Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 170

Chapter 170

Aaron’s pov

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The locker room was alive with champagne spray, wild cheers, and the unmistakable smell of a hard-won victory.

My teammates were jumping on benches, dumping ice water over each other’s heads, and screaming at the top of their lungs. Six years. Six rings. The media was already calling us the greatest dynasty in the history of the sport, and my name was at the centre of it all.

But I wasn’t celebrating. I was standing in the back corner by the showers, my jersey soaked through with sweat, staring at my phone. It was vibrating in my hand, the screen flashing David’s name.

The moment I pressed the phone to my ear, the roar of the room died out.

“Aaron,” David called. His voice was too steady, that clinical tone he used when the world was ending.

“Don’t react. Just listen. Meiling was at the park with Adrian. A black SUV pulled up, and they….” He stuttered.

“They took him, Aaron. He’s gone.”

The air in my lungs turned to ice. For a second, I couldn’t move couldn’t feel the floor beneath

my feet.

My teammates were laughing, slapping me on the back, and I felt like I was watching them through a pane of glass from another dimension.

Then, the ice melted into a searing, white-hot heat that traveled through my veins.

“Where is Jess?” I asked. My voice didn’t even sound like mine. It was a guttural, terrifying sound that made the teammate nearest to me pull back in confusion.

“She’s in the stadium. Near the west corridor restrooms. I just told her. Aaron, she’s—”

I didn’t wait for the rest. I shoved past the crowd, my shoulder catching a reporter and sending his recorder flying. I didn’t care. I didn’t care about the trophy, the fans, or the millions of people watching.

I burst through the double doors of the locker room, my sneakers squeaking against the polished concrete as I sprinted toward the west wing.

Security tried to stop me, tried to usher me toward the press conference, but I went through them like they weren’t even there. My mind was a singular, burning focus. Adrian. Jess.

As I rounded the corner of the hallway leading to the restrooms, I saw her.

She was crumpled on the floor, her back against the wall, her phone lying a few feet away like a piece of trash.

She looked so small, so fragile against the vastness of the empty corridor.

Her custom mask was discarded next to her, revealing a face that was pale with a terror so deep it looked like it had been carved into her skin.

“Jess!”

The sound of her name tore out of my throat. I was across the hallway in three strides, dropping to my knees beside her. My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a pair of iron hands.

She looked up at me, and the sight of her eyes: wide, wet, and utterly shattered-broke whatever was left of my composure.

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14:36 Sat, Feb 28 M m M.

Chapter 170

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She didn’t hesitate. She surged forward, clutching the front of my damp jersey, her grip so tight her knuckles blanched.

“Aaron!” she cried, her voice breaking as it echoed off the sterile walls. “They took him. They took our baby.”

She shook her head, as if refusing to let the words settle into truth.

“Tell me they didn’t,” she whispered desperately. “Tell me Davids wrong.”

She was shaking so hard I could feel the tremors in my own che. I pulled her into me, my arms wrapping around her with a desperate, protective force.

I buried my face in her hair, the scent of her shampoo clashing with the salt of her tears.

“I’ve got you,” I rasped, though the words felt like a lie. How could I have her when our son was out there in the dark?

“I’ve got you, Jess. Look at me.”

I pulled back just enough to frame her face in my hands. Her skin was freezing.

“We’re going to find him. I don’t care what it takes. I don’t care whose blood I have to spill. I will bring him home.”

“It’s his grandfather, isn’t it?” she choked out, her fingers digging into the fabric of my jersey. “It’s Kennedy. He found us. He waited for the one moment we thought we were safe.”

I didn’t answer because I didn’t have to. We both knew.

This wasn’t a random kidnapping. This was a targeted strike at the only thing that could ever make me bend.

My grandfather didn’t want money. He wanted me back in the cage, and he was using my son as the lock.

David appeared at the end of the hallway, his face a grim mask of calculation. He was already on a second phone, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of observers. He didn’t say a word as he reached us, just offered a hand to help Jess up.

I stood, lifting Jess with me. She could barely stand on her own; her knees kept buckling, her breath coming in short, ragged

gasps.

I kept one arm firmly around her waist, pulling her flush against ny side.

“The car is at the service entrance,” David said, his voice a low, urgent murmur.

“We need to move. Now. The media is going to realize you’re gone any second, and the police are already swarming the park.”

“I don’t care about the police,” I snapped, my eyes dark with a feral intensity. “I want to know where that SUV went.”

“Our investigators are tracking the street cams.” He replied.

The walk to the service entrance felt like a descent into a nightmare. Every shadow seemed to hold a threat, every distant shout from the arena sounded like a mockery of my failure.

I had spent my whole life trying to be a champion, trying to win enough games to buy my freedom, and in one single moment, Kennedy had shown me that none of it mattered.

I was still just a boy playing with a ball while the real monsters ran the world.

We slid into the back of the blacked-out SUV waiting for us. The moment the door clicked shut, the silence of the car felt deafening.

Jess was tucked under my arm, her head resting on my shoulder as she stared blankly at the back of the driver’s sett

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