“Anything yet?” Sofia asked Dimitri and he let out a sigh then looked away from the worried-looking Philip who had been making calls after calls for the past thirty minutes to colleagues at the university and some students who had been in contact with her last.
“Not yet Sofia. Have you contacted my parents yet? I have been trying to reach them but to no avail”
“Yes only Aunt Patricia I was able to get a hold of, I haven’t said more than if she had seen Audriana,” she told him and he nodded his head then sat down on the chair beside Aiden who was talking to Caleb.
“I am going over to her parent’s place so we can maybe report that she is missing or something” he ran his palm on his face and could feel a headache growing again.
‘Dimitri what did you do?’ he asked himself again for the nth time.
“I really wouldn’t have talked to her harshly, I feel so guilty now. Oh GOD please bring her back.”
“Look, don’t be hard on yourself, she might have been so upset that she went somewhere to clear her mind”
“And not pick her parents or best friend’s call? Audriana isn’t like that, she wouldn’t want anyone to worry on her account” he told her.
“I am trying to be positive here dude, I really hope she is fine wherever she is”
“Me too, please keep me updated on anything you discover”
“Sure and you too” she disconnected the line and he put his phone on the chair, in between himself and Aiden.
“Let’s go tell her parents and we can ask your parents to meet us there so we know what next step to take,” Aiden told him and he nods.
“No one had seen her today, I think she took a day off or something” Philip came to tell them about his findings.
Dimitri frowned then nod his head before standing up with Aiden following suit.
“Thank you for your help and I didn’t mean to come at you earlier,” he told him apologetically.
Philip smiled and pats his shoulder.
“It’s fine Lorenzo, Audri is my friend and I will do anything to help her whether or not she is in danger,” he said and Dimitri nodded his head then looked at his friend.
“We will take our leave now please, let us know if you get any info about her whereabouts”
“Sure. I really want to punch you in the face but she wouldn’t like that if she was back so I will just try my best to keep this fist by my side and let me know if you have found her” he told him.
Dimitri resisted the urge to roll his eyes and just gave him a nod before he and Aiden left.
“I bet he wouldn’t be able to take me down, that was why she picked me over him” Dimitri boasted.
“I might be the one punching you if you don’t shut up,” Aiden told him and walked to the car leaving his friend standing behind.
He opened the driver’s seat and turned around to still see Dimitri standing there.
“So you will tell me if you want to go in there and have a tea party with your rival or you will walk yourself here so we can get on with searching for your wife” he entered the car after saying that then started the car.
Dimitri sighed and walked to the car and sat in the passenger seat.
“Are you mad at me?” he asked after they were quiet for a while
Aiden looked at him with a frown and drove out of the space he parked before heading in the direction of Kingsley and Moana’s house.
“You’ll see about that” he responded.
***
A strong smell filled her nostril and that awakened her senses, so she gradually opened her eyes and looked in the axis her head was turned in.
Moving her next slowly to the side, she could feel the ache building like a strain from under her chin to her shoulder blades but she was able to put her head straight.
There was this numb feeling surging through her entire body and she couldn’t even move a limb or lift a finger.
Looking around in confusion as to where she was and how she found herself here, she managed to look down at her body to see that she was wearing the same cloth she was wearing when she went to give Dimitri food.
She also noticed the light brown rope that was used to tie her torso, then her two wrists tied on each side to the chair she was in, and was sure her legs to her tied.
How did she get here? How long has she been here and who would have taken her when the last thing she could remember was coming out of Dimitri’s office tearfully and with the aim to go home and cry to her heart content but coul–
Flashes of what happened when she entered the elevator went through her mind.
Fifth floor… The elderly-looking man… A capped needle… Pushing against the wall… Struggling… A scratch to his face… A blow to hers… The plunging of the needle into her skin… Blackout…
Then she realized she was taken by that man and wondered how no one knew he took her since he made her unconscious in the elevator. He definitely carried her out of there so no one in that lobby can say they didn’t see him carry her out of that place.
She wondered if they were looking for her by now or even if Dimitri had cared to call, just to be sure she reached home as he said.
“Jerk” she muttered under her breath.
If only he didn’t treat her like that and had followed her or let her stay in his office, then she might not be in this situation.
Thinking of whether it was his fault or not was important now, what was important was who that man was, how he was able to get her out of that multi-billion-dollar building without anyone noticing, who else is with him in this kidnap, where she was and how she was going to escape here.
She was still feeling a bit disoriented by whatever he might have injected her with but shook her head to clear them only to get more soreness on her neck and a shooting headache.
“Ouch” she exclaimed dryly followed by several fits of coughing which made her head hurt the more.
Water. She needed water but there was nothing in the room aside from the chair she was tied to, a chair that was stuffed under a table to her right, and nothing more than the slightly dark room she is in.
Trying to gather up her spit to wet her throat so she could say something and maybe someone who might be passing by could hear her and if it was one of her captors she could get a glimpse of them and be able to get to them if she is able to get out of here.
“Who is there?” was what she managed to voice out and tried to say something again but stopped when she heard quiet footsteps followed by the jiggling of the door before it opened to the silhouette of a man.
She wasn’t able to get a glimpse of what he looked like and tried to squint her eyes to see his face.
A deep chuckle erupted from the fellow as he put his hands on his hips.
“Want to see the face again?” he asked then walked further into the room to reveal himself to her.
Her heart stopped when she saw the infamous four scratch marks caused by her hours ago, from under his eyes to his chin then it dawned to her where else she had seen the face.
“You remember, eh?”
‘Who is he?’.