Bella looked around the room, scanning each item neatly arranged in Samuel’s office. Since asked to wait, she sat down and glanced around.
From her eyes, Bella noticed various paintings hanging on the walls. On the desk, there were two small frames containing photos of Samuel with his family and another one of him with a woman.
Bella smiled. She observed the photo of Samuel embracing the woman warmly. Upon closer inspection, it seemed like this woman was Samuel’s girlfriend.
“It seems Dr. Samuel already has a girlfriend.”
Bella nodded as she continued to look around. Shortly after, she was startled by the ringing of her phone inside her bag.
Quickly, Bella reached for it, checking the screen to see Kairos’s name displayed there.
“Hello, Kairos. What’s up?” Bella asked, concerned that he might be calling with something important.
“Is your examination process finished?”
Unconsciously, Bella nodded. The woman replied, “Actually, it is. Right now, I’m waiting for Dr. Samuel who was suddenly called by one of the doctors to go to the Emergency Room.”
“Does that mean you’re alone in his office?”
“Yes. I’m indeed alone here.”
“Alright then. I’ll come pick you up soon. Let Samuel take care of his work. Besides, my location is not too far away.”
“Okay. I’ll wait for you. Take care on the road.”
Bella promptly hung up her phone. Then, she resumed waiting and now started reading one of the health magazines available on the desk.
After a few minutes, the sound of Samuel’s office door being knocked on was heard. Bella, who was busy reading, instinctively looked up, turning her gaze towards the door.
The knocking on the door was repeated several times. Worried that something important might be happening, she got up and decided to open it.
“Excuse me, Miss Bella?”
Bella nodded.
“Mr. Kairos asked me to escort you to the car.”
“Oh, okay. Just wait a moment.”
Confident that the person picking her up from the office was Kairos’s messenger, Bella quickly grabbed her bag. After all, Kairos had contacted her previously about picking her up.
Without any doubt or suspicion, Bella left Samuel’s office and followed the man who led her to the hospital basement parking lot. Without questioning, she agreed when the man invited her to get into the passenger seat.
However, just as she sat down and was about to fasten her seatbelt, Bella was surprised. Her eyes widened when she saw someone very familiar in the front seat.
“Nice to meet you again, Bella.”
“J-Julia.”
The beautiful supermodel responded with a wide smile.
“Why? You must be surprised that I finally managed to find you, aren’t you?”
Bella was already prepared to leave the car. Unfortunately, before she could, the man who picked her up had already entered. He grabbed her, covering her face with a cloth until she lost consciousness.
“Take me to a safe place,” Julia ordered the man she had paid to help facilitate today’s action.
Truly, Julia had calculated her moves. Earlier, Julia, at a loss, suddenly remembered the short messages Clara used to send about Bella’s monthly check-up schedule.
Based on a strong feeling, Julia believed that Bella would definitely undergo a check-up. Luckily, the date and time Clara had provided were spot on.
Since morning, with a man Julia had purposely paid to accompany her, she decided to go to the hospital immediately. She waited patiently while keeping an eye out for the pregnant woman, Bella.
Sure enough, Bella eventually arrived at the hospital. However, her arrival made Julia worried. There was Kairos accompanying her. Moreover, she seemed to bring two bodyguards to stand guard outside the hospital.
While observing, Julia kept thinking. Not long after, she noticed Kairos, who had been accompanying Bella, suddenly leaving the hospital.
Thinking she had a slight chance, Julia quickly devised a strategy. She moved her car to the basement parking lot to avoid detection by Kairos’s men guarding the front entrance. Then, Julia instructed the man with her to enter the hospital while looking for an opportunity to bring Bella out. They sabotaged the Emergency Room, then pretended to be Kairos’s guards in order to pick up and take Bella to her car.
Julia was grateful. Apparently, the universe supported all the plans she had made. Now, with a satisfied laugh, she looked at Bella lying unconscious.
After this, Julia vowed to exploit Bella and would not let go of her until she got what she wanted.
***
“Damn it!”
Edward cursed. After running to the parking lot, he found no trace of Bella. Returning to the hospital, Edward decided to approach Samuel, who was in the security room checking the hospital’s CCTV footage.
“Have we found out who took Bella? We need to report to the police immediately.”
Samuel raised his head. The man shook it doubtfully.
“In the CCTV footage, Bella was seen walking calmly with a man. And there doesn’t seem to be any coercion. However, I don’t know this man at all.”
Edward approached. He looked at the monitor screen and, like Samuel, didn’t recognize the man at all.
“Does Bella know who this man is?”
Samuel shook his head. At that moment, Kairos appeared, just arriving at the hospital.
“Samuel, what are you doing here? I’ve been trying to reach you, and the nurses said you were in the security room.”
Samuel swallowed hard. He was confused about how to explain to Kairos. His cousin would surely be angry if he found out Samuel intended to inform Edward about Bella’s whereabouts.
However, no matter what, Kairos was still adamant about not telling Edward until the man truly changed and could be trusted. But Samuel felt guilty, especially seeing Edward’s condition from last night’s drinking. Truly, he was torn and conflicted.
“We’re looking for Bella, Kai,” Edward replied. And this answer, of course, puzzled Kairos.
“Looking for Bella? What do you mean?”
“According to Samuel, earlier Bella was waiting in his office after finishing her prenatal check-up. But when we checked, Bella was no longer in the room. According to the nurses, Bella was picked up by a man. And after confirming from the CCTV footage, Bella apparently left with another man.”
Kairos became more puzzled. Checking it himself, he watched the hospital’s CCTV footage and then turned to Samuel.
“Sam… what happened?”
“Kai… forgive me—”
Before Samuel could finish his sentence, Edward’s phone rang loudly. He quickly checked it and found a call from an unknown number.
Originally, Edward wanted to ignore it. But because it kept calling, he became curious.
“Hello?”
“Darling Edward…”
Edward recognized the woman’s voice speaking to him. He wanted to hang up immediately, but the woman seemed to sense it and immediately stopped Edward from quickly ending the call.
“Don’t hang up yet. Don’t you want to hear important news I have to tell you?”
“Julia… I don’t have much time.”
“I know,” Julia replied followed by laughter. “That’s why I’ll be brief. If you’re currently looking for and wanting Bella, she’s with me.”
“Don’t play games,” Edward threatened.
Instead of responding, Julia laughed on the other end of the call.
“Do you think I’m playing games?”
Then the woman ended the call. A few seconds later, Edward received another text message sent by Julia.
Julia: Bella and your future baby are with me.
Julia then sent a picture showing Bella leaning unconscious in her car.
Julia: Look. Right now, Bella is unconscious. If you want Bella and your future baby to be safe, you have to follow what I’m going to ask of you.