CHAPTER 21: “Forgotten”

Adrian’s POV

The room was silent, the kind of silence that was deafening to the ears, the kind that made it difficult to breathe.

The old butler stood in front of me with his head bowed, his hands trembling by his sides. He knew why he was here and damn right, he should be scared. I looked at him for what felt like forever, waiting for him to deny it, to tell me there had been a mistake.

Instead, he stayed quiet.

“So, it’s been you all along.”

I heard myself speak in a tone softer than expected. Maybe because I was still too shocked to believe he could do something like this to me.

“You saw me rack my head and grow frustrated every time I tried to find her and yet you didn’t feel pity for me.”

He slowly nodded, then muttered “I’m sorry.”

I let out a dry laugh. “Sorry? Sorry for what exactly? The betrayal or that you were caught?” “For how long has this been going on?”

“…Three weeks.”

Three weeks. It started with the threat messages sent to Amber then me. Now it makes sense of how her room was recorded, it was an inside job.

For three weeks I had searched every corner of this city while every move I made had been handed to someone else before I even got there.

I clenched my fists.

“You watched me lose my mind.”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“Don’t!!”

My voice echoed through the office.

“Don’t call me sir.”

The old man flinched and for the first time since I’d known him he looked afraid of me.

“I… I never wanted to betray you.” He stuttered.

“Then why?”

I could see him hesitate answering the question.

“They took my daughter.”

I frowned, “what do you mean?”

“They took Emily.”

His voice cracked, he was on the verge of tears now.

“They put a gun to her head, they said if I didn’t give them all the information and do all they wanted, they would send me her body in pieces.”

I froze.

He reached into his pocket with shaking fingers and placed a photograph on the desk.

A young woman in her early twenties. I could recognize her anywhere. Her wrists were tied behind a chair and bruises covered her face. I stared at it in disbelief.

“I tried to buy time, I kept hoping you’d figure it out before they hurt her.”

His knees gave way and the old man fell to the floor.

“I’ve served this family for twenty-three years and I know that I have failed you.”

I closed my eyes as if trying to digest all that I had heard. Twenty-three years of him with us and not just as a butler but as a father, mother and companion to me.

Twenty-three years ago…

My mother had brought him into this house after she became sick. He was the one who made sure I ate, he taught me how to knot my first tie. He attended every school meeting my father never showed up for, he became the father figure in my life and I have seen him as a father since I was 7years.

When my mother died, he stood beside me through every condolence visit, he consoled me and made sure I didn’t become a shadow of myself. He wasn’t just a butler, he had become family.

I wanted to hate him, he made Amber and I go through so much But every memory from my childhood somehow had him standing beside me.

A loud knock interrupted the silence and the office door burst open.

“Adrian!”

Vee.

She looked frantic. Her hair was messy. She was still holding her car keys when she walked up close to me.

“Why isn’t Amber answering my calls?” I have been trying to reach her for days now and she’s been ignoring me. Have you finally taken my friend away from me?” She said amidst smiles.

She eventually noticed the awkward silence as she looked between us.

“What’s going on?”

Nobody answered, the question was left hanging in the air.

Her smile faded immediately. “…Guys?”

I looked at her as I broke the news to her. “Amber was kidnapped.”

I could see the colour drain from her face.

“No.” She laughed nervously.

“Stop joking around Adrian, don’t do that.”

“I’m not.”

She shook her head.

“No…When…when did this happen?” She stuttered.

“Two days ago.”

Her eyes immediately filled with tears.

“Two freaking days? And you didn’t think to let me know ? I’m part of her life as much as you are.”

I watched her crumble into the nearest chair, she covered her mouth as she let out silent sobs.

“You should’ve called me.”

“There wasn’t time.”

“That is not a freaking excuse. There is always time!” She snapped. “I would’ve been here.”

She wiped her tears. “What is the update? Has she been found ?”

“Not yet, but I will find her soon.”

“Great, just great. I’m coming with you, let’s look for her together.”

“No.”

“I’m not asking you, what do you mean no? Am I supposed to sit down and hope for a miracle?”

“You’ll only slow us down.”

She stepped closer. “ You might think you love her more than me but I doubt you know what we have been through together, she’s basically my family.”

I sighed.

“And that’s exactly why you stay. Look, nobody is disputing the fact that she’s your family but I don’t think Amber would want me to put you in harm's way. So just stay here and I will keep you updated.”

She stared at me with tears in her eyes.

“I’ll bring her home, I promise.”

“I know who took her.” The butler cut in.

Every eye in the room turned toward him.

His lips trembled.“Sebastian Fitzherbert.”

The name landed immediately, Sebastian?

Tall, always smiling and always polite. He didn’t look like someone who could hurt a fly but I guess you never know.

