Weeks later, when Clara had gotten used to having a shadow, she decided that she to visit her sister so they could go shopping. They each had their own bodyguard, and Clara made it a point to hire women because she knew their capabilities and their attention to detail, not that the men weren’t competent, but the guards could come with them into the restrooms and fitting rooms with no one batting an eye. It was harder to shake them and disappear, but Clara gave in and just accepted she would never be free unless the kidnappers got caught. And even though she was very annoyed, she knew that the men in their lives meant well.They’ve gone to several stores, and Clara noticed the guards were looking around suspiciously. Something had set them on high alert. So when they went into a coat store and tried on several outfits, Clara exchanged their jackets, claiming Celine’s yellow jacket looked b

MaxCeline, we’ve almost been joined at the hip for the past couple of weeks until today. When my sister, Clara, had the hair-brained idea that they should go shopping and that none of us, which meant Sebastian and me, should go with them. So instead of working all day, I follow their trackers around like a stalker watching the screen, making sure they were always together. I began seeing red dots everywhere when I realized the two dots I’d been watching all morning were getting separated. The thought of losing Celine made my heart stop. The threat from the kidnappers was coming true, and they made good on their promise that they were taking her. ‘No!’ I screamed in frustration and fumbled with my phone. I had all the phone numbers of their security detail and was thinking of calling Celine’s personal bodyguard, Sandra, when

Max was supposed to stay at Celine’s house ever since Clara instructed him to, but her dad was not agreeable. So each. night, he would pretend to leave and stay at the hotel just so he could camp outside in his car to guard Celine. They had guards littered everywhere, but Max did not want to leave Celine’s safety in someone else’s hands. He trusted no one. In his mind, everyone can be bought, coerced, or convinced to abandon his post with the right amount of money and conviction.But ever since the failed kidnapping attempt, Nathan finally relented and allowed him to stay over and occupy one of the rooms away from where Celine was sleeping. He still wanted Max out of his house, but the thing is, he was not there when they almost got kidnapped, so he was not really responsible. He vowed that even with Max sleeping near his daughter, nothing would happen between them.

The house was eerily quiet when they got home. ‘Mom! Dad! I’m home!’ Clara called out as she came in through the door. That should have been an indication that something was wrong because the front door had been left unlocked, and none of the regular security guards were around the property. To which she just assumed had blended in with the background. But her excitement at getting away got the better of her, and she was not thinking with caution. Her mom, dad, and sister sat on the sofa in a neat line, with their hands behind their back, their mouths covered with tape. The gun that clicked and was pointing at the side of Clara’s head made everything fall into place. The kidnappers had a backup plan, and they were waiting at her parent’s home. They took the whole family hostage as a last-ditch effort to gather them up a

-=-At this point, Max threw all conventions out the door and kissed Celine passionately in front of her father and everyone present. He knew that his future father-in-law would not approve, but having almost lost all their lives, he was beyond caring. All Max wanted right now was to kiss Celine until they ran out of breath. He could not get enough of her, and until Clara cleared her throat, he was ready to throw caution to the wind. ‘I’m sorry,’ he apologized but kept Celine close to him. How could he keep away when he still beat himself up for getting knocked out twice instead of protecting her family? It did not look good for his ego, but for now, he would let it go because Celine’s father was looking at him like he wanted to knock him out, too. ‘I just… I thought