Chapter 76 – The findings her Diana’s POVThe drive to the police station was quiet, too quiet.I had left the bakery early, locking up with shaking hands. My stomach was in knots, and my heart wouldn’t stop racing. The sky was gray, and everything outside the car window looked dull, like the world had lost its color. I didn’t even turn on the radio. I just drove, trying to stay calm, gripping the steering wheel too tightly.I kept thinking about Gift.Her laugh. Her silly jokes. Her calm voice was heard when things got busy at the bakery.She didn’t deserve this. None of it.When I pulled into the police station parking lot, I parked quickly and sat still for a moment. The building was tall, gray, and cold-looking. Just like I remembered from the last visit. People walked in and out…some officers, some civilians….but everyone looked like they had a burden.I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car.Inside, the air was chilly. The floor was tiled, and the waiting chairs were li
Chapter 75 – unknown place Gift’s POVEverything hurt.My arms. My neck. Even my legs felt like blocks of ice.I woke up lying sideways on something hard and cold….metal, I think. The air smelled like engine oil, dust, and panic. I tried to lift my head, but it throbbed like I’d been hit.My hands were tied behind me. My mouth was gagged with a thick cloth, rough, and tight cloth. Every time I breathed through my nose, it felt like I might choke.Where am I?Then it hit me.The van.I’m still in the van.The events from earlier came rushing back…being grabbed from the bakery, shoved into the back, the sound of Star’s crying fading behind me. I had worn Diana’s apron, her name tag still clipped on. No wonder they thought I was her.My heart pounded against my ribs.They took me thinking I was my madam .I tried to scream, tried to shake my head, anything to tell them they had the wrong person, but the gag kept every sound muffled. My jaw ached from how tightly they tied it.God, pleas
Chapter 74 – Sleepless NightDiana’s POVStar didn’t sleep that night.Not really.He lay next to me on the mattress we pulled into the living room, his little body curled against mine. His arms wrapped around my waist like I might disappear if he let go. Every few minutes, he would twitch or jerk awake, whimpering softly like he was still hiding behind the flour bags, still afraid the bad men were coming back.“It’s okay,” I whispered repeatedly, rubbing his back in slow circles. “You’re safe now, sweetheart. I’m right here.”But how could I promise him safety when I wasn’t sure of it myself?Every creak from the wind made him jump. Every passing car made my chest tighten. I didn’t sleep either. I couldn’t. My mind replayed his tiny voice: “They took Miss Gift.”They took her.She must have worn my apron that morning. She always insisted on covering for me when I was late or out. Did they think she was me? My throat tightened with guilt. It should have been me.I reached for my phone
Chapter 73 – Missing ribDiana’s POV I was still smiling when I got out of the cab.The date with Chris had been better than I expected. He made me feel calm. Seen. Safe. Like the world hadn’t swallowed me whole after everything I’d gone through.But the smile faded the second I saw my bakery.The front door was wide open.Chairs were overturned. A box of bread rolls lay scattered on the floor. A window was cracked. The flowerpots I loved were broken into pieces on the sidewalk.My heart stopped.I rushed inside. “Gift?! Star?!”Silence.I ran to the kitchen. Nothing. The ovens were still warm.“Star!” I shouted again, panic rising. I looked around and saw the back door slightly open.“God, please…”Then I heard a small sniffle from behind the stack of flour bags.I ran to it and found Star—tucked in, shaking.“Oh my baby,” I cried, grabbing him and pulling him close. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”He held onto me tightly. “Some bad men came. They took Miss Gift. I didn’t come out. I wa
Chapter 72 – wrong target Mercy’s Private Investigator – POVWe finally reached the town.After a days of false leads and wasted hours, I had followed the last solid trace from the Address we saw online.It was early afternoon. The sun had started to shine again, warming up the roads that were soaked from the last storm. The drive was long, quiet, tense. My partner sat beside me, checking our notes again.“This is it,” I muttered, gripping the wheel tightly.We parked two streets away from the address. A small bakery stood on the corner…pastel colors, flower pots by the window, and a little wooden sign with the name. I glanced at the photo Mercy had sent again.Same face. Same hair.We knocked at the house beside the bakery first. An old woman came out and said the girl we were looking for was at work.“She’s always at the bakery this time of day,” she told us.Perfect.We walked into the bakery with our cameras hidden and our caps pulled low. Inside, a woman behind the counter was b
Chapter 71 – Love Triangle Xander’s POVFinally, the morning we have been waiting for is here, and the weather has changed. My alarm rang at exactly 4:30 a.m.I didn’t wait for it to ring twice.I got out of bed, washed my face, and dressed silently. My bag was already packed. Akin had already come to knock on my door to see if I was awake. She said we would believe by 5:00 a.m. and that we needed to move fast…before the city got too busy, and before we lost the trail again.By 4:55, I was standing outside, waiting in the cold, gray morning. The rain had stopped, but the streets were still wet. The sky was just beginning to turn from black to deep blue.Akin pulled up on time with the car. He didn’t say much. He just nodded at me. I nodded back. With our private investigator We weren’t going to guess anymore. We weren’t going to wait. We had a location to follow…a solid one this time. The private investigator had scanned the road and everything was clear. And we were going to find