3rd person POV
Max couldn’t believe it when he received the news. His mind raced, heart pounding in his chest. He was standing in the middle of his father’s study, the taste of Vivian still fresh on his lips, the weight of everything that had happened pressing on his shoulders. The events of the past few days had been nothing short of chaotic revelations, and the confrontation with Stanford Hayes that had left him both physically and emotionally drained. But now, as he stood in the dimly lit room, the world seemed to tilt on its axis. His mind struggled to keep up, struggling to understand the gravity of the phone call that had just shattered his reality.
It was Ray on the other end, his voice tight with urgency, yet masked by a controlled calmness that Max could barely make sense of. ” Boss ” Ray said, his words slow, deliberate. “Vivian’s gone.”
Max felt his stomach drop, the blood draining from his face. Gone. What did that mean? He tried to speak, but his mouth was dry, his throat constricting. Gone where? How? What had happened? The question beat inside his skull like a drum, but his voice failed him.
They had just had a passionate intimacy together a while ago, how could she be suddenly gone? He remembered her last words “I want to but I can’t”
“Ray, what the hell are you talking about?” he finally managed to speak, his voice low, almost a whisper. He wanted to shout, to demand answers, but his limbs felt like lead, and the room was closing in on him. Vivian… gone? How was that even possible?
“Boss, I… I don’t know exactly,” Ray responded, his tone becoming even more strained. “But she’s gone. Disappeared. No one’s seen her. We think someone took her.”
Max’s pulse quickened. The idea of Vivian being taken-of someone coming for her again-sent a chill down his spine. His mind flashed back to the hospital, to the way she had looked at him when they’d last spoken. He’d promised her that he would protect her, that he would never let anything happen to her. And now, she was gone.
He clenched his fists, trying to ground himself, but the panic gnawed at him. His thoughts were chaotic, swirling in a mess of frustration and fear. He should have been there. He should have stayed with her, kept her safe. Instead, he had left her behind, thinking that everything was settled, that the threat was over. But now, it was clear that the danger had only just begun.
Max walked out of the study, his heart racing, his mind spiraling into darkness. The house felt eerily quiet, too silent. He moved through the halls with purpose, but his legs felt like they were moving through molasses. Every step seemed like an eternity. His thoughts were consumed by Vivian-her face, her laughter, the warmth of her presence.
He had always known that their world was dangerous. But he had never imagined it would come to this. He had never imagined that someone could take her away from him.
But that was the reality now.
Max’s thoughts flickered to the strange events of the past few days-the pieces of the puzzle that had begun to fall into place. His father, Norman, had been right all along. The man who had been hiding in the shadows, the one who had caused so much damage, was Alexander. Vivian’s mother, Catherine, had been at the center of everything. Max had been too blinded by his own feelings to see the truth, too caught up in the web of lies and deceit to understand the full extent of the danger they were all in.
And now, as Max paced the hallway, his thoughts returned to the moment when everything had changed. He had been standing in the foyer of his father’s mansion when his world had been flipped upside down. The phone call had come just after he had finished speaking to Vivian, just after they had made plans to meet. He had been in the midst of organizing everything, trying to take control of the situation, when Ray had called.
“Boss, listen to me,” Ray had said urgently. “It’s not over. Alexander… he’s taken Catherine. We don’t know where she is, but he’s not stopping. He’s been planning this for a while. You need to get to her, now.”
Max had barely processed the words. His mind had immediately gone to Vivian’s mother, to Catherine, but also to the realization that Alexander had been pulling the strings all along. The man who had seemed so harmless at first had been playing them all. He had taken Catherine, yes, but there was something else behind it all. There was a deeper plan in motion, a strategy that Max had failed to see.
But it didn’t matter now. All that mattered was Vivian. She had to be found.
Max’s phone buzzed in his pocket, snapping him out of his spiraling thoughts. He pulled it out, hoping to hear something that would ease the tightness in his chest. But the name on the screen made his blood run cold.
It was his father, Norman.
Max hesitated for a moment before answering. “Dad?”
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. Then Norman’s voice came through, low and controlled. “Max, we need to talk.”
Max’s heart skipped a beat. He had been dreading this conversation. He had known, deep down, that there would come a moment when the truth would hit him square in the face. His father’s voice was filled with an unmistakable weight, one that told him everything was about to change.
“I know what’s been going on,” Norman continued, his voice hard. “I know who’s behind all of this. It’s Alexander. He’s been holding Catherine hostage for weeks now. He’s been using her to get to me.”
Max felt his stomach churn. He had suspected as much, but hearing it from his father made it all too real.
“Max,” Norman said, his voice turning graver. “There’s something you need to understand. He’s not just after Catherine. He’s been playing us all for fools. He’s been setting us up for something far worse.”
Max’s mind was racing. He couldn’t process the full weight of his father’s words, not while Vivian was still missing, not while she was out there somewhere, possibly in danger.
“I’m coming to you,” Max said, cutting his father off before he could say more. He needed to take control of the situation. He needed to find Vivian.
“Max, listen to me,” Norman urged, but Max was already walking out of the house, his footsteps echoing in the silence. He wasn’t going to wait. He wasn’t going to sit back and let someone take the woman he loved. Not again.
He headed straight for the car, his mind focused on one thing: getting to Vivian. He couldn’t let anything stand in his way, not even his father’s cryptic warnings.
The drive to the location Ray had mentioned felt like it took an eternity. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white with tension. Every passing moment felt like a lifetime. He couldn’t shake the image of Vivian, of her face, of her smile, as if it had all been a dream. He needed to find her. He needed to hear her voice again.
When he arrived at the abandoned warehouse that Ray had pinpointed, Max’s heart skipped a beat. The place was silent, too silent. There were no signs of movement, no indication that anyone was there. But he knew, deep down, that this was where everything would come to a head.
He stepped out of the car, his eyes scanning the area. Every muscle in his body was tense, every sense on high alert. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen, that time was running out. The shadows of the night seemed to stretch out before him, thick and suffocating.
As he moved towards the building, his phone buzzed again, interrupting the quiet. Max’s heart skipped a beat as he glanced at the screen.
It was Ray.
Max answered quickly, his voice tight. “Ray, what’s going on? Where is she?”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Then Ray’s voice came through, thick with emotion.
“Max… it’s too late. She’s gone. We couldn’t… we couldn’t stop them.”
Max felt a wave of nausea wash over him, his chest tightening with an overwhelming sense of dread. Gone. Vivian was gone. And as he stood there, the darkness closing in around him, he realized that nothing-nothing-would ever be the same again.
Hi dear readers, this book is gently reaching completion at exactly 120k+ words, please engage.