LOGINChapter 117Julian Cross ~•~ I spent about thirty minutes making the recording Daniel wanted. He even had a written script that he wanted me to follow. For the sake of peace, I did exactly as he asked. When I was done, I let out a sharp exhale. A part of me didn’t even blame Daniel for what he was doing. If I were in his shoes, I would have wanted revenge. But he had put me through so much and I expected him to let me go. However, However, Daniel didn’t plan to let me leave the warehouse.I begged him, and even offered to give him whatever he wanted. He refused and told me that money wasn’t the answer to everything. “Okay, can I call Aria and ask her if she has picked up the kids yet?” Daniel scoffed bitterly, his voice echoing through the quiet place. “You don’t trust me? You think everyone is a liar like you?” I rubbed my temple. “I just want to be sure.” It took a while before I was able to convince him to call her. He dialed her number with his phone because he had confi
Chapter 116Aria Blake ~•~ Claire’s calls had been making my phone buzz nonstop, so I had to go to a quiet corner to answer her. We had already talked a while ago and I filled her in on everything that was happening. But since Harper confessed, we hadn’t spoken. “What’s going on, Aria,” she asked with a concerned voice. But she also sounded anxious at the same time. “Is everything okay now?”“No…” My voice broke. “It has gotten even more complicated. Harper claims not to know where the kids are. She said she was only following instructions.” I still hadn’t processed the fact that she only got close to me because she had a mission. Harper was sick and I shouldn’t have gotten involved with her. But thinking about that part at the moment would be like crying over spilled milk. I decided not to bring it up.“Do you believe that she doesn’t know where the kids are?” Claire asked, her voice low. “I mean, did she sound genuine?” I sighed. “The last thing I would do is give Harper th
Chapter 115Julian Cross ~•~ Daniel asked me to follow him into an abandoned warehouse in the deserted area. For a moment, I hesitated because I was scared of what he might do. At the same time, my kids would be there. Before I could make a decision, he grabbed my arm and forcefully dragged me in the opposite direction. I yanked his hand away. “Stop… you don’t have to use force.” He glared at me. “Don’t you understand what is happening right now? You’re my captive and you would do whatever I say,” he said in a cold tone. “If you don’t listen to me, you’ll only be endangering the lives of your kids.” I took a slow breath. “Fine. I’ll follow you.” He stood beside me, his gun placed on the back of my head as he directed me to walk forward. “And I want you to know that if you lied about the police, I’ll kill you and your kids.” If I had known I was walking into a trap, I would have made better decisions. I wouldn’t have shown up at the location alone. In no time, we got into t
Chapter 114Julian Cross ~•~ My palms grew moist and slick as I looked around. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the location. I was at the place where they’d asked me to meet, but I couldn’t see anybody. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I dialed the number. I gritted my teeth in annoyance when the call was unreachable. My mind started racing with different thoughts. What if someone was just playing a sick prank on me? But I saw a picture of the twins. Or did I waste too much time and they decided to change their minds? God. I was exhausted and scared at the same time. The place was a deserted area. There was nobody I could even ask questions to. After a while, I decided to text the number. [ I am at the location. Where are my kids?] I stared at my phone for a few minutes, but I didn’t get any response. It took everything in me to hold myself back from punching my car’s steering wheel. A few moments later, my phone started buzzing. I hoped it was the kidnappers, b
Chapter 113Aria Blake ~•~ “Ma’am, where is your husband?” As I heard the officer’s voice, I stood up from the chair immediately. I didn’t bother correcting the officer about Julian not being my husband. “He went out to talk to one of you,” I answered, forcing my voice to sound steady. I had no idea what Julian had told the cops, so I didn’t want them to know that something else was happening. “One of us?” The officer asked, his brows slightly furrowed. “We haven’t seen him.” My lips parted. I instantly knew that Julian had deceived me. He didn’t go outside to talk to the officers, he probably went to the location the kidnappers had sent to him. What was he thinking? “There are a lot of cops here, maybe he talked to someone else,” I lied through my teeth, covering up for him. “I’ll call him and see.” “Sure. Do that. We need to talk to him.” With that, the officer left. I didn’t bother asking him what he wanted to tell Julian. The only thing I was interested in was knowing
Chapter 112 Julian Cross ~•~ [ If you want your kids back, meet me at this location.] The text message was followed by a pin of the location. My heart slammed against my ribs and sweat beaded on my forehead despite the air conditioning in the room being on. My fingers tightened around the phone as I stared at the screen, reading the message over and over again as if the words would magically change. Harper was still inside the interrogation room, and if she was the actual culprit, how was someone else texting me with the location of my kids? Before I could process everything, another text message came in. It was a picture. A picture of Isla and Owen. It felt like the breath had been knocked out of me. My kids were sitting on what seemed like a really cold floor. [Don’t ask questions. Don’t show the police either. Or this photo will be the last you see of your kids.] My legs began shaking. It had to be some sort of sick joke. If Harper didn’t take them, who would have taken
Chapter 68Aria Blake~•~ I had no idea when I began laughing. “Come back to where?” I asked; pressing a hand to my forehead. “Please, don’t make me laugh. I don’t want my head to hurt.” His face went slack. “Aria? Really?” I let out a breath. “I’m going outside to wait for my brother, he’s p
Chapter 13Julian Cross ~•~ Aria slapped me. She fucking humiliated me in public. If I could take a guess, it was because Angel showed up at the charity gala. But that wasn’t enough reason for her to embarrass me in front of my guests. What she did was way worse, and I didn’t lay a finger on her
Chapter 12Aria Blake ~•~ His ex. He fucking brought his ex-girlfriend to the charity gala when he knew I would also be present. That disrespect was loud. God. As I looked at her, I was tempted to walk over where she stood and drag her by the hair. What gave her the audacity to show up? Wel
Chapter 5Aria Blake ~•~ Why did Julian say I ruined the marriage? What the hell did I do to warrant such an accusation from him? The only thing I’d done in the past weeks was to fight for us. But what did I get in return? Divorce papers with a baseless accusation. I ran a hand through my hair







