Hans had just driven his car away from the restaurant when suddenly, Edward contacted him again. Edward asked him to hurry to the AlphaBeta building because there was something urgent that they needed to resolve immediately.
Upon arriving, Hans found Samuel sitting there looking anxious. His eyes were fixed on the phone he was holding. Hans was sure that something urgent must be happening.
“Sir, I tried to contact you, but your phone is no longer active,” Samuel said.
Hans furrowed his brow in confusion. Having just arrived, he had no idea who the person of discussion between Samuel and Edward was.
“What’s actually going on? Why did he ask you to come back?” Hans asked.
Edward rubbed his face in frustration. Hans could see how exasperated he looked in his seat.
“Chloe has been kidnapped, Hans.”
“What?!” Hans was clearly startled. He wondered who would dare to kidnap his friend’s wife.
“Can you explain the chronology to me? So I can help track your wife, Ed.”
Edward took a deep breath and began to recount the troubling events involving his wife.
“Samuel said that a few hours ago, a man who claimed to be an AlphaBeta driver visited Chloe’s hotel. He was dressed like an employee from there and informed her that I had an accident. He was assigned to pick up Chloe immediately, and in a panic, she went along with him.”
“Have you tried contacting her phone?”
Samuel chimed in, “I’ve been trying to call Mrs. Chloe multiple times just to check her location. Initially, she answered, but then the calls got cut off, and her phone has been inactive since. It’s like it was deliberately turned off.”
Hans approached them, took a seat on the sofa, and quickly took out his laptop from his work bag.
“Let me borrow your phone. I’ll try to track her using GPS.”
Samuel agreed and handed over his phone, watching as Hans began his task. The big man focused intently on trying to trace the location.
Edward was doing the same, his eyes fixed on Hans as he continued to search for information about Chloe’s whereabouts. After a while, his phone received a notification from an unknown number, and it was a shocking image that made Edward truly flabbergasted.
“You scoundrel!!” Edward cursed loudly, nearly throwing the smartphone from his grip.
“Mister Edward, what’s wrong?” Samuel asked, curious about Edward’s sudden outburst.
“Damian just sent a message containing a photo of Chloe,” Samuel said. The next moment, he showed the message he was referring to, to Hans and Edward.
“Oh my goodness…” Samuel shook his head in disbelief. “We need to help her immediately, Mister. This is really serious.”
Before they could respond, Edward’s phone rang again. The name “Damian” was clearly displayed on the screen. Without hesitation, Edward answered the call.
“Give back my wife!” Edward erupted with emotion as soon as he picked up the call from his cousin.
Laughter could be heard from the other end. “Sure, I won’t stop you from trying to get your wife back. But there are conditions. Because nothing in this world comes for free, Ed!”
“Do you think I’ll negotiate with you?” Edward retorted.
“Up to you,” Damian replied casually. “If you want Chloe to return unharmed, meet me alone. Don’t bring anyone else. If you dare to break this rule, I won’t hesitate to deliver her dead body to you.”
“You-” Edward’s reply was cut short as Damian hung up. Shortly after, another short message from Damian came in, containing the address where he should go if he wanted to meet his wife.
“What did Damian say, Ed?” Hans asked, worried.
Edward took a deep breath. On one hand, he was extremely concerned about his wife’s fate. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to Chloe.
“Damian wants me to go alone to the location he provided.”
Hans immediately shook his head. “No! You must not do that!” he exclaimed. “It’s incredibly dangerous. I’m sure Damian has planned something. He’s a cunning man, and he won’t hesitate to resort to violence to get what he wants. It’s too risky for you to meet him without any backup.”
After conducting several investigations on Damian, Hans knew his background well. Edward’s cousin was notorious for being cunning and didn’t hesitate to use extreme violence to achieve his goals. That’s why it was too dangerous for Edward to insist on meeting him alone without any protection.
“I must rescue Chloe immediately, Hans. While I go ahead, you and Samuel can devise a strategy to apprehend that scoundrel. I will inform you of Damian’s whereabouts.”
Hans finally nodded in agreement. Then, he took out a small device from his bag and carefully placed it in Edward’s hair.
“You have to wear this bug so that I and others can know your exact location,” Hans said.
Edward got up from his seat and rushed to his car, heading to the location where Chloe was held.
***
Damian was delighted to see Chloe’s agitated state. The feverish sensation that had spread throughout her body made her not care anymore as Damian deliberately removed all her clothes.
Chloe was feeling overwhelmed with a desire that was urging her to be touched, possessed, and satisfied by anyone. She didn’t even hesitate to embrace Damian’s body aggressively. She forcefully pulled his face close and engaged him in a deep and demanding kiss, blinded by the desire purposely created by her husband’s cousin.
“Mmm…” Chloe moaned softly, enjoying every touch Damian intentionally bestowed upon her.
“I told you, you would surrender to me,” Damian whispered between kisses, deliberately toying with her. “Do you want me to touch you even deeper?”
Chloe immediately nodded with full confidence. She looked impatient, continuously trying to entice Damian to indulge her further.
“Patience…” Damian taunted. “Let’s wait for your husband to come. So he can witness this little game.”
True to his words, a few seconds after uttering that sentence, someone knocked on the door. Two bodyguards entered, escorting Edward with his hands tied, into the room.
Seeing his wife exposed and without clothes, Edward immediately tried to struggle and desperately wanted to approach her to shield her body from the view of everyone present in the room.
