clue to continue trailing them, it ends here."

"For now, we still have our little friend in the basement. I made sure his surroundings were safe so he wouldn't think to harm his way out of this," Preston says.

"You guys go back and question him, try and find anything else out if you can," Gabriel instructs Preston and Julian.

"Wait, where are you going?"

He doesn't answer her and instead scoops Athena up and carries her towards his car.

"Let me know if you find anything else out."

"Put me down! Where are you taking me?"