Chapter Twenty

"Damnit! Where is she?"

Gabriel has been rushing up and down the street for the last hour, circling the spot he last saw Athena and her stepsister. She was supposed to stay out of sight, but she suddenly ran towards the hooded men and shouted her stepsister's name.

What was she thinking? This isn't part of the plan!

"Gabriel, I can't spot her or Miss Stella anywhere, we have to broaden our search before they have the chance to leave the city." Julian comes running up, his face beat red both from frantic searching and the suffocating fear from the look on Gabriel's face since he discovered Athena was missing.

"I promise, we will find her," Julian tries to comfort him, but Gabriel simply grunts and roughly walks past him. He pulls out his phone and calls for all the security he can gather in such short notice, giving them all descriptions of Athena and Stella, telling them to cover every inch of the city.

"Why did she suddenly run towards them?" Gabriel mutters to himself.

Julian has been wondering the same thing himself. He was standing off to the side, watching Athena and Stella from ground level. From what he saw, there was nothing suspicious that would have made Miss Rose act out of character and go against the plan.

If she had stayed hidden, the original plan of Stella being taken would have gone smoothly. They don't plan on hurting Miss Rose, they need her as a trump card to use against Gabriel for his tech, and they can't very well go around just disposing of whoever they want without knowing their true identity.

Although to them, Stella Madden isn't someone of importance, but to whoever kidnapped them, she could be. She has the attitude and puts on the appearance of someone elite, so it won't be hard to fool them into thinking she is someone of high status, especially if she is seen with Miss Rose.

We have to find you, Miss Rose, no matter what it takes. I don't know what Gabriel might do if we don't...

***

Ugh, my head is pounding, and my ears are ringing. What is going on?

Blinking her eyes slowly, she feels soft sheets under her and a warm blanket draped around her shoulders. Her head is resting on something comfortable and not the cold-hard ground like she was expecting.

Was she not kidnapped? Did the plan succeed?

Noo, she passed out when she ran towards Stella and the man with the weapon, she couldn't tell if it was a gun or a knife, neither option a good one. She just wanted Stella to take her place and be kidnapped instead, but she doesn't want her to be killed over this.

She has no evidence that Stella and her mother were involved in Athena's mother's accident, she needs to gather everything she can and expose the mother-daughter pair for the evil beings they are, before anything can happen to her.

If she is going to die, it will be by Athena's words and hands.

First, she needs to figure out where she is. A modest bedroom she doesn't recognize from any hotel or house she has ever stayed at, even the décor seems slightly foreign to her.

Before she has the chance to slip off the bed and check her surroundings more, the door clicks open, and a bright hairs man walks in.

"Oh, you're awake. I'm so glad, I was afraid the head injury you suffered was worse than I anticipated. How are you feeling?" He comes in and sets a tray of water and soup on the end table next to the bed.

She reaches up and touches the back of her head where she was hit and feels the bandage lightly wrapped around it, completely clean. The man just stands in front of her and smiles, waiting for her to put it all together herself.

"You probably already know the questions I'm going to ask, so why don't you just beat me to it," Athena says. She tries to sit herself up in the bed, but every inch of her screams in pain.

"I think explaining how you got here might be better, and the why will be answered along the way. I'll begin with my name, I am Preston Knight of the Knight Corporation in Luxe City, we're a rather new company so you might not have heard of us but that doesn't matter. I was in the area by chance, you and your companion had stood out to my on the streets, so I was paying close attention at the time when I saw a masked and hooded man nab your friend, it looked like he had drugged her too. I was going to alert the authorities when you suddenly ran towards them and were knocked out yourself. I had enough time to act this time, so I managed to tackle the man who was trying to drag you away as well, and I have him tied up downstairs."

"What? You managed to catch one of them? Where is he?" Athena cries out and tries to hastily jump off the bed, overestimating her own strength and instantly falls back against the bed.

"Not to worry, he is safely locked up downstairs with nowhere to go. We are in a remote location not far from the city, but if he hasn't ever come out this way then chances are he has no idea where he is, he was knocked out and blindfolded on the way." Preston gives her another wide grin, sending chills down her spine.

Although she has no reason to believe he is someone who wants to harm her, or he would've already, that doesn't stop her from getting an eerie and unsettling feeling from him.

"Also, your phone had been going off for some time, but it died before you woke up, I have it charging in the other room if you would like it. I didn't dare answer the calls, but it looked like it was coming from a Mr. Monroe, if I'm not mistaken."

Oh shit! I forgot about Gabriel; he must be panicking! The plan didn't go the way it was supposed to, and now both Stella and I are missing.

"Yes, can you please get me my phone? We were actually there with someone else that day, he must be worried sick." Whoever this Preston person is, he can't be trusted completely just yet. Knowing that there is someone else who knows they are missing and is actively looking for them will make him show his true colors sooner, if he really is behind any of this, he knows he is about to be found out soon.

Unless he kills her before then.

"Not a problem, wait right here. You should try eating in the meantime, regain some of your strength back."

While he is gone, she takes the chance to check her surroundings. Looking outside, she can see he was telling the truth and they are in a rather remote area with not another building in sight or glow of the city lights. The windows aren't barred but they are locked, no luck there unless she wants to make a noisy escape.

The sound of footsteps causes her to retreat back to the bed, while Preston brings in her phone like promised. For the time being, he seems to be someone she can trust to at least not harm her, but there is no telling what he will do once she proves she does have someone looking for her and possibly closer than she thinks.

"Athena, where are you!?" Gabriel's thundering voice comes through the other end before she can even breath. She has never heard him sound so panicked and wonders what kind of expression he has on right now. Nothing happened, why is he so worked up? Although the plan has been diverted, this was still expected.

"I'm fine, I'll explain everything when I see you. Have you tracked down Stella? Her whereabouts are more important-"

"Like hell they are! Where are you, I'm coming to get you right now."

What is she supposed to say? Looking towards Preston, she waits for him to tell her where she is. But he just gives her a blank stare and a smile, in turn waiting for her to ask where she is; notifying Gabriel that she is not alone.

"Athena? Why aren't you answering? Are you alone?"

"No, I'm not, but it's okay. I'm with a man named Preston Knight, we're on the outskirts of the city I think." Athena stops when Preston approaches her and holds out his hand.

"May I?" he asks, gesturing to the phone. Wordlessly she puts the phone in his hand and watches the slow smile break across his face.

"Hello Gabriel, it's been a while."