Why the hell does she have this weird habit of running in the rain when she has a fucking heart condition?

The hunger and exhaustion must be making things worse.

My muscles tense and my brain fills with a thousand scenarios.

First of all, I need to keep her body temperature down.

I carefully place her on the ground and put her jacket under her head. She pulls her legs to her chest and bends into a foetal position.

Yanking my pullover off, I soak it with water from the lavatory and wrap it around her head.

A moan rips from her colourless lips. The flush on her face has been reddening by the second.

Sweat beads on her forehead and down her temples.

I place a hand on her heart. The beat starts slow then turns hard within a second.

That’s not good.

This isn’t a simple fever. Her heart condition is acting up and I’ll bet my life she didn’t visit her heart physician after she left with her father.

When she collapsed that day after running in the rain, our family doctor said she should visit her specialist as soon as possible. Knowing Elsa, she probably didn’t want to worry her father as soon as she reunited with him.

“Fuck, Elsa. Fuck!”

We need out of here.

Fucking now.

If not treated properly, a simple fever can be lethal to someone with a heart condition.

I know because I’ve been studying the shit out of it since I learnt of her illness.

That’s why I’ve been even stricter than her aunt about her special food. I brought her water with the highest concentration of minerals because I read it’s good. I’ve been watching her while she runs, looking for tiny clues about her breathing.

However, I couldn’t stop her from running in the rain since she often does it behind everyone’s back.

I snatch my pullover, soak it with water again and then wrap it around her head.

My lips touch her forehead one last time before I stagger to my feet.

Adrenaline shoots through my veins and fills me with one purpose only. I’ll open that door even if I have to dislocate my shoulders in the process.

Elsa and I will get out of here.

We’re not losing our lives in this basement another time.

37

Jonathan

Unlike common belief, villains aren’t evil.

Villains are simply people who go after what they want even if it means walking all over the crowd.

I might be considered the villain of this story, and I’m fine with that. My beliefs are my own and none of anyone’s fucking business.

Like an Italian politician once said, it’s better to be feared than loved.

Fear brings efficiency and gets things done.

Love is for masochistic fools.

I was in love once. It’s irrational and out of control.

Perhaps that’s why I’m trapped in my own head, scheming one revenge plot after the other.

I know full well it won’t bring Alicia back, but I go on with it anyway.

Why?

Because it’s irrational and out of fucking control.

If I focus on revenge I won’t feel the emptiness. If I focus on revenge, I direct the pain outwards instead of inwards.

I was at the airport, ready to put Aiden back in his lane when Ethan’s number flashed across my screen. I thought we were back to playing our old games. However, everything changed when he told me Aiden and Elsa are missing.

It’s been fifty-five hours since they were last seen.

Aiden is a little fuck, but he’s my son and the only thing I have left of Alicia. I have to bring him back.

Ethan’s security team and mine have been going through all the places Aiden and Elsa could disappear to.

We interrogated their friends and came up with nothing.

Ethan and I sit in the back of a van speeding to where the signal of their phones was last detected, somewhere near Northampton.

“The bank?” Ethan asks. His composure is a mere mask just like mine.

“Negative. He hasn’t used his credit card.”

He sighs. “Neither did Elsa.”

Aiden is smart enough not to use credit cards if he wanted to escape. However, neither Ethan nor I are considering that option.

One. Elsa would never leave her father after their reunion, even for Aiden.

Two. If Aiden planned to escape, he would’ve made small withdrawals from his bank account over the past few months so they’d have cash handy.

Which means they were taken against their will.

“Aiden took her,” Ethan grits out. “If he didn’t, none of this would’ve happened.”

“She went with him.” I rub my temple. “Stop pretending as if your daughter is a saint. She was glued to his side all this time no matter what I did.”

He glares at me but says nothing.

I go back to reading the text from my security team. Aiden’s car hasn’t been located yet.

Fucking brilliant.

“Where’s your dog?” I poke Ethan. “Have you lost the leash?”

“Watch it, Jonathan. I won’t allow you to disrespect Agnus.”

“Touchy, aren’t we?”

“He saved Aiden that day,” he says with an edge of smugness. “If it weren’t for Agnus, you would’ve lost your only son.”

“Agnus the saviour,” I mock. “I should’ve known he’d bring you back to life. If there’s anyone capable of that black magic, it’s him.”

“Unfortunately for you.”

“It’s a waste you returned, Ethan.” My shoulders tense as black memories hit me. “I’ll make your existence hell for every second Alicia spent in that car slowly dying.”

“Are you blind?”

I pause, his reply taking me by surprise. I don’t do surprises.

Usually, Ethan would rise to the challenge and tell me my plot for the Birmingham factory is the reason everything is ruined. He’d tell me, like Aiden, that the car accident might’ve been Alicia’s cause of death, but she was dying for years.

“Blind to what?” I ask slowly.

“To Aiden and Elsa, fucker. You’ve been observing it longer than me, so how come you’re still blind to it? Those two have been sharing a connection for the past ten years. Neither you nor I will be able to break it.”

“Let me worry about that.”

“Have you seen them play chess?” He raises an eyebrow. “You should. It might change your mind.”

“My son won’t be with your daughter and that’s final.”

“Does your son know that piece of information?”

My jaw ticks.

“I thought so. You’re losing control of him, if you haven’t already. Do you know what that means, Jonathan?” he asks, but it’s clearly rhetorical since he continues, “It means if you continue to push him, he’ll leave you and your entire legacy behind.”

It takes all my self-control to remain calm and focused.

While I hate to admit it, Ethan is right. Aiden is slipping away. I can lock him out like I did in China, but that’s a one-time thing. If I want to keep him by my side, I need a change of tactics.

“Does that mean you’re okay with their nonsense?” I tap my chin.

“No, I’m not. Aiden is so similar to you and I would rather he stays the fuck away from my daughter. But do you know what’s the difference between you and me? I consider Elsa’s well-being before my own.”