193 Did he arrive too late?
193 Did he arrive too late?
Meanwhile, a few hours earlier –
Ryan had been working in his office, too engrossed in his work when the ringing phone on the side broke his focus. His brows tugged in a frown before he reached out to check who it was.
Seeing it was South City Hospital calling, he accepted the call, answering, “Hello!”
“M–Mr. Foster!” an aged voice greeted, but one could feel the underlying panic behind that simple tone of greeting. “I am Sister Ambrosina calling from, South City Hospital. This is regarding Ms. Ember.”
Ryan’s brows furrowed before he asked, “What happened to her?“”
“Sir, your relative has suddenly disappeared,” The head nurse informed slowly as if still contemplating something. “We can’t find her anywhere here. We have tried checking her whereabouts through our
surveillance camera but there are broken and
Before she could finish it, Ryan’s voice came with a
boom, “What the hell does that mean? She was a patient under your hospital’s care, your responsibility. How can you not know where she had gone?” He stood up already ready to leave for the hospital.
The head nurse didn’t reply immediately, rather taking a small pause, she said, “Sir, I know somewhere we are at fault too, but please hear us out first. This matter may be more sensitive than it looks.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, his frown getting deeper.
The nurse slowly began, “Mr. Foster, to us it seems like Ms. Ember has gotten kidnapped. We have already informed the police. It will be good if you can reach
here soon too.”
Ryan’s expression only turned worse at that. But
having no other choice, he said, “I will be there soon.” With that, he hung up the call, ready to leave his office at once. But just when he was about to reach the door, he received another call.
His brows knitted when he realized that it was a private number. “Hello,” he answered. “Who is this?”
“Ryan Foster,” a sleazy voice answered, making Ryan’s
frown deepen. “I am sure by now you must have already come to know that your precious woman has been kidnapped. If not, then know it now. Delyth
Ember is in our filthy hands and even if you want to save her, you wouldn’t be able to.”
“Who are you?” Ryan demanded, his voice cold but edged with fury.
The man on the other end chuckled, the sound greasy and unsettling. “Does that matter, Mr. Foster? Just know that I am the one who has been lurking around her for far too long now. Last time, at Royal Grande, you were able to save her, but this time, here, you won’t have a chance. This beautiful bi*tch will be becoming mine. And his brother … haha” He laughed again, the sound dark and twisted. “Well, we will let him rest in the heavens while enjoying the fire of hell. After all, when alive he had once almost given his life to save his sister. And now with him gone, his sister has finally fallen in our hands.”
His words only screamed Ryan’s incapability. He failed to protect Delyth. He failed the promise he had given to Zeke.
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Ryan’s hands clenched into
?
the fists as he slammed it hard on the hard surface of his desk. “If you even dare to lay a finger on her, I will make sure your ten generations suffer.”
The man chuckled again. “Really? Do you think you can stop me?”
“You
“Fine, let me give you a chance,” he said, interrupting. “Come and find her. And see if I can truly do anything
to her or not.”
Ryan’s blood ran cold. Before he could say anything, the line went dead. The next his phone dinged with a message. When he opened it, it was the location of somewhere distant. Not wasting another moment, he
rushed out of his office.
After driving for almost an hour, Ryan’s car finally came to a halt at a deserted warehouse. As he stepped out, his gaze swept around the wilderness that had surrounded the place. One look and it could creep anyone out, which made it perfectly suitable for shady business dealings.
He checked the location on his phone and it indicated that he had reached the right destination. He had
informed the police on the way, but seeing no one had yet reached, he knew it would be taking time.
Not knowing what the further delay would bring, he decided to act on his own. He had promised Zeke to look after Delyth, he can’t let her suffer in the hands of some creep bastards.
With that thought, he slowly walked inside the
warehouse. But oddly, the air was too silent there as if
the
there were no souls around. As he further walked
ahead, his brows furrowed deeper.
Was he being wrongly directed?
That idea wasn’t unfathomable. He should have been
wise to check before making a move.
His eyes darted to look around and truly there was no one present around. How was he so stupid to fall for
it?
Believing that he had fallen for the tricks, he was about to leave when suddenly a frail, meek voice caught his
attention.
“R–Ryan, is t–that you?”
The voice was so soft that for a second he thought he
was having some kind of illusions. “Del!” he called, turning around to look for her. But there seemed no trace of her.
“Del, are you here?” Calling again he walked further in, but still there came no response.
Just when she was about to turn and leave once more, something caught his eye in the corner. His eyes narrowed, and when he identified it as a person’s fingers, his heart dropped. He rushed forward to check.
And the moment he did, his soul felt like it was leaving his body.
There, crumpled on the floor, was Delyth -dishevelled, bloodied, and barely conscious.
“Del!” Ryan’s voice cracked as he knelt beside her, his hand shaking as he gently reached out to touch her.