9: Kidnapped Again.
I was reluctant to leave Mom’s side, but Seth was insistent. “You need to rest, Astrid,” he said, his tone not allowing any argument.
The truth was, I felt awful, my head ache, my body felt feverish, and my breathing was ragged. Still, the guilt of leaving Mom tugged at me.
“I’ll only be gone for a while,” I murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her hand. Seth promised to stay by her side,
and didn’t want to leave her side, I knew he was right. I couldn’t help Mom if I collapsed.
The cool night air hit me as I stepped outside the hospital. The fever made it harder to focus, and I didn’t notice the shadows moving until it was too late.
I was halfway to the car when three of them appeared. I recognized one
35% 1140
1/8
9: Kidnapped Again.
immediately, the sneering face from before, his expression twisted with anger.
“Did you think it was over?” he growled, voice low and menacing.
his
Panic surged through me, but before I could scream or run, one of them grabbed me, yanking me backward.
“No!” I struggled, kicking and flailing, but they were stronger this time, more coordinated.
“You thought you had escaped?” the leader spat, his grip tightening painfully on my arm, “Did you think it’d be over just by letting the cops take us?”
“What do you want from me? Ash doesn’t give a fuck about me!” I yelled,
desperation thick in my voice.
But they didn’t care.
Another man stepped forward, a cruel smile playing on his lips. “We know that Ash doesn’t care about you but… we re
35 11:40
2/8
9: Kidnapped Again.
here to make an example of you. After all, you fucking humiliated us.”
My heart pounded as they dragged me toward a van parked in the shadows. This couldn’t be happening again. Not now. Not while Mom was in the hospital, clinging to her life.
I fought harder, ignoring the pain in my body, the fever making my movements sluggish. “Let me go!” I screamed, my voice echoing into the empty night.
But no one came.
The door of the van slammed shut behind me, dread settled like a stone in my chest. Whatever they had planned, I knew it would be worse than before.
The van was suffocating, the air thick inside was stuffy. My head was spinning from the fever and the overwhelming feeling of being taken again. But when my eyes adjusted to the dim light inside, my heart skipped a beat.
35 11:40
3/8
- Kidnapped Again.
Kate.
She was huddled in the corner, tears. streaming down her face, her hands. trembling as she begged them to let her go. Her voice cracked, raw with fear.
“Please,” she whimpered, her words choking. “I have a child. Please don’t hurt me.”
I didn’t say a word. I just stared, my mind numb with a strange detachment. Of
course, Kate was here. Of course, life found another way to bring us together. But I wasn‘ t begging. Not this time.
A firm hand clasped gripped my arm. The blindfold came swiftly, cutting off my sight, and before I could resist. After blindfolding they left me to fall to the ground, My limbs. grew heavy, my thoughts sluggish, I didn’t even know when I slept off.
When I woke up, my wrists ached from the tight ropes binding me to a chair, and a
4/8
9: Kidnapped Again.
dim bulb swayed above, casting eerie shadows. Beside me, Kate was sobbing, her pleas sounded in the otherwise silent.
room.
I turned my head slowly, my body stiff and weak. The kidnappers were watching me, their faces hard with cruelty.
“Call him,” one of them barked, shoving a phone toward me.
I didn’t need to ask who. Of course, it was Ash.
A bitter laugh escaped me, low and humorless. “You think he cares?”
“Call him,” the man turned to Kate, his voice sharp with impatience.
With trembling fingers, Kate dialed his number. It barely rang once before he picked up, his voice urgent. “Kate?”
I blinked, and laughed at myself inwardly. It wasn’t even five seconds since it rang.
One thing I learned quickly about him was
5/8
9: Kidnapped Again.
that he hated the most while being bothered during his work hours.
He made it very clear from the beginning. Even if it’s just once I did, he’d make sure to show it by throwing tantrums, like not
eating his food, or ignoring me, or by not coming home.
But, of course, this rule didn’t apply to the one whom he loved – Kate.
“Ash, please… Please come here… I’m kidnapped, please save me…” Kate pleaded, sobbing.
The kidnappers snatched the phone and barked instructions. “We have both your wife, and your mistress. Come alone. Thirty minutes. No cops, or both of them. will die.”
Ash didn‘ t hesitate this time. His voice was trembling with fear and anger as he said, “I’m coming.
The phone clicked off, and I stared at the floor. How predictable.
6/8
D Kidnapped Again,
“You were so stupid Astrid.” I said to myself. It was my fault I’d chosen the
wrong man.
1 let out a low, bitter laugh, shaking my head as the realization sank in.
“You really outdid yourself this time, Astrid,” I murmured under my breath, “You couldn’t have picked a worse man if you tried.”
He didn’t believe a word I said when I was kidnapped, sparing me no attention, and it resulted in our unborn child to be dead. But for Kate, no questions were needed. He really loved Kate.
8/8
