Divorced CEO's Forgotten Wife Strikes Back (Riley and Bryce) novel Chapter 178

**TITLE: Dreams Refuse Gravity by Leo Arden Knox**
**Chapter 178: The Recording**

**Lucky Draw**

As the screen flickered into existence, it unveiled the ominous figure of the kidnapper—a wiry man of average height, his features obscured by a sinister mask that seemed to absorb the light around him.

“Of course I’m here to kill you!” he spat, his voice distorted and dripping with malice. “What a joke you are—a so-called firefighting hero! You prance around pretending to be a savior, but in reality, you’re nothing more than a coward who stood by and watched as people perished. It’s laughable that anyone ever dared to call you a hero!”

Bella struggled against the ropes binding her, her heart racing as fear clawed at her insides. The restraints were unforgiving, biting into her skin as she fought to break free. “I’m not a murderer! There… there has to be some kind of mistake!” she pleaded, desperation lacing her voice.

“Mistake?” The kidnapper’s laughter echoed in the dimly lit space, a sound that sent chills down her spine. With a flick of his wrist, he activated a recording.

“Don’t… don’t leave me, Bella! Hurry, grab the extinguisher! I’m on fire, please… hurry…”

The static crackled ominously, and a hoarse male voice filled the air, each word punctuated by panic and desperation.

As the haunting sound reverberated through the room, Bella felt the color drain from her face, leaving her feeling ghostly and hollow.

In the studio, the audience sat in stunned silence, their jaws slack in disbelief. The supposed hero of firefighting—was he truly someone who had stood idly by as a man met a horrific fate? What was happening?

And who had commandeered the studio’s screen to air this shocking revelation? Where were Bella and her captor at this very moment?

Bryce, shaking off the shock that had momentarily paralyzed him, fumbled for his phone, his fingers trembling as he dialed the police. “Hello? Yes, this is urgent! I need to report a kidnapping!”

Just then, a gasp rippled through the audience, a collective intake of breath that spoke volumes. “It’s live! Oh my, this is streaming live!”

The realization struck like a thunderbolt, electrifying the crowd. People scrambled for their phones, a frenzy of movement as they sought to capture the unfolding horror. Within moments, someone managed to locate the live feed.

The stream remained active, and viewers began pouring in at an alarming rate.

Comments erupted on the screen, a chaotic blend of disbelief and outrage.
[WTF is this? People will do anything for clout these days!]
[This has to be staged. They’re just begging to get banned!]
[Since when were kidnappers this bold? Do they not fear getting caught?]
[Can someone explain what’s happening here?]

Riley stared at the screen, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized the kidnapper’s silhouette. There was something unsettlingly familiar about him, a nagging feeling that tugged at her memory.

“Got something?” Sebastian leaned closer, his voice a low whisper that barely reached her ear.

“I feel like I’ve seen that man before,” Riley murmured, her brow furrowing in concentration. “But I can’t quite place where.”

Sebastian’s voice dropped even lower, urgency lacing his words. “Remember that text the reporter received at the orphanage event? Looks like it wasn’t just a rumor after all. Bella’s ‘hero’ story has some serious cracks!”

The atmosphere grew suffocatingly tense, the weight of the truth hanging heavily in the air. The voice on the recording had clearly called out Bella’s name. The facade of the so-called firefighting hero was crumbling, revealing the stark reality that she had let someone die.

“No! It’s not true! That recording is fake!” Bella shouted, her voice breaking, desperation clawing at her throat.

She couldn’t bear to accept the truth. One admission could unravel everything she had built, plunging her into an abyss from which she might never emerge!

“Fake?” The kidnapper’s laughter was sharp, mocking, a cruel edge that cut through her resolve. “You don’t even recognize your colleague’s voice? Come on, he was the one who mentored you when you started at Cloud Airlines. He went above and beyond to help you, giving you every opportunity. And this is how you repay him?”

Bella’s complexion turned ghostly pale in response to his words, each syllable striking her like a physical blow.

The kidnapper pressed on, his voice unyielding and cold. “This recording? It’s authentic. You can run it through any test you want, it’s your colleague’s voice, unmistakably clear. It was captured during the border fire, right before it all went to hell. He was calling for you, Bella, when it happened. The phone fell but stayed connected. That’s how we got this.”

Bella trembled violently, her body shaking with a mixture of fear and disbelief. “There… there has to be a misunderstanding!”

She clung to one flicker of hope—Bryce. She had faith that he must have realized she was missing by now, that he had called the police. They would come for her, she believed. If she could just hold on until they arrived, she would be safe.

“Misunderstanding?” The kidnapper’s grip tightened as he seized Bella’s hair, his hand rising abruptly as he struck her across the face with brutal force.