The investor from the banquet, the man Richard and I had been competing against. He wasn’t relevant to me because my only rival was Richard or so I thought.

He even congratulated me after winning the contract but then it all started to make sense later. He was the one who kissed Amber’s hand and I ignored feeling it was out of courtesy. I should’ve noticed.

“He hated losing that contract.”

The butler continued.

“But then he saw your wife, “He became obsessed.”

“He said…”

The old man’s voice broke.

“If Adrian can take everything from me… I’ll take the only thing he truly cares about. He said, "You stole everything that could have been his.”

“Bullshit, I got that out of my own merit, how is it my fault that I was awarded the contract? So that’s what this is.”

The butler slid a folded piece of paper across my desk.

“I overheard one of the calls and I wrote the address down before they moved my daughter.”

I unfolded it and it was an abandoned chapel. Almost two hours outside the city. Why did he go to a chapel of all places ?

I looked up, “Prepare the cars.”

Amber’s POV

Everything felt heavy. My eyelids and my body were too big for me to carry, I couldn’t even breathe properly.

Voices echoed around me, distant and distorted.

“…she’ll wake soon.”

“…the ceremony…”

“…hold her up.”

“Ceremony? What are they talking about ?” I tried opening my eyes.

The room swayed but from the corner of my eyes, I could see candles, flowers and white fabric.

Then I saw him, this was the first time I was having a clear view of my abductor. He looked familiar and that was when it clicked. I met him at one of the banquets and I didn’t think he would be this kind of person.

Sebastian.

He was dressed in a black suit and he had this smug smile on his face and I wished I could wipe that off his face .

“There she is.”He knelt beside me, “You look beautiful.”

I tried moving away but it all ended in my head. I couldn’t move or do anything

“What… did you…” I couldn’t even complete a sentence, I was that weak.

“The drugs?”

He smiled.“They keep you calm so you don’t mess our wedding up.”

Wedding? I forced my lips apart.

“Adrian…”

His smile disappeared. “Don’t mention that name.”

He stood up

“Today, you are going to become mine.”

Adrian’s POV

The convoy finally came to a halt outside an old chapel. It looked abandoned and quiet, I guess it’s why he’s using it to keep Amber hostage because you wouldn’t ever think about it.

I stepped out first.

“Positions.”

My men surrounded the building.

And just then, I could hear music coming from inside. It wasn’t just any music, it was a wedding hymn. .

My blood ran cold, is this what I think it is ?

With anger, I kicked the doors open. They slammed against the walls and the impact made all heads turn

Amber sat in a wheel chair near the altar, she was dressed in white but you could see that she was barely conscious.

Sebastian’s hand positioned in her jaw, more like he was trying to make her say something.

He smiled when our eyes met.

“I was wondering when you’d arrive.”

My gun was already pointed at him. “Take your hands off my wife!!!”

The room exploded, gunshots echoed through the chapel. Glass shattered and the unarmed people like the officiating ministers ran around looking for shelter.

Sebastian’s guards returned fire.

Smoke filled the room and I barely noticed the bullet that grazed my shoulder because all I could see was Amber.

Minutes later and it was finally over.

Sebastian was on his knees, handcuffed. Police officers surrounded him as they dragged him away.

He laughed maniacally.

“You were always going to lose something, Adrian.” He smiled despite the blood running down his chin. “Men like you always do.”

I ignored him as I walked straight to Amber. She was barely awake but I could see her struggling to open her eyes. Her head rested against my chest the moment I picked her up. “Adrian.” She said as she tried raising her hands to touch my face but stopped midair as she became unconscious again.

I picked her up in a bridal style and much to my dismay she weighed almost nothing.

“I’m here.”I whispered. “I’m taking you home.”

Adrian’s POV

The doctor examined her for nearly an hour before he finally stepped outside.

“She’s severely dehydrated and there are high levels of sedatives in her bloodstream. Fortunately, there are no signs of permanent physical injury.”

I released a breath I hadn’t realised I was holding.

“When will she wake up?” I asked.

“It could be hours, it could be days. Her body just needs absolute rest to recover.”

******

When the doctor said she needed time to heal, I didn’t expect it to take this long. Two days have passed and I barely left her bedside.

Vee visited every morning, she begged me to sleep but I refused.

If Amber opened her eyes,I wanted to be the first person she saw.

On the third morning, her fingers moved and slowly, her eyes fluttered open.

“Amber…”

She blinked, she looked a bit confused. Vee immediately rushed forward.

“Oh my God, Amber, you scared us.”

Amber looked at her.

“…Vee?”

Vee laughed through tears. “Yes! It’s me.”

Amber looked at me, her smile disappeared and I was met with a frown.

“…Who are you?” She looked back at Vee, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Who is he?”