CHAPTER 8 — The Kidnapping That Changed Everything
Three days later...
Lucas was attending a board meeting on the top floor of Carter Tower.
Victoria was delivering donations to a neighborhood orphanage.
Everything seemed peaceful.
Until her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
"Hello?"
A distorted voice replied.
"If you want to see Eleanor Carter alive..."
"Come alone."
Victoria froze.
"What are you talking about?"
The call ended.
One second later...
A video arrived.
It showed Eleanor sitting in a chair inside a dark warehouse.
Her hands were tied.
Behind her stood masked men carrying rifles.
A timer appeared on the screen.
01:59:58
Two hours.
Victoria's blood ran cold.
She immediately called Lucas.
No answer.
He was still inside the board meeting.
Without thinking, Victoria jumped into her car and sped toward the warehouse location attached to the message.
She never realized...
A black SUV had been following her since she left the orphanage.
Meanwhile...
Inside Carter Tower...
Lucas's phone vibrated repeatedly.
When he finally saw Victoria's missed calls, his heart sank.
At that exact moment, Eleanor's housekeeper burst into the conference room.
"Mr. Carter!"
"Mrs. Carter is gone!"
Lucas didn't wait another second.
He ran.
Security teams mobilized across the city.
Helicopters took off from the Carter estate.
Police scanners erupted with emergency traffic.
But Adrian Blackwood had planned every detail.
Victoria arrived at the abandoned warehouse first.
The building was silent.
The front door creaked open.
"Eleanor?"
No answer.
She stepped inside.
The lights suddenly switched on.
More than twenty armed men surrounded her.
Slow, deliberate applause echoed through the warehouse.
Adrian Blackwood emerged from the shadows.
Elegant.
Calm.
Dangerous.
He smiled as if greeting an old friend.
"Welcome, Miss Ashford."
"I've been waiting for you."
Victoria's face turned pale.
"Where is Eleanor?"
Adrian chuckled.
"Safe."
"For now."
He stepped closer.
"You see..."
"I never kidnapped Eleanor."
"I kidnapped something much more valuable."
Victoria frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Adrian's smile widened.
"I kidnapped Lucas Carter's heart."
He snapped his fingers.
The warehouse doors slammed shut behind her.
Heavy steel locks clicked into place.
Outside...
Lucas's convoy raced toward the location at full speed.
But he was already too late.
Because Adrian wasn't after money.
He wasn't after Carter Aerospace.
He wanted revenge.
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And Victoria had just walked straight into the trap that had been prepared for her since the day she laughed at a poor man's proposal.
To be continued...