“What the hell!” Edward cursed loudly. “What have you done to my wife?”
Laughter escaped from Damian’s lips. This was exactly what he wanted – to provoke his cousin’s anger.
“I haven’t done anything,” Damian shook his head. “Your wife asked me to attend to her. Besides, this is nothing. You should see the game we are about to play.”
“Don’t mess around!” With his body held by the two bodyguards, Edward shook his head repeatedly.
However, Damian remained indifferent. He approached Chloe again, his hand gently caressing her from her hair down to her arms and then her stomach, reigniting her desire.
Edward could clearly see how his wife responded to Damian’s touch. With her eyes closed, Chloe was enjoying the attention as Damian began to kiss her smooth stomach and slowly moved down to her thighs.
“Damian, stop!” Once again, Edward shouted in frustration. His patience was being toyed with. “What do you really want?”
Damian stopped his advances and lifted his face, turning to Edward. “After all this time playing my game, you still ask what I want? How foolish!” Damian muttered irritably.
Walking away from Chloe, Damian slowly approached Edward and without any warning or pretense, he delivered a series of punches to Edward’s face, chest, and abdomen.
“I’ve wanted to beat you up for a long time!” Damian said with a sinister smile. “And now, it’s the perfect time to finish you.”
Despite the pain, Edward struggled to stay conscious. He tried to respond with difficulty, “I will never hand AlphaBeta over to a criminal like you, even if it costs my life!”
“Oh, really?” Damian laughed, roughly grasping Edward’s face so they could make eye contact. “It doesn’t matter if I can’t have AlphaBeta. But at the very least, you should witness how I enjoy your wife’s body.”
Damian pushed Edward’s face away harshly and then walked back to sit beside Chloe. He lowered his face, intentionally planting a kiss on her lips.
Chloe, still under the control of her desires, responded eagerly. She greedily kissed Damian back, embracing his body tightly to keep him close to her.
“You scumbag!” Edward cursed again, struggling with all his might to free himself from the two bodyguards holding him. “By God, Damian, I’ll end you right now.”
Damian pulled away, turned, and grinned. “Patience… You must see for yourself how I’ll possess your wife in just a moment.”
“You fiend!” Edward continued to swear, unable to count the number of times he had cursed. It pained him deeply to see Chloe being manipulated by his own cousin.
Damian kept his word. He guided Chloe to lie down, preparing to take her.
“Damian, please…” Edward pleaded softly, utterly frustrated by seeing his helpless wife being used by his enemy.
“What did you say?” Damian asked with a grin. “I didn’t hear what you said just now.”
Edward closed his eyes briefly. He had to give in to save Chloe. “I beg you… stop your actions.”
Damian nodded. “Sure. But you have to agree to hand over AlphaBeta to me.”
Edward nodded weakly. He felt there was nothing else he could do.
Meanwhile, Damian smiled widely. He went to a table not far from the sofa and grabbed a folder to give to Edward. “You have to sign these documents transferring the power. The papers that state you are resigning from AlphaBeta and specifically requesting me to take your place.”
Edward nodded again. “I will sign the papers as you requested.”
Damian then instructed his bodyguards to release one of Edward’s hands, allowing him to freely sign the prepared documents.
However, before Edward could even reach for the pen, they heard gunshots from outside. The next moment, the room’s door was brutally kicked open, and Samuel, Hans, and a team of police officers stormed in, having surrounded the area.
Edward took advantage of the chaos and kicked Damian, knocking him to the ground. The police quickly apprehended the two remaining bodyguards. Hans and Samuel worked together to capture and subdue Damian until he was defenseless. Meanwhile, Edward rushed to Chloe, covering her body with his coat, and then carried her out of the room.
****
“Ed… touch me,” Chloe whispered softly. Her hands continued to pull Edward, urging him to do what she commanded.
“Chloe… you must snap out of it.”
Edward fought back tears as he patiently dealt with Chloe, who was still rambling and persistently trying to be touched. The effects of the aphrodisiac Damian had given her had not entirely worn off from her body.
Gently, Edward wiped Chloe’s body with a warm towel. The sharp scent of Damian’s perfume clinging to her body stabbed at his sense of smell. It hurt so much to recall how Chloe had readily accepted every touch Damian bestowed upon her.
“Don’t you want to touch me? Kiss me, or even take me?” Chloe continued to babble.
Edward shook his head. “No… I don’t want to,” he refused.
“Don’t you love me?” Chloe kept on ranting. “Please, kiss me. Satisfy me just once.”
Edward took a deep breath. Reluctantly, he picked up Chloe from the bed and carried her to the bathroom. He seated her on the floor and turned on the warm water, directing the shower towards her body.
“Edward, it’s cold…” Chloe said.
“I’m sorry,” Edward replied. “I’m doing this so you can wake up quickly.”
Chloe lowered her head. The intense heat that had filled her body now turned cold. She even shivered uncontrollably, feeling weak until her vision blurred, and she eventually lost consciousness.
Hastily, Edward carried Chloe back to bed. He changed her clothes into warm pajamas.
“I’m sorry, my love.” Edward whispered softly. He pulled the blanket to cover her entire body. “I promise, no matter what happens, I’ll never leave you again.”
Edward then circled the bed, climbed up, and joined Chloe under the blanket. He held her tightly, providing warmth so that she could feel comforted and protected.