“Kidnapped? What the hell do you mean by that?” Scarlett's voice was low but emitted worry. She lifted her eyes to look at Lily whose eyes wandered. It was obvious that she was hiding something.
“I'll call you back Nelly.” She hung up and faced Lily with a looming glare.
“Did you know?” Her voice was low, anger lingering in her tone.
“Well… I.. I found out but your uncle asked me not to tell you anything.” Lily answered, releasing a loud sigh. Scarlett clenched her fists, and every thought of the heartbreak she was feeling, dissipated.
“Why would you…!” She paused and immediately called her uncle.
Her heart had sunk into her stomach at the thought of her mother being in the hands of some ruthless men. She almost lost it, thinking about what they could be putting her through. Tears started to gather under her eyes but she blinked them away while waiting for her uncle to pick up his phone.
“Scarlett.” His voice came, echoes following the sound of his voice. He seemed to be in a large space.
“Uncle Richard, what happened? Who kidnapped my mother? What the fuck is going on and why did no one tell me?” She questioned, getting out of bed and pacing about while Lily watched anxiously.
“I'm sorry but I told your friend not to tell you anything. I'm aware of your situation and I didn't want to make it any worse.” Richard replied.
“Fuck my situation. This is my mother's life we're talking about. I don't appreciate being kept in the dark when matters like this arise.” It was obvious that she was scared, her hands were shaking and she was still pacing around, trying to shake it off.
“What's the progress on the case? What did the captors say?” She questioned.
“I've involved the police and they're trying to free Vivian from Maxwell,” Richard answered and Scarlett's eyes widened.
“M.. Maxwell!?” She screamed.
“Yes, and it gets worse. He has asked that the company be handed over to him or he will kill Vivian.”
Scarlett stopped pacing and stood at a place with widened eyes. Her face suddenly went pale and her breathing could be heard outside the room. Lily rushed to her, thinking that she was going to lose consciousness.
“Why would Maxwell demand such a thing!?” She suddenly lashed out.
“I've always known that something was up with him, he's always had eyes on the company and he's finally seen the opportunity he's been looking for. But don't worry, there will be no need for handing over the company.” Richard explained but Scarlett slowly shook her head.
“What if he kills my mother? I can't let that happen. Uncle, you have to call the police off, they shouldn't go after Maxwell, and let's just give him what he wants. My mother's life is more important to me.” She sniffed, her voice which was once filled with rage became soft and fragile.
“Are you nuts Scarlett? Do you even know what it means to hand over the company? We'd end up on the streets.”
“I'm well aware uncle, but my mother.” She cried out in pain and Richard sighed.
“Very well then.” He hung up and scoffed.
“Hand the company over to that scoundrel? I'd rather shove a needle up my cock.” He said and called the detective, asking him to be fast with the search and find Vivian as soon as possible. The detective assured him that Vivian would be found before he knew it.
Meanwhile, Maxwell was in an office in an undisclosed location, going through some paperwork in frustration when his phone rang. It was one of his men, the men who were keeping an eye on Vivian.
“What is it?” He questioned harshly.
“Boss, we might have a problem.”
“What problem?” He stopped what he was doing.
“The police are hunting us. With the way things are going, I'm sure we'll be discovered before morning.” He answered, a hint of fear in his voice.
Maxwell quickly became restless, his frustration rising. He had warned Richard not to involve the police, he gave him a strict warning but he went ahead to do it. The last thing he wanted was for the police to stand in his way, his lifelong dream of controlling the Davenport wealth would be destroyed.
Without delay, he rushed out and made his way to the hideout where Vivian was kept. He was busy making arrangements with his men to move Vivian to a different location when the police showed up, surrounding the place.
Out of fury and fear, he pulled the trigger and shot at Vivian. She let out a loud yelp as blood spewed violently out of her. Maxwell couldn't care less as he made a run for it, escaping the police through a secret passage. His clueless men were left to face off with the police and a brutal bullet exchange ensued.
Bullets rained heavily as the police shot at the men and they shot back. The police took most of the hits, many of them lying in pools of their blood. Only a few of Maxwell's men were injured and the remaining found a way to escape too.
While the remaining officers called for backup, a pick-up truck arrived, carrying heavily armed, masked men. The police saw them as a threat but they pledged their allegiance, informing the police that they were the good guys.
They infiltrated the hideout without fear, shooting the remaining men they found in there, and then went after the rest. They managed to find the secret passage and followed it, determined to find Maxwell no matter where he was hiding.
While a bunch of them went off to find Maxwell, a few of them helped Vivian out of the ropes she was tied with and then handed her over to the ambulance that had arrived. She had lost a lot of blood and wasn't even conscious anymore, but she still had breath in her.
Maxwell was tracked down to his secret office where he had gone to gather a few of his stuff before fleeing. Unfortunately for him, he was apprehended by the masked men and they did not spare him. He was beaten to a pulp, obtaining cuts and fractures. They would have killed him but they were working strictly on orders and couldn't do that.
After they were done teaching him a lesson, they dragged him back to the police, handing him over to them. The police thanked them but demanded to know which forces they were working with but they didn't give a response. They left the same way they came, leaving everyone in awe.
Vivian was rushed to the hospital and Scarlett, along with Richard ran to see her. They were relieved to find out that she wasn't shot near any vital organs, the wound was on her arm and it had been properly treated and bandaged.
Richard demanded to know who those men were and the detective who was there with them revealed that they were Adrian's men.
“Adrian sent them? How do you know for sure?” Richard asked while Scarlett watched with tears gathering in her eyes.
“I followed them and found one of them with Adrian.”
“Wow..” Richard sighed.
Just then, Adrian walked in on them, exchanging greetings with the men before turning to face Scarlett whose face was as cold as ice.
“How is your mother doing?” He asked.
“I don't need your fake sympathy, Adrian. If you think that hiring men to rescue my mother would change my mind about you then I'm sorry to tell you that it didn't work. I am not impressed by your lavish show of pity.” She snapped and he sighed.
“Can you please just hear me out once Scarlett, just once? I promise it's not what you think. I know my original intentions were not pure but all that is in the past. I..”
“Keep your explanation to yourself because I am well aware that everything that comes out of your mouth is all lies!” She fought back her tears with great difficulty.
“Stay away from me and my family Adrian. Thank you very much but you are no longer needed. Please, leave now.” She refused to look him in the eye and he sighed heavily again.
“Alright Scarlett, I'll respect you and your decision.” He turned around after taking a long glance at her and left the hospital.
As soon as he left, Scarlett fell on the bench, tears streaming down her cheeks as her heart clenched in pain.