Ryan turned to Evelyn.
"Ma’am, are you alright if I leave for a while to check up there?"
Evelyn, lying on the ground amidst the fallen leaves, stared at him for a moment. She wouldn’t have stayed here if her stomach hadn’t been feeling like it was contracting. She would climb back up there.
But she worries something has happened to her baby inside. What if—
She didn’t even dare to think about it.
"I will get help," he promised, after he saw her not saying anything, and her gaze showed how worried and afraid she was. "You are not losing anyone. Not today, ma’am..."
Evelyn looked up at him, tears clouding her sight as the world spun around her.
At the same time, the unbearable pain in her lower abdomen threatened to take over again.
"Y-Yes... Please hurry." She softly whispers while closing her eyes, trying to distract her mind from the pain.
She will trust Ryan that her baby will be all right. She will trust him to get help soon.
...
The Valley.
Axel stood frozen in his place.
The world around him blurred, sounds muffled, everything distant and unreal.
His phone vibrated weakly in his hand, Evelyn’s call having cut off so abruptly that his brain refused to process it.
His heart thudded painfully, like it wanted to escape his rib cage.
"No. No. No!" The words scraped out of his throat, a raw whisper of disbelief.
He forced his lungs to function. Inhale. Exhale. Move. Think. Do something.
He redialed Evelyn’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. He tried Ryan. Voicemail. It felt like the air was strangling him.
Axel’s hand trembled. It only lasted three seconds.
Then his instincts kicked in, sharp and merciless.
He spun on his heel and strode toward the door, phone pressed to his ear.
"Collins, trace my wife’s last location. Now."
He didn’t wait for a response. He hung up and immediately dialed again, storming down the hallway.
"Liam, check team two’s position."
"Boss," Liam’s breath came through the line, rushed, "I just received a call from them. They have already left the Morgans’ house and have just passed the car accident—"
Axel’s heart stopped.
Completely.
For one second, he felt nothing... no heartbeat, no air, no ground beneath him.
"Ask them to return to the scene!" His voice cracked with urgency. "That’s my wife’s car!"
He ended the call. His shoes barely touched the ground as he sprinted to the garage. His breath was lethal acid in his lungs.
In the corner of his eye, Jimmy appeared, running toward him, worry carved on his face.
"Sir, are you going out?"
"Yes." Axel snatched the car keys from the hook. He didn’t bother with a coat or shoes appropriate for the weather. None of it mattered. He climbed into the driver’s seat, engine roaring to life. "Please take care of my son. There’s something urgent happening... I will call you later."
Jimmy nodded, "Yes, sir."
Liam hesitated. Axel could hear static. Maybe it was just the rage building inside him.
"And boss..." Liam’s tone dropped, shaded with dread. "This is simply not just an accident."
Axel’s jaw clenched.
His eyes narrowed, focused ahead, but seeing nothing but blood.
"What do you mean?" His voice was frost and violence.
"When team two arrived, the truck that hit Madam’s car was gone. Disappeared. Moreover, there was another car with armed men at the scene. They exchanged fire with team two. Our people had to focus on reaching the lady boss, so the shooters escaped."
Axel already imagines this isn’t a simple car accident, because it’s ridiculous for Ryan to drive recklessly. He would never let Evelyn fall. This was an ambush.
"I’ve also asked Collins to search for them. And... I sent the precise coordinates to your phone," Liam added.
Axel didn’t respond. He slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, forcing the engine to scream.
Every mile closed felt like ripping through hell to get to what mattered.
’I swear,’ Axel expresses his anger in his mind, voice breaking into something feral, ’even if God grants you mercy... I won’t. There is nowhere you can hide from me. You will die by my hand.’
"Anything else you want me to do, sir?" Liam’s voice pulls Axel from his angry thoughts.
"Are you still at headquarters?"
"No. I’m heading toward the location now."
"Good. I will be there soon." Axel ended the call before Liam could say another word.
Silence filled the car, thick and suffocating. His rage simmered, dark and alive, crawling under his skin. He had never felt fear like this. Never felt hatred so clear, so pure.
Whoever wanted Evelyn dead had just signed their own death warrant because he was coming to collect it!

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