“Yes, sir!”
The bodyguards fanned out in all directions, racing toward where Blanche had disappeared.
She hadn’t gotten far before a fierce wind howled overhead–a helicopter dropped from the sky, its searchlight locking onto her in an instant.
“There she is! We found the missus!” one of the bodyguards shouted.
A figure leapt from the helicopter, landing hard beside her. Strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. With no time to react, she was swept upward, clinging to her rescuer as the helicopter soared into the night.
A strangled scream caught in her throat, but no sound came out–her fever had left. her voice raw and useless, her throat burning worse with every breath.
The helicopter angled toward Eddy’s direction.
Blanche struggled, every muscle resisting. Helplessness pressed in on her, but when she glanced down, she saw Eddy below–his eyes wide with desperate longing, arms open as if he could catch her from the sky. The look on his face, so tender and eager, appeared monstrous in her eyes–like a nightmare come to life.
No!
She screamed it silently, her whole body recoiling.
The moment Eddy’s hand brushed her fingertips, the helicopter suddenly shot. upward. The swirling downdraft forced everyone below to back away in shock.
“Blanche!”
“Ma’am!”
Shouts erupted from below, panic and disbelief rising up to meet her.
She turned, startled, and found herself staring into Fernando’s calm, reassuring
gaze.
She almost laughed through her tears. “Fernando?”
“Hold on tight,” Fernando said, his midnight eyes shining with determination. His arms tightened protectively around her, as if he feared she might slip away again.
Blanche wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her face into his shoulder.
Warm tears soaked through his shirt as she whispered, voice barely a breath, “Thank you for coming for me, Fernando.”
In that moment, Fernando felt as if he held the whole world in his arms. His heart hammered uncontrollably, overwhelmed by emotion.
The helicopter vanished into the distance, the entire scene broadcast live across. the city.
The news anchor, face taut with urgency, struggled to keep her composure. “Breaking news! Blanche Simmons, wife of The Simmons Group CEO, has been abducted by helicopter! The situation is developing-”
Suddenly, a large hand snatched the microphone.
Eddy stared after the shrinking helicopter, eyes blazing with fury. He turned to the camera, addressing the entire city. “Whoever finds my wife–there’s a twenty–million–dollar reward!”
He tossed the microphone back to the anchor and strode toward the bodyguards. “Where’s the rescue chopper? Get its location–now! I want them on pursuit immediately!”
His panic for Blanche’s safety had clouded his judgment, giving the kidnappers their opening.
There was no way the rescue team could have arrived so quickly.
“Contact the airport. Lock down all air traffic–nobody leaves Novandria airspace!”
“Seal off the highways, rail stations, and ports!”
“Mobilize the entire city! Find my wife!”
“Sir, shutting down the city could affect thousands,” ore bodyguard hesitated. “It might even draw attention from the authorities…”
Eddy’s cold stare made the man flinch and look away. “You’re right.”
He grabbed his phone, dialing city officials and several high–level contacts. Within minutes, nearly eighty percent of Novandria’s companies announced sudden leave for employees, who, lured by the massive reward, poured into the streets to search for Blanche.
“Twenty million dollars!”
“Whoever finds The Simmons Group CEO’s wife gets twenty million!”
Chapter 124
On social media, Camilla, the lead anchor, watched her platform’s numbers.
skyrocket. The news of Blanche’s airborne abduction shot straight to the top of the trending charts.
The eye–watering reward drove everyone into a frenzy. It seemed as if the entire city was scouring every corner for any sign of Blanche.
Meanwhile, the helicopter slipped away into the mountains.
Beneath the peaks lay a hidden fortress, carved out decades earlier after a disaster–once a secret base for an underground organization, now repurposed as a tourist attraction. But with Novandria on lockdown, no one would be visiting today. It was the perfect place to hide.
Felipa’s brow was furrowed with worry. “He’s not just locked down the city–he’s offering a twenty–million–dollar bounty. Practically everyone in Novandria is out looking for Blanche.”
“I refuse to believe he can control an entire city single–handedly!” Hugo Black snapped, anger simmering in his voice.
