He Never Loved Me Until the Day I Finally Left Him novel Chapter 837

Helena's face hardened as she stared at the screen.

The caller ID was completely masked.

Without hesitating, she answered.

The officers in the room immediately scrambled to trace the signal.

A heavily distorted, robotic voice crackled through the speaker. "Helena, if you want Skye back, come to this address. Come alone."

Before she could even process the demand, the line went dead.

The lead officer cursed and shook his head. "The call was too short. We couldn't get a lock."

A second later, a text message pinged on Helena's phone.

The address pointed to a suburban ancestral house.

The moment she read the message, it automatically deleted itself.

It was completely untraceable.

Everyone in the room knew this abandoned property wouldn't be the actual drop point.

The kidnappers would have spotters. If Helena showed up with a tactical team, they would instantly relocate.

Helena knew this too.

She spun around, her voice commanding. "Stand down. None of you are following me."

The officers stared at her in shock.

Lance's brow furrowed in deep concern.

"Helena, you can't do this..." Lance stepped directly into her path.

She didn't waver. "They want me, not Skye. I have to get her out of there. Her body can't handle this kind of trauma."

"It's suicide," Lance argued.

Helena's tone left no room for debate. "If you follow me and they spot you, there's no telling what they'll do to her."

Lance couldn't argue with that logic.

Helena rushed outside and threw herself into the driver's seat of her car.

Lance quickly gathered his composure and turned to the officers. "Switch to plainclothes and keep a massive distance. Do not be seen."

As the officers moved out, Lance sprinted to his own car.

Just as he put the vehicle in gear, his phone rang. It was Julian.

Julian had just landed.

Lance gave him the location, and Julian bypassed the estate entirely, speeding straight from the airport toward the rendezvous.

She scanned the empty road, knowing full well that Campbell bodyguards, plainclothes cops, and Lance were lurking somewhere in the shadows.

Taking a shuddering breath, she finally dialed Julian's number.

He answered on the first ring. "Helena, talk to me. Stay calm!"

"Call everyone off! Make them turn back!" Helena's voice broke, the panic bleeding through. "I can't gamble with Skye's life. They can see you. Even if it's a bluff, it's a risk I cannot take."

"Helena..."

"Please, Julian. I am begging you."

A desperate sob tore from her throat.

"Okay. We'll pull back. But tell me, even if you reach her, how do you plan to get her out? What if things go south while she's surrounded by armed men?" Julian's voice was a terrifyingly calm anchor.

Helena had no answer.

"Play along with their demands. I promise you, they will not see me coming," Julian stated with deadly conviction. "Do you not trust me? Have you forgotten what I used to do for a living?"

Julian was a former mercenary; he had survived war zones exponentially worse than this.

Helena knew his capabilities.

But she couldn't bear the thought of dragging him into the crossfire.