Chapter 119
Chapter 119
Asher’s POV
Marcus’s mouth hung open. “You were drugged, Asher? How… why didn’t you tell me?”
I shot him a glare.
He exhaled. “I’m your older brother, Asher. All of this happened, and I needed to know.”
“It’s my problem. I would have handled it!” I snapped.
“Clearly, you couldn’t,” he replied.
“Marcus! Asher!” Janine interjected, raising her hands. “Ivy has been kidnapped!” She spelled it out. “That’s the priority! You can have the argument about your sour relationship and whose fault it is later.”
Marcus sighed, rubbing his temple. “Alright, we need a plan. Fast. You need to speak to Taylor.”
I nodded in agreement. “But Taylor is smart. She has to believe I really want her, or she’ll see right through it. And we can’t involve the police. That process would take too long, and Ivy…” I couldn’t even finish the thought..
We all stood there for a moment, the air thick with tension as we tried to think of a way out of this nightmare. Then my phone rang, cutting through the
silence sharply.
I quickly pulled it out, glancing at the screen.
Taylor.
My stomach dropped.
I raised a hand, signaling everyone to stay quiet before putting the phone on speaker.
“Well, well, well,” Taylor’s voice purred through the speaker. “Are you thinking too hard? I thought you loved her. Doesn’t her life mean anything to you?”
I clenched my jaw, my grip tightening on the phone.
She let the silence stretch before suddenly asking, “Am I on speaker?”
“No,” I lied, too quickly.
She laughed, a sharp, grating sound. “I’m on speaker, you stupid, stupid, stupid boy.”
Then the line went dead.
A cold chill ran down my spine.
Marcus exhaled through his nose, his jaw tightening.“Shit.”
Janine ran a hand through her hair, pacing. “She sounds completely unhinged.”
Luca let out a low curse. “We need to tell your mom and dad.”
“I don’t know…” I admitted. “I think it’ll only make things worse.”
“We have to try,” Janine insisted.
Luca placed a hand on my shoulder. “First, take a breath, man.”
13:28 Sun, 6 Jul ▼ ▼ O
Chapter 119
I couldn’t. Every second wasted was another second closer to lvy being hurt. I grabbed my phone again, quickly dialing Taylor back.
She didn’t pick up.
I tried again.
This time, she answered.
I forced my voice to be steady. “I choose Ivy’s life. I choose her life. I choose her.”
Taylor was silent for a moment. Then, in an almost bored tone, she asked, “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’ll do whatever you want.”
A slow hum. “Would you leave everything behind?”
I swallowed. “What?”
“If you really love me, if you really want to be with me, you’ll come away with me. Just the two of us. There’s a beautiful island I’ve always wanted to live on. A real paradise.” Her tone turned dreamy. “We could be happy there, Asher.”
A pit formed in my stomach. “Where?”
“Koh Rong,” she said easily. “A private resort, secluded. No one would bother us.” She giggled playfully like a child. It was eerily creepy.
I barely knew anything about the island, but that didn’t matter. I needed to keep her talking.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll go with you.”
She scoffed. “You expect me to believe that? You love Sterling Industries. You want what Marcus has. You wouldn’t just leave everything behind.”
I closed my eyes, forcing the words out. “When it comes to Ivy’s life, I’m willing to do anything. I’ll give up everything I have, everything I am, to make sure she’s okay.”
“No, that’s not enough! That’s not enough for me, Asher!” she yelled.
“Taylor, I’m serious. I’ll leave it all behind me and I’d come to you, I promise I’ll come to you.”
Another silence. Then, without another word, she hung up.
I lowered the phone, my chest tight.
“She’s not convinced,” Luca muttered.
“She’s testing him,” Janine added in a panicked voice.
We all stood there, trying to process what had just happened.
Then Marcus suddenly stood up. “I have an idea.”
I snapped my head toward him. “What?”
Marcus didn’t answer immediately. He grabbed his phone, checking something quickly before looking up. “I’ll buy you some time.
That should’ve reassured me, but instead, my stomach dropped. “What do you mean?”
“I have to leave now,” he said, already moving toward the door.
I felt a spike of panic. “Marcus, no. You can’t leave me at this point! I need you to help me figure this out.”
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13:28 Sun, 6 Jul
Chapter 119
He turned to me, his face unreadable. “I need to go. It’s urgent.”
“More urgent than this?” I snapped.
He didn’t answer, just gave me one last look before disappearing through the doorway.
I stood there, frozen.
The weight of everything crashed onto me all at once, pressing so heavily on my chest that I could barely breathe.
Then, before I even realized it, I was pacing. Back and forth, my mind spinning, my heart hammering.
I had to think. I had to do something.
Because time was running out. I couldn’t be productive. Janine and Luca were talking loudly on the phone, speaking to different people, and I was stuck here, unable to do anything at all to help.
