Chapter 50
Keith’s POV
It had been two months, two long months, since the truth came out, and I still couldn’t shake the guilt gnawing at me. Seth had sent the video–the proof of Emily’s innocence–out to everyone, and it felt like the weight of the world had come crashing down on us all. Everyone who had wronged her, who had doubted her, now wore the burden of guilt. And me? I was drowning in it.
Emily had suffered for years because of my blindness. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have let Lily manipulate me like that, believing her lies while Emily, the mother of my son, endured undeserved punishment?
I hadn’t been able to bring myself to face her. Guilt had made it impossible. Every time I thought about reaching out, the shame overwhelmed me, and I retreated further into my own cowardice.
Then everything changed when Tyler burst into my office, his face pale. and his breath ragged. “Keith!” he gasped. “I need your help!”
I frowned, sitting up straighter in my chair. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Emily,” Tyler said, his voice shaky. “She called me–she screamed. once, and then the call cut off. I tried calling her back, but I can’t reach her. Nina hasn’t heard from her either. Something’s wrong.”
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My heart dropped into my stomach. Emily’s scream echoed in my mind, a sound that would haunt me. Without another word, I grabbed my jacket. and my keys. “Let’s go.”
On the drive to the club, where Emily had last been seen with Nina, my mind raced with a thousand different scenarios. None of them ended well.
“Do
you think it’s him?” Tyler asked quietly, his voice tinged with fear.
I didn’t have to ask who he meant. The man who had tried to kill Emily before. The thought sent a surge of anger coursing through me. “I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.”
As soon as we pulled up to the club, I called Matt, my head of security. “Find out where Emily’s car is, now,” I ordered.
Tyler and I rushed inside, cutting through the crowd that was still milling around. My heart was pounding in my chest as we made our way to the bar. The bartender was busy, but when he saw our approach, his face
blanched.
“Where’s Emily?” I demanded, slamming my hands on the bar.
The bartender froze, stammering. “I–I don’t know, sir. I don’t know!”
Tyler stepped forward, his voice trembling with barely contained rage. “Don’t lie to us! She was here with Nina. What happened?”
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The bartender’s eyes flicked around nervously, his voice shaky. “I–I swear, sir, I don’t know what happened! I don’t even know which one is Nina or Em… Emily. One of them left first–I think it was Nina–and then the other girl, Emily, she followed her. But neither of them came back. I swear!”
I felt my temper boiling over, and in a flash, I grabbed the front of hist shirt, pulling him close. “If you don’t tell me every single detail, I swear
The bartender’s eyes widened in sheer terror, his hands shaking as he tried to steady himself. “I swear, sir, I’m telling you all I know! They both just left, that’s it! I didn’t see where they went or who they were with, I swear, I swear!” His voice cracked, the desperation clear in his tone.
The manager rushed over, his hands raised in a placating gesture. “Sir, please, calm down! We don’t want any trouble here. Let me help. We’ll get you the surveillance footage.”
I released the bartender, my jaw clenched as I tried to rein in my anger. The manager led us to the back, where they kept the surveillance system. As we waited for the footage to load, I couldn’t stop pacing, my mind running wild with fear.
Then something caught my foot. I looked down and saw a phone, its screen cracked. My breath hitched as I picked it up, recognizing it instantly.
It was Emily’s.
The fear turned into a cold dread in my chest. Tyler saw it too, his face
Chapter 50
paling as he took the phone from my hand. “She dropped it… she was trying to call for help.”
Before I could respond, the footage loaded on the screen. Tyler and I crowded around it, watching in horror as the events unfolded. Emily had gone outside, looking for Nina. A man approached her from behind, and before she could react, he knocked her out with a blow to the back of the
head.
My blood ran cold.
Tyler’s voice trembled as he pointed to the screen. “There… there’s Nina.”
The man, the same one who had knocked out Emily, was dragging a dazed, semi–conscious Nina into the back of a car. She looked confused, unaware of what had just happened.
We watched helplessly as the car sped off into the night, taking both Emily and Nina with it..
I slammed my fist on the desk, a guttural growl of frustration escaping. me. “Damn it!”
Tyler’s hands shook as he rubbed his temples, trying to process the scene we had just witnessed. “What do we do now?”
I didn’t hesitate. “We find that car. Seth can track it.”
Tyler looked at me, a mix of desperation and hope in his eyes. “Do you
Chapter 50
think we can find them in time?”
I met his gaze, my voice hard and filled with determination. “We will. We have to.”
As I dialed Seth’s number, my mind was already racing ahead, formulating a plan. Seth picked up on the second ring.
“We need you to track a car, now. It’s urgent,” I said, my voice clipped.
Seth didn’t ask questions. “Send me the footage. I’ll get on it.”
After hanging up, I turned to Tyler, my mind buzzing with the urgency of the situation. “We’re going to get them back, Tyler. Don’t worry.
But even as I said the words, the fear gnawed at the edges of my mind. What if we were too late? What if the man who had taken them was the same one who had tried to kill Emily before?
No. I couldn’t think like that. Emily needed me, and I wasn’t going to let her down again. Not this time.
“We’ll find her,” I muttered under my breath, more to myself than to Tyler. “Don’t worry, Emily. I’m here to save you.”
