Tony glanced at his watch as the meeting with the investors came to a close. He had met most of them at Mehdi’s party and to his surprise, they attended the event just because they knew he’d be there. They had been trying to get in touch with him for a while but, since Tony was not just a businessman but also a doctor, he was always busy.
The meeting had gone well and he had successfully acquired over two billion dollars from fifteen of them to add to his company.
‘Looks like attending Mehdi’s party wasn’t so bad after all.’ He thought.
“Alright. I guess we can call it a day.” He said and stood up, satisfied with the outcome and they all clapped happily.
“Thank you for your time. My assistant will be in touch with you to finalize the paperwork.” He said with a confident smile as he shook their hands.
He was the first to leave the conference room as he had a major surgery to perform in thirty minutes so, he needed to get ready.
As he exited the building, his thoughts drifted to Lily. He wondered how she was doing and hoped the bodyguards weren’t causing her much trouble. He then decided to pay her a short visit once he arrived at the hospital.
Sliding back into the back seat of his car, he instructed his assistant who was also his driver.
“Let’s go to the hospital. You can return to the company and handle things there later.”
True to his word, Tony decided to quickly check on Lily as soon as he arrived at the hospital. He had only fifteen minutes before the surgery so, he was just going to see her and return to his office.
He entered her departmental office and greeted the nurse at the front desk with a polite smile.
“Dr Tony!” She stood up, surprised to see him, and straightened her uniform. “W…what brings you here, Dr?”
“I’m looking for Lily. I don’t see her on her desk. Is she on the clock?” He asked, looking around to see if he would spot her.”
She looked at me with a puzzled look. “I thought she took the rest of the day off and went home.”
Tony’s brows furrowed in confusion and concern. “What do you mean? When last did you see her?” He asked.
“She was here until lunch. We haven’t seen her since then.” She answered and Tony’s heart skipped.
“I uh…” Another nurse who had been listening in on their conversation stepped in.
“I saw her leave with Oliver so maybe he’d know where she is.” She said in a bid to help.
“Oliver hasn’t returned either.” The other pointed out and Tony tilted his head puzzlingly.
“She left with Oliver?” He asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.
“Yes, Sir. We all saw them leave together.” The second nurse confirmed and suddenly, all Tony could see was red.
He checked his watch and saw that he had only eight minutes left until his surgery.
“Fuck!” He cursed as he walked back to his office. He sensed that something was wrong and there was no way he was performing surgery in his unsettled state. His mind was going to be on Lily the whole time and he knew that could disrupt the whole process so, he called the only doctor he trusted to handle the surgery as technical as the one he was about to handle.
Dr. Aurelie Lorey
“I…I have an important matter to attend to, Aurelie. Please, take care of this for me.” He pleaded.
“Of course. I hope everything is okay though, Tony.” She asked out of concern, sensing his worry.
“No, Aurelie. Things are not okay but I’ll explain later.” He said and handed her the patient file.
“Thank you very much, Aurelie. Thank you.” He said hurriedly and bolted out of the office.
As he walked out of the hospital building, he dialed Lily’s number, his hands shaking as the phone rang.
“Please, Lily. Please, be okay.” He muttered under his breath. Panic began to rise in his chest as the call ended without her picking up. He dialed her number again but the same thing happened.
He then decided to call the bodyguards he had entrusted with her safety but, none of them picked too.
That was when he understood that Lily was in trouble.
“I should call Rachael to confirm first.” He said, hoping that it was a mere coincidence that they all weren’t picking up.
He dialed Rachael’s number and she picked up on the second ring.
“Is Lily home?” He asked immediately the call connected as he didn’t have the time to waste on pleasantries.
“Lily? No. Isn’t she supposed to still be at the hospital?” She returned his question, her voice instantly shifting to concern.
“Fuck…” Tony muttered, gripping the steering wheel hard enough for his knuckles to turn white.
“Tony…is everything okay? Did something happen to Lily?” Rachael panicked.
“I’ll explain everything later. For now, stay close to your phone in case she tries to reach you.” He instructed, trying his best to keep his voice steady.
“Okay.” Rachael agreed and he hung up.
“Damn it!” he cursed, shoving his phone into his pocket.
“You better not be behind this, Louis.” He muttered as he ignited his car engine.
Meanwhile, a few meters away from the restaurant in a dark alley, four men lay on the ground, all beaten up to a pulp.
It was Lily’s bodyguards.
They had been ambushed by the men who came to kidnap Lily and were left unconscious in the dark alley.
One of them, a dark-haired man named Marcus, stirred. His head throbbed as he tried to sit up, wincing at the sharp pain in his ribs. His eyes opened slowly and adjusted to the light. With his hand on his head to stop the pain, he looked around, and slowly, his memory came back.
He recalled how they had been caught off guard by Mehdi’s men. It had been swift and brutal. Despite their training, they had been outnumbered and overpowered. And Lily-she had been taken.
Marcus fumbled for his phone, his fingers trembling as he dialed Tony’s number.
Tony’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he snatched it out, relief washing over him when he saw the name.
“Marcus! Where the hell have you been? Why haven’t you been answering your fucking phone? Where is Lily?” Tony barked.
“Dr. Tony…” Marcus’s voice was weak and strained. “It’s bad. We were ambushed by some strange men.”
“Ambushed? What are you talking about? Where’s Lily?” Tony demanded, his heart pounding.
“They… they took her,” Marcus admitted, his tone laced with guilt and regret. “I tried… we tried to protect her, but there were too many of them.”
“We should have never left her in that restaurant.” He cried, gripping his hair out of frustration.
Tony’s grip on the phone tightened. He was going to deal with them later for leaving her after his stern warning to always be by her side no matter what.
For now, his only concern was finding Lily. “Who took her? Do you have any clues?”
“I don’t know for sure,” Marcus replied. “But I think they belong to the Snakers.” He said, recalling the similar tattoo they all had on their wrists.
Tony felt like the ground had been ripped out from under him. “Where are you now?” he asked, his voice trembling with anger.
“We’re still at the restaurant. The others are down, but I managed to call you,” Marcus said.
“I’m coming. Send me the address.” Tony said, already reversing his car and zooming off.