Chapter 48
Unknown’s POV
I slammed my phone down in frustration, pacing the room, my hands. shaking with a rage that felt all too familiar now. I had tried calling that bastard, R, but the line went dead again.
Ever since he burned down Emily’s house, I hadn’t been able to reach him. He’d gone completely off the grid, and it wasn’t like him to disappear like this. Something was off, and it gnawed at me.
The black snake was already dealt with. I had no choice. Once the police identified him, it was only a matter of time before he’d crack under pressure. He wasn’t that loyal to me. So, I put a bullet in him before he had a chance to open his mouth. No loose ends. That was my rule. But now R was a problem. A big one.
“Where the hell is he?” I muttered under my breath, the anxiety twisting in my gut. I don’t get anxious, not usually. I’m the one in control, the one. with all the answers. But this time, it felt different. Something about this situation was slipping through my fingers, and I hated it.
I barked orders to my subordinate, Black. “Find R. I don’t care how you do it, just track him down–now.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I could hear my own frustration dripping through. Black promised to look, but he wasn’t the one I could.
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trust to get this done. None of these idiots knew how deep this ran, how much was at stake. If R was going rogue, there was no telling what kind of mess he would make.
I ran a hand through my hair, feeling the familiar knot of tension tighten in my chest. My mind was racing, jumping from one possibility to the next, none of them good. I cursed under my breath again, my voice
echoing through the room as I paced back and forth like a caged animal. Damn it, R.
I needed to calm down. I couldn’t afford to lose my head. There was only one person who could talk me off the ledge when I was like this.
Mom.
I dialed her number, the phone ringing twice before she picked up, her familiar voice instantly soothing some of the tension in my chest.
“Hey, honey,” she said warmly, her voice filled with that maternal care I had always relied on. “What’s going on? Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“I just needed to hear your voice,” I admitted, rubbing my temples as I leaned against the window, staring out at the city below. “Things are at little… stressful.”
In the background, I could hear the clinking of dishes, the sound of a mixer in the kitchen. She was baking again. It made me smile despite. myself.
Chapter 48
“Don’t get too caught up in work, sweetheart,” she said, her voice filled with the kind of love that only a mother could offer. “Maybe you need to take a vacation. You’re always running around, never giving yourself a break.”
“I know, Mom,” I replied, my voice softer now. She had this way of making me feel like a kid again, like none of the chaos in my life mattered when I was talking to her. “It’s just… things are complicated right now.”
“Life always is, dear,” she said with a chuckle. “But you’ve always been able to handle it. You’re strong.”
“I hope you’re right,” I said quietly, closing my eyes for a moment.
Before I could say more, my phone buzzed in my other hand. It was Black. I hesitated for a moment, not wanting to cut the conversation with my mom short, but I knew I didn’t have a choice.
“I’ve got to go, Mom,” I said, trying to mask the urgency in my voice: “But I’ll call you soon, okay?”
“You better,” she teased, but I could hear the concern in her voice. “And remember what I said–don’t let work consume you.”
I ended the call and answered Black immediately. “What have you got?”
His voice was tense. “R deliberately burned down Emily’s house while she was out. It was no accident.”
Chapter 48
I felt my jaw clench as I gripped the phone tighter. “I know that already. What about now? Where is he?”
“That’s where it gets strange,” Black continued, his voice lowering. “R hasn’t been seen since. He’s gone off the map. No one’s heard from him. And, well, there’s more…”
I waited, my patience wearing thin. “Spit it out, Black.”
“He’s playing with her,” Black said, and there was a twisted amusement in his voice that made my blood boil. “R likes to mess with his targets before finishing them off. You know that.”
I gritted my teeth. “You think this is some kind of game to him?”
“That’s how he operates,” Black said. “But he’s not revealing his next move, and that’s got me worried.”
I let out a breath, my mind racing. If R was playing some sick game with Emily, it meant he was enjoying this far too much. But the fact that he had disappeared? That meant something else. It meant the game wasn’t going as planned.
There was a brief pause before Black’s voice came through again, this time more urgent. “Sir, I’ve got a big lead. Word is R has captured Emily.”
My grip tightened on the phone. “Are you sure he’s got Emily?” I asked, my voice low and dangerous.
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Black hesitated. “That’s the word. But no one knows for sure. He could be dragging this out, or he could’ve already… you know.”
I didn’t need him to finish. I already knew what was at stake.
“Send me the address,” I said, my voice cold and determined. “It’s time to
end this.”
There was a brief pause on the other end before Black responded, his voice more cautious now. “I’ll send it right away, sir. Just… be careful. R’s dangerous when cornered, unpredictable even. He’s really lost it.”
I ended the call without a second thought and stared at the screen as the address flashed in. I was aware of R’s madness. I knew what heights he could go up to. But this needed to end–now.
As I grabbed my keys and headed for the door, my heart pounded with a mix of rage and determination. Emily had slipped through my grasp too many times. This time, there would be no escape.